Snoqualmie Mayor James Mayhew released the following statement on Monday regarding the proposed Cascadia Ridge Battery Energy Storage System project and the city’s approach to community concerns.
To be clear about the current facts: the City of Snoqualmie has not permitted a battery energy storage facility, and there is currently no proposal before the City or King County. While a project has been discussed for a location outside the city in unincorporated King County, there is no application currently under review or pending for permitting.
Concerns about a potential facility near Snoqualmie are widely held across the community. I share those concerns, particularly around safety, proximity to homes and schools, and whether this use aligns with the long-term vision for this area. My focus, and the focus of a majority of the City Council, is on ensuring those concerns are brought forward in the most effective way possible.
Leadership means focusing on the actions that will influence the outcome, being clear about what authority exists, and using the tools available at the points in the process where they can have real effect. Actions that may feel responsive in the moment but do not have legal effect or influence on the decision-making process, no matter how final they appear, do not help achieve the outcome the community is seeking and may reduce our ability to influence that outcome. As this conversation has grown, I’ve also seen efforts, intentional or not, that frame neighbors as being on different sides of this issue or less concerned than others, and in doing so divide the community. In some cases, that has extended to personal attacks and, at times, vilifying individuals who share the same concerns. Most residents want the same thing: to make sure concerns are heard and addressed in a way that leads to real outcomes.
Property owners and applicants have the right to bring forward proposals, and those proposals are evaluated through established processes that are fair, fact-based, and grounded in the record. Our responsibility is to make sure that what we do preserves the ability of Snoqualmie residents to have their concerns effectively considered, and the City’s ability to influence the outcome. If a proposal is reviewed at the state level through the Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council process, it is evaluated under a different framework that can reduce the role of local decision-making.
Work on this is already underway. The City has engaged legal and technical expertise to plan and implement the most effective approach for bringing the concerns of Snoqualmie residents to bear. At this stage, actions taken now would not affect the outcome, as there is no decision point before the City or County where they would have legal effect or influence. The work that matters now is understanding the process ahead and ensuring that concerns are brought forward effectively at each step.
There is a wide range of discussion on this topic. Many residents are already doing thoughtful work to identify specific concerns, and that work will have the greatest impact when directed into the processes where decisions are made. Some of the discussion does not fully reflect the factors that shape decisions or the process ahead, which can reduce the effectiveness of how those concerns are presented. Our focus is on sharing accurate information and helping residents understand where and how their concerns can be formally submitted and considered in the decision-making process.
[Information provided by the City of Snoqualmie]
