📋 Public Works Committee

Bellingham City Council - Public Works and Natural Resources Committee

📅 November 17, 2025 ⏱ 1.5 hr 30 min 📍 Council Chambers, second floor, City Hall, 210 Lottie Street, Bellingham, WA (also streamed live and broadcast on BTV)

← Back to All Meetings

📄

Meeting Summary

The Public Works and Natural Resources Committee received three major updates on wastewater infrastructure and watershed protection. The most significant item was an informational presentation on Post Point Wastewater Treatment Plant's solids handling future, where staff defended their decision to upgrade aging incinerators rather than pursue newer technologies like anaerobic digestion or landfilling alternatives. The presentation revealed that Bellingham had paused a $200+ million biosolids conversion project in 2022 due to cost overruns and PFAS contamination concerns. The committee also postponed a vote on new Lake Whatcom watershed land management policies after Council Member Anderson raised concerns about trail management language that could be interpreted to require new trail construction when removing unauthorized trails. Staff agreed to revise the language for evening consideration. A routine septage rate increase, the first adjustment since 2012, will raise disposal fees by 39% starting January 2026, bringing in an estimated $100,000 annually. The Post Point presentation dominated discussion, with staff emphasizing that their current incinerators remain operational and compliant while other regional facilities face operational challenges. Staff announced plans for a comprehensive sewer plan update starting in early-to-mid 2026, the first since 2009, which will evaluate both treatment and collection systems over a two-year process with extensive public involvement. #

📚

Study Guide

### Meeting Overview The Bellingham City Council Public Works and Natural Resources Committee met on November 17, 2025, to discuss three agenda items: Post Point Wastewater Treatment Plant solids management upgrades, septage rate increases for 2026, and updates to Lake Whatcom watershed land management policies. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Post Point Wastewater Treatment Plant:** Bellingham's primary sewage treatment facility, operational since 1974, which processes wastewater from the city and handles solid waste through incineration systems. **Biosolids:** The treated sewage sludge that remains after wastewater processing, which can be either incinerated, land-applied as fertilizer, or landfilled depending on the treatment approach chosen. **PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances):** Chemical contaminants of emerging concern that persist in the environment and have made biosolids reuse increasingly problematic and uncertain. **Septage:** Highly concentrated organic waste pumped from septic tanks, portable toilets, and RV holding tanks that is brought to the treatment plant by registered haulers. **Lake Whatcom Land Acquisition and Preservation Program:** A city program established in 2000 that has purchased over 3,500 acres to protect the Lake Whatcom watershed, which serves as Bellingham's drinking water source. **Anaerobic Digestion:** A wastewater treatment process that breaks down organic matter without oxygen to produce methane gas and biosolids, which the city considered but paused due to cost and contamination concerns. **Water Resources Advisory Board:** A city advisory body that provides input on water-related policies and programs, including the Lake Whatcom management strategies. **Bellingham Municipal Code (BMC) 15.12.210:** The city code section that governs septage disposal rates and requires annual rate setting by the Public Works Director. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Hannah Stone | Committee Chair, City Council Member | | Lisa Anderson | Committee Member, City Council Member | | Jace Cotton | Committee Member, City Council Member | | Kimberley Lund | Mayor | | Mike Olanger | Public Works Deputy Director | | Mike Wilson | Engineering Manager | | Mike Prelskin | Superintendent of Natural Resources Operations | | Steve Bradshaw | Superintendent of Plants | | Matt Stamps | City Legal Department | ### Background Context The Post Point Wastewater Treatment Plant has served Bellingham for 50 years using incineration to handle sewage solids. In recent years, the city explored switching to a more modern anaerobic digestion system that would have produced renewable energy and biosolids for land application. However, by 2022, costs had escalated to over $200 million and growing concerns about PFAS contamination made biosolids reuse uncertain. The city paused that project and decided instead to upgrade the existing incineration system. Meanwhile, the Lake Whatcom watershed protection program has been acquiring land since 2000 to prevent development that could harm the city's drinking water source. The original land management guidelines from 2005 needed updating to address current pressures from recreation, illegal trail building, and other unauthorized uses while maintaining the primary goal of water quality protection. ### What Happened — The Short Version City staff presented three main items. First, they explained why they're upgrading the wastewater plant's incinerator system rather than switching to a newer technology. The upgrade costs more upfront but is cheaper long-term than trucking waste to landfills, and it keeps treatment local and reliable. Second, they announced septage disposal rates will increase 39% in January 2026 to catch up after being frozen since 2012. Third, they proposed new rules for managing the 3,500+ acres the city owns around Lake Whatcom. The committee asked for small wording changes to clarify that unauthorized trails can be removed without having to build new ones, and requested language about pet waste cleanup. The items will come back for final votes at the evening meeting. ### What to Watch Next • Final committee votes on the Lake Whatcom land policy changes at the November 17 evening meeting • Launch of the comprehensive wastewater plan update process starting in early to mid-2026 • Septage rate increase taking effect January 1, 2026 ---