Correction, Aug. 17, Richland seeks a loan not a grant for its sewer line extension. The Observer regrets the error.
Atlas Agro will have toilets for its proposed green fertilizer plant if the city of Richland receives a loan for a $4 million sewer project. The Richland City Council will approve the loan application at its meeting tonight. The city has already promised the plant millions of dollars in tax breaks.
Missing in the plan is the 280 megawatts of new nuclear power that company representatives have said they need to power the plant.
Atlas Ago representatives told the Tri-City Herald that the company intends to begin operation in 2027. The plan apparently rests on the construction of small, modular nuclear reactors near the Energy Northwest nuclear reactor.
The nuclear engineer, who lives with me and worked for 35 years planning and building nuclear power plants with Bechtel Corporation, believes most of the above is laughable. He does have faith that the city can build a sewer line.
More details on the loan are provided below.
Meanwhile the Richland City Council will also sell off more parkland adjacent to the Keene Road Trail. Ironically, the contract for this sale includes provisions for maintaining nearby property which remains with the city.
The inability to enforce a maintenance agreement with the property owners at 120 Keene is given as a reason for selling the park property there to one of them.
Details on all of the above and more are available in the packet for the meeting. The meeting can be viewed live at Richland City Hall at 6 pm or on Cable Channel 192 or streamed at Richland City View.
The Meeting Begins
1. Police Chief Brigit Clary swears in new Richland Police Officer Adam Morin
2. Attendance Awareness Month Proclamation – declaring that good attendance in school is essential to student achievement and progress toward graduation.
3. Council recognizes the American Heart Association’s Award, the Heart Attack Honor Roll, to the Fire and Emergency Services Department
Public Hearing – There are no public hearings scheduled.
Public Comments – Residents have two minutes to talk about anything they wish. Speakers can ask that they receive an answer or answers to questions as soon as possible.
Consent Calendar No discussion and one vote for all of these.
4. Approval of Aug. 2 city council special meeting minutes
5. The municipal code will be amended to issue limited commissions to certain Richland employees such as the city’s park ranger and civilian code enforcement officers. This will help the Richland Police Department become an accredited law enforcement agency.
6. Richland will add three locations to its list of high visibility locations where camping isn’t allowed – 505 Swift Boulevard, 515 George Washington Way and Richland Fire Station No.71. There are all kinds of details on how this conforms to federal law included in the information for this newly amended ordinance. Check the packet for details.
7. Richland will agree to reimburse Benton County 38% of actual costs for design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction at the intersection to Bermuda Road and Reata Road to accommodate development at Badger Mt. South. The work is currently estimated at $512,471.42. The Richland funds will come from traffic impact fees.
8. Authorizing a $60,000 change order for Big D’s Construction for the Leslie Road Stormwater Treatment Retrofits project.
9. Authorizing a $59,572 change order for C&E Trenching LLC for the Hains Ave. Goethals Drive Stormwater quality retrofit.
10. Rajbir Sandhu (Heavy 2 LLC), the owner of a gas stations and convenience store at 999 Queensgate, is purchasing 7,693 sq. ft. adjacent to the Keene Road Trail from the city for $34,769. This is the second piece of property adjacent to the trail that the city has been negotiating to sell to adjacent property owners.
The ironical part of this agreement is the property maintenance and use agreement for landscaping the property remaining under city ownership. This city is selling other property adjacent to the Keene Road Trail at 120 Keene because the city was having a hard time enforcing the maintenance agreement there.
11. July expenditures, a list of checks, will be approved.
Items of Business — this one will have a discussion (such as they are) and a vote.
Atlas Agro will have toilets even if it doesn’t have the 280 megawatts of energy it says it needs to begin carbon-free fertilizer production. The city council will vote to authorize a contingency agreement with Atlas Agro North America for a Community Economic Revitalization Board Sewer Project Loan. The city will apply for a low-interest loan (1%-3%) from the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Community Economic Revitalization Board for $4 million. The 5000 linear feet of 24-inch sewer line will serve the 1,341-acre industrial park commonly known as the North Horn Rapids Industrial Park and is scheduled to be operational in 2024.
The loan requires a commitment through a contingency agreement with a private business.
Atlas Agro plans to begin operating a $1.1 billion carbon-free fertilizer production plant in 2027.
According to a March 8, 2023, article in the Tri-City Herald, the plant will require 280 Megawatts of new nuclear power to fuel its operations. The project developers did not provide additional details. The plan appears to depend on the construction of small, modular nuclear reactors near the Energy Northwest Reactor.
City Manager and City Council comments
blah, blah, blah
Citizen input is so curtailed!
The first sentence here says “grant” for the sewer project while later this article mentions low interest loan. Where did you find information about a grant? City Council notes mention a loan, no mention of a grant.
Hi Jacob, I appreciate your comment. You are correct. The money for the sewer line is a loan not a grant. The Observer will correct the error and note the correction. Perhaps the Observer was overcome by wishful thinking.😊 Thank you for reading the Observer. Randy
Thanks for the update on the “ghost” fertilizer plant. Even if we eventually build 12 small modular nuclear reactors, the power will be needed for the increasing population of Washington State (to power homes, businesses, and other industries that are not such extreme power hogs). There are better ways to produce fertilizer. My understanding is that the company will eventually abandon the property since there will never be enough power to run it. I’m sure they’re enjoying the tax breaks, though. And someday, some company will be glad there’s a sewer line there.
Hi Gail, I appreciate your comment. I believe a lot of residents share your opinion about the future of the fertilizer plant. As you point out, a sewer line will be required for future development in that area so it will be a plus, although I do wonder, as Mayor Christensen does, who’s going to pay the loan in the meantime? Thank you for reading the Observer. Randy
If they used more turbines at these hydro plants it would easily add 280 to the grid. John Day Damn is one of the least used power producing devices in the world! I’ve touched the belly of several reactors in USA and 280 mw is a pretty small number to achieve. Prairie Island one of the smallest reactors in US, can put out about 600 MW/day with one unit, so I don’t see why a modular reactor couldn’t produce at least 250-300 gross MW a day? I think that sewer line will be used for a few decades before they get 250 mw Nuclear delivered given the USA aversion to new science….
Hi Mike, I appreciate your comment. The material on the energy required for the fertilizer plant always says that it needs 289 MGW of NEW green energy. No one argues that a nuclear reactor could provide it, it’s just a matter of how long it will take to bring it on line. The modular reactors have been discussed now for at least 30 years and we haven’t seen one yet. Thanks for reading the Observer. Randy