Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Aiming for a 2027 construction start, the Olympia Site Review Committee outlined a permitting and review process the Deschutes Estuary Restoration Project must complete before getting underway.
At a committee meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 26, representatives of the Washington State Department of Ecology and a consultant team presented an overview of the state project.
Department of Ecology project manager Lynn Turner said the plan is to restore about 260 acres of historic river and estuarine habitat, improve fish passage and water quality, and increase flood resilience. Aging infrastructure, including the 5th Avenue Bridge and Marathon Park utility and pedestrian bridge, is also going to be replaced.
Turner said the state hopes to complete design work and obtain permits by mid-2027, with construction potentially beginning later that year provided funding is available.
The current construction plan is estimated at roughly six years, with tidal flow potentially restored in 2031 or 2032.
Olympia Planner Jackson Ewing said the project will require a shoreline conditional use permit and a potential shoreline variance because of impacts to upland freshwater wetlands.
The city would also need to issue a notice of application, conduct a public comment period, and route the project to agency partners for comments.
After review, a hearing examiner would address the shoreline permits. If approved by the hearing examiner, the shoreline conditional use permit and any variances would go to the Department of Ecology for final approval.
The committee was asked if shoreline permitting can proceed at the same time as the project’s supplemental environmental impact statement.
Project Manager Tessa Gardner-Brown said waiting for the supplemental review to finish could delay the start of the city’s nine month to a year review process. She asked if the two reviews could run concurrently because they rely on the same design information.
Ewing said the city would discuss the issue internally before providing a determination in pre-submission notes. He also recommended the project team pursue a development agreement with the city to provide additional time if funding or construction delays extend the project beyond the typical shoreline permit period.
Gardner-Brown said the project team has worked closely with the city for about a decade through an environmental impact statement process and into the design phase. She said the team plans to submit a 90 percent complete design package in the fall.
City Engineering Examiner Tiffani King said much of the coordination has already occurred with transportation, stormwater, sewer and drinking water staff. She said a stormwater scoping meeting was held in July.
She said construction permitting for the unusually large project could take longer than the typical six to eight weeks for a first review.
The project will also require a floodplain permit and a post-construction federal map update.
The project team said the new bridges and shoreline improvements are being designed to handle tides and flooding, with elements including appropriately sized piling, higher bridge elevations with freeboard, and a proposed upstream debris barrier to intercept large wood during storm events.
The city aims to consolidate comments and provide pre‑submission notes, including a determination on State Environmental Policy Act and shoreline review sequencing and details on the development agreement.
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Bobwubbena
'And now for the rest of the Estuary Story"---as Paul Harvey would say. The ACOE's NPDES is still being done to assess the true environmental facts and the documentable cost of this $1 Billion plus proposed project. Still to be reviewed by the qualified professionals, what about the Percival Creek Estuary Alternative--10% of the cost of the Ecology/DES proposal? What about the loss of the existing natural nitrate nutrient Lake removal option--shifting that cost to LOTT? What about the State accepted Budd Inlet $200 million Toxic waste cleanup and the City's $50 million West Bay Park extension clean up as a prerequisite to the State's 5th Ave Dam removal. Still way too many unanswered questions before the city should waste their time on the current State proposal.
Friday, August 28 Report this
JWLynch
This process reads like a burocratic nightmare. Not unlike the CA high speed rail project. The estuary project is unlikely to ever happen.
Friday, August 28 Report this
Boatyarddog
Neither Commenters know what the heck they're talking about. For years Wubbena has said Their engineers are better than DOEs. HORSEHOCKY BOB! Cheaper Isn't Better it just does a half baked JOB. Stop Lobbying for Cheaper is better strategy. GROSS!
Saturday, August 29 Report this
MisPeeps
This is fabulous news! I am so happy to hear it's going to begin this next year and I cannot wait to see the estuary restored to it's natural health and beauty!!
Wednesday, September 2 Report this
BillSpencer
Perfecto we need this estuary and the new bridge is a significant improvement. Lake people or lakers as I call them don't have a clue. No we should not try to clean up the lake, and why do the pigs in the capitol building need a reflecting pool anyways?
ITS ESTUARY TIME
Tuesday, September 22 Report this