Is There a Northstar on the Horizon for Sumner?

Editor note: This is the first in a three-part series on the future of the proposed Northstar Chemical plant in Sumner.  Follow these links for and .

The Cold War between Northstar Chemical and opponents of its proposed plant in Sumner looks likely to heat up soon.

After years of waiting, the project’s final Environmental Impact Statement is expected to come out this summer. And when it does, the factions likely will resume hostilities.

Two local opposition groups -- the Sumner Neighborhood Association and Citizens Against Toxic Chemical Hazards -- are planning protests and hope to take the case to court if the decision doesn’t go their way.

Northstar representatives are more circumspect about their plans.

“We currently aren’t looking into moving into Sumner–if ever,” Matt Werger, Northstar’s general manager, said in a voicemail message. “It always would be an option, but it’s currently not on the horizon, or in our 18-month plan anyway.”

Locals are not so sure. The fight began shortly after Northstar Chemical planned to open a plant on three acres in Sumner, one half-mile north of downtown. The site would be used to store and distribute liquid chemicals used primarily for water treatment.

Opposition groups challenging the facility say that if a natural disaster such as an earthquake or an eruption on Mount Rainier occurred, the chemical plant would compound the natural disaster.  Additionally, they claim that a tank farm shouldn't be built as close to the town and White River.

City officials are caught between an unbiased environmental review process and the safety concerns of local citizens.

“We’re right in the middle,” said Paul Rogerson Sumner’s Community Development director.  “We are in the fact-gathering mode and have made no conclusions.”

But at some point, he’ll have to make one.  As Sumner’s State Environmental Policy Act official, Rogerson will make the final decision on the site approval, although he said he will consult with the city attorney and others.

Asked if he has ever had to make such a potentially controversial decision, he said, “probably not.”

A plant is proposed

 The seeds for the fight were planted in In May of 2004, when Northstar Chemical purchased the former Fleischmann’s Yeast plant on 1115 Zehnder St. Northstar had wanted to move operations to Sumner from industrial land near the Puget Sound near Tacoma.

At the plant site, Northstar proposed to use three of 14 acres of industrial land for up to 24 chemical storage tanks with facilities for loading trucks and rail cars. Additionally, Northstar proposed a 4,200-square-foot office building. The site would employ five to seven people.

Northstar immediately would rank as one of the largest business in town with annual revenue of $20 million to $50 million. Its plant in Sherwood, OR has employed up to 50 people at times during its 14-year history.

Sherwood city officials said they haven’t had any problems with the company. But that doesn’t satisfy locals who worry that the conditions in Sumner are different than in Sherwood. 

Randy Hynek, a Sumner city councilman, is blunt about the prospects. “If I could, I’d say no,” he said in a recent interview.

But he can’t. As it turns out, the city council doesn’t have a say in the matter.

For Tuesday, Part 2:  What's a council to do? State records show Northstar generally had a good safety record -- except for a series of problems in 2008.