The Ridgefield City Council last week gave preliminary approval to build a $40 million pipeline that would carry sewage from the Interstate 5 interchange south, primarily along Northeast 10 Avenue, for about 10 miles before connecting to the Salmon Creek treatment plant.

County commissioners want to promote economic development in the north county and have offered $10 million from real estate taxes to help pay for construction.

The Clark Regional Wastewater District would have to agree to lease Ridgefield a portion of its sewer capacity at the Salmon Creek plant, which is owned by Clark County and serves the district and the city of Battle Ground.

Sewage isn’t exactly a sexy topic, but it remains the service that more often than not determines when and where a community grows.

Millions are routinely invested in pipelines and sewage plants to carry and treat the waste. Prosaic as it sounds, the lowly sewer pipe may be the single biggest lever local governments have in controlling the development of homes and businesses.

The north county pipeline, if it wins final approval, could allow Ridgefield to allow its population to grow for 30 years and become a small but significant economic powerhouse on I-5.

The older part of Ridgefield would continue relying on the city’s sewage plant along Lake River, but the area slated for intensive business development near the freeway would have its waste whisked to the south.

City officials see the north county pipeline as one piece to a long-term strategy.

“Why not use it?” Mayor Ron Onslow said. “It makes things more cost-effective. It gives us more capacity. It doesn’t put a threat of a moratorium on us.”

City Manager Justin Clary said it’s difficult to turn down a $10 million offer for infrastructure.

“When you have only 4,000 residents, it can be a very daunting task when you are building a city, essentially,” Clary said.

There is a downside. If Ridgefield were to invest in the project but no growth occurred, the burden of paying off that construction debt would fall on existing residents, who would see their monthly sewer bills increase to a staggering $250. But if the city grows at a steady pace, residents would continue paying the same amount, $43 a month.

Ridgefield has limited bonding authority, so the county has agreed to take the lead in financing and building the project, said Pete Capell, Clark County public works director. City connection fees and a portion of its sewer revenue would be used to pay off the construction debt, he said.

Ridgefield already has been planning a $7 million expansion to its sewage plant, to increase capacity from 700,000 gallons to 1 million gallons per day. City officials intend to continue with that planning at least through August, in case the north county pipeline deal falls through.

219th Street interchange

The pipeline could be the first step toward a regional system that someday could encompass part or all of the county. Or it could fracture an ongoing planning effort involving the sewer district and five cities — Battle Ground, La Center, Ridgefield, Vancouver and Yacolt — to develop both short-term sewer solutions and a 50-year sewer vision.

Battle Ground might have the deepest concerns about the pending deal. The city has long considered the 219th Street interchange on I-5, now under construction, as its future western gateway.

City officials fear that running sewer near the interchange will trigger development pressure and could result in the area being brought into another city’s urban growth area.

Vancouver’s growth boundary extends north along I-5 to 209th Street. Battle Ground’s boundary ends at 92nd Avenue, some 90 blocks east of the partially built interchange.

As Battle Ground continues to scout for big-box stores to support its booming residential growth, officials worry the project could draw development to other areas.

Battle Ground Mayor Mike Ciraulo said he understands that Ridgefield needs to solve its sewer problems, but he wants to ensure that his city isn’t left out of the process.

“People who travel on those corridors and people who live in those areas associate themselves with Battle Ground,” Ciraulo said. “We’re not 100 percent against development at that interchange. But we do want to have a say in what happens.”

Ongoing discussions are friendly, the mayor said, but the process could become litigious if it infringes on Battle Ground’s future.

“We have some legal rights here that may need to be defended,” Ciraulo said. “It’s not right nor fair if those decisions are made without our input.”

June 1 deadline

In late February, county commissioners set a June 1 deadline for Ridgefield to move ahead with their $10 million offer. Without progress, commissioners said they would use the money for economic development elsewhere, possibly to renovate Highway 99 in the Hazel Dell-Salmon Creek area or for road improvements along 179th Street near the Clark County Fairgrounds.

Officials considered a longer pipeline that would cost an additional $14 million to take the project farther north to serve the 319th Street interchange area, where the Cowlitz Indian Tribe wants to develop a $510 million casino complex.

But John Peterson, interim general manager for Clark Regional Wastewater District, said there are no plans to serve the tribe.

“Nobody else, Battle Ground, La Center or the Cowlitz Tribe, has indicated interest in participating in this project,” Peterson said. “This project is not being sized to serve the casino. We don’t have plans to serve the casino. It’s meant to be a Ridgefield project.”