The Clallam County Public Utility District sent a letter to Carlsborg residents July 8 updating them on a proposed sewer system and assuring them nothing is set in stone.

The letter comes a month after a handful of residents expressed their upset with the project at a June 7 hearing to extend development-restricting interim controls in the Carlsborg Urban Growth Area.

Carlsborg was designated as an Urban Growth Area in 2000 and in 2008 the Growth Management Hearings Board ruled the UGA was not compliant with the Growth Management Act because it did not have plans for a sewer system. To avoid repercussions, the commissioners implemented interim controls.

The county simultaneously is challenging the ruling in court and the Washington State Court of Appeals recently sent the case back to the hearings board for review.

Cost concerns before cost projections

One Carlsborg UGA resident who spoke at the June hearing, Stacie Hopkins, said she was concerned she would lose her home and business because she couldn’t afford the sewer system.

Hopkins said she fears for her American Dream.

"We’re kind of getting this thing shoved down our throats," she said. "No one has ever asked what my opinion is."

Doug Nass, the PUD’s general manager, addressed the issue in the second paragraph of his letter, stating "despite some claims about what this project may or may not cost residents, businesses and governmental agencies, the fact is that nobody has an answer to this yet."

Nass said a consultant is conducting a special benefits study for the project that will be used to determine preliminary assessments for each parcel in the proposed Local Utility District. The LUD is the area that will be served by the sewer and subsequently pay sewer fees.

LUD boundaries not final

The LUD boundaries, also the subject of contention, are not final and are subject to change based on property owners’ support, he said.

The proposed boundaries are based on an advisory petition signed by property owners within the UGA.

"If the PUD elects to proceed with the formation of the LUD, the PUD’s board of commissioners will hold a formation hearing, at which time all property owners within the final LUD boundary will have the opportunity to voice their support or opposition to the LUD," Nass said.

Nass encouraged residents to call, e-mail or go online to find more information.