An aerial view of the Port of Chehalis.
A meeting of the Port of Chehalis commissioners on Thursday saw a presentation by a Grays Harbor composter seeking to move to a location in Curtis. The commissioners also established priorities for 2017 at the meeting.
Northwest Fish By-Products Inc. co-owner Erika Katt presented NW Aqua Soils’ plans to relocate from its current property in Satsop after it was discovered previous tenants contaminated the site.
The company founded in 2015 produces fish-based products ranging from pet food to compost and fertilizer.
Katt said she was searching for a location when the business came across the Curtis site, which sits along state Route 6.
“It’s really a great location for us,” she said.
The business model includes buying large amounts of fish from producers in the area. Katt said the business might eventually begin packaging its products for retail and shipping by rail across the country. The property they are looking at in Curtis is adjacent to railroad tracks.
Port Chief Executive Officer Randy Mueller said he has visited the current site in Satsop. He said there were no issues he could see, or importantly, smell.
NW Aqua Soil’s is currently in discussions for acquiring the land from the port. The business might begin an environmental review before an agreement is finalized.
Katt said the business will also need additional permits to create hydrolysate, a low-hazard, fish-based liquid fertilizer. They hope to have the Curtis operation up and running within two years.
The company currently employs between five and 10 employees, and future expansions could create up to 15 new positions.
Mueller said the port may sell the property to the company at a future date. He said the presentation was focused on learning more about what the company does and what they would do at the Curtis location.
Port commissioners also approved a two-year lease for office space with OSC Vocational Systems, replacing a previous month-to-month lease.
Also discussed was a March 14 meeting with Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Ecology and the Quinault Indian Tribe, which will focus on the renewal of the port’s regional general permit.
The port will not be at the meeting but will be briefed the following day, Mueller said.
The port’s permit expired last September. It allows the filling of wetlands for a five-year span.
Renewal paperwork for the permit was submitted well before it was set to expire, but turnover within the Corps of Engineers led to a delay, Mueller told The Chronicle in previous coverage.
Wetland mitigation is important to the port. It was used to create 40 acres of credit to offset development impacts in wetlands elsewhere.
A list of projects for the coming year was also established. The 10 items selected will be included in Mueller’s 2017 performance review. The project list included looking at either remodeling or finding a larger meeting room as well as floating the idea of conducting a survey to see what capacity the port district has for broadband internet.
At an earlier port meeting, Nelson Holmberg, vice president of innovation at the Port of Ridgefield, shared information about port-owned broadband. The Port of Ridgefield has been working on broadband for over two years, he said.
Mueller previously told The Chronicle that if the project moves forward, the port would pay for the installation of the broadband, and companies would pay a fee to use the network.
