Water District Scrambles Over Pulp Mill Default

Special meeting on Monday to address potentially devastating effect on local water bills

Humboldt Sentinel
12/3/08
By Charles Douglas

EUREKA -- Less than a month after incumbents were re-elected to their seats on the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District, the predictions of a catastrophic decline in commercial water sales their challengers warned voters of are coming to pass.

Water District staff announced today a special meeting of the Water Board to be held at Eureka City Hall bright and early on Monday morning, the first item on the agenda being the payment default of Evergreen Pulp, the last remaining buyer of massive amounts of commercial, or untreated, water from the district.

This release came out just a day after Superior Court judge J. Michael Brown slapped an attachment order on the pulp mill assets to pay off a $321,210 debt to California Redwood Company. The pulp mill was recently shuffled on paper between different subsidiary corporations of Lee and Man Paper Company of Hong Kong, in a move some analysts suggest is connected to what assets would be left behind subject to a court-ordered levy.

Local union representative and laid-off pulp mill employee Richard Marks announced on his Samoa Softball Internet blog (samoasoftball.blogspot.com) that Evergreen Pulp has also failed to meet their payroll for their remaining skeleton crew, leading to a walk-off and a separate round of court hearings, the next one of which is scheduled for Jan. 13.

Re-elected Water Board trustee Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap had asserted, during the sole campaign debate she participated in six weeks ago, that the Water District’s finances were sound. This was contrary to the warnings from her Division One challenger, Stephen Davies, that the Water Board had failed to act during her four-year term to protect ratepayers.

“With the closure of the pulp mill, local ratepayers who have seen skyrocketing water bills during Kaitlin’s term of office will likely see even bigger increases, with our seniors and limited income residents hardest hit,” Davies stated in a release during the campaign. “While the ‘Drink Local’ campaign is appreciated, the Water District must take proactive action to bring this campaign to the next level. We need to attract local industry here to keep up our level of commercial water usage and prevent a spike in water rates for working families.”

Re-elected trustee for Division Three, Barbara Hecathorn, also faced a challenger, business owner Robert Schultz, who sought to bring his experience into play in expanding the industrial base to ensure “stable water rates.” The more business-friendly candidates for the Division Two race split their vote and enabled environmental activist Tera Prucha, who had the support of outgoing incumbent Randy Turner as well as that of Sopoci-Belknap, to win with less than 35% support, the lowest of any winning candidate in Water District history.

On the recommendation of staff, the Water Board will consider the status of the default, hear an overview of default remedies under the district’s contract with Evergreen Pulp, and consider the termination of water service to the mill. Although it might appear to be a bit late in the game, the board will also look at a work plan to address “potential permanent closer of the mill.”

District trustees will also continue their review of Water Task Force proceedings with their municipal customers and consider adopting a mandate for the Advisory Committee they wish to form regarding long-term water resource planning.

Their meeting will not be taking place in their district headquarters due to renovation work -- instead, the extraordinary session will begin on Dec. 8 at 9 a.m. in the Council Chambers at Eureka City Hall, located at 531 K St.