Town receives USDA environmental stewardship award

The Town of Friday Harbor shares an update about the USDA award they received last week.

The Town of Friday Harbor’s wastewater treatment plant improvement project begins later this year and has already earned the Town special recognition. On behalf of the Town, Mayor Ray Jackson accepted the Building a Better America Environmental Stewardship Award from USDA Rural Development at San Juan County’s Earth Day celebration. This award is in response to major upgrades planned for the plant that will ensure its ability to provide the increasingly high level of treatment required by the state.

“As a coastal community, we have both the desire and obligation to invest in the protection of our marine environment,” said Jackson, adding that the Town is proud to be bringing this quality improvement to the community.

According to the State Director for USDA Rural Development, Helen Price Johnson, the award is in “grateful recognition on Earth Day, April 22, 2022, for your continuing commitment to maintain and improve the environment and ensure a sustainable future for the members of your community and beyond.”

The wastewater treatment plant project is expected to take two to three years. The Town has secured grant funding and low-interest financing from USDA Rural Development for most of the $16 million project.

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