Newsletter

Q&A with Marlin residents about Grant PUD’s purchase of Road W Property

Friday, 28 March 2025

Grant PUD’s General Manager John Mertlich was invited to attend the Marlin City Council meeting on March 17 to answer questions from residents in the area about Grant PUD’s recent purchase of 960 acres of farm and undeveloped shrub steppe land. The following is a synopsis of the questions from those in attendance with answers primarily provided by Grant PUD staff members following the meeting.

1. Why build an SMR (Small Modular Reactor) or other kind of power plant out here?

We have purchased the land because it was identified through careful analysis as being a property that would have several potential uses for Grant PUD, including shrub steppe mitigation, potential for a solar farm, or some kind of power plant with possible generation by solar, natural gas, reciprocating engine, or small modular reactor (SMR)

2. Why not put it next to your house and your schools, or in your commissioners’ backyards?

We recognize that any location we select for a potential power generation site will have neighbors and will have impacts to the community. Grant PUD has customers, employees, and even commissioners living and working throughout all of Grant County. We do not have ‘direct impacts to Grant PUD personnel’ as part of our analysis when studying sites for potential expansion.

3. What about wildfire safety? This area is prone to wildland fires.

Wildfire safety is a concern throughout Grant County. Any use of the land will require plans, procedures, and infrastructure to mitigate the risk of wildfire safety.

4. What is the workforce required for operating an SMR?

Estimates from X-energy, the developer of the SMR technology we are investigating, suggest that at least 100 workers would be needed to maintain 24/7 coverage for safe operations and maintenance of the facility.

5. What is the workforce required for operating a solar farm?

A solar farm would require just a hand-full of on-site staff to maintain at any one time.

6. What about transportation infrastructure needed to support the development?

Mitigation for impacts to transportation on county roads would be addressed in the permitting process with the state and county governments.

7. How much lighting would be needed for the project? (Multiple residents brought up concerns about impact to views and night sky)

A power plant would need extensive safety and perimeter lighting to address safety and security concerns. Some of the concerns over light impacts can be mitigated with advanced lighting technology and placement, but it is important to note that there would be some impact to the nightscape from lighting with any power generation development on the property.

8. Multiple residents brought up concerns that more traffic and people would bring more crime.

Some of these concerns can be addressed by Grant PUD, but it would also involve a partnership with the community, local law enforcement and government agencies if there is any meaningful development of the site.

9. Multiple residents brought up concerns about negative impacts to Marlin’s lifestyle and changing their valued small-town dynamics. Marlin is the smallest city in the state, and residents said they wanted to keep it that way.

One of Grant PUD’s values is heritage. We were created by rural customers who wanted a utility that would preserve their rural lifestyle while at the same time provide greater opportunities for prosperity. Our intention is to work with the community to provide solutions to mitigate for this concern.

10. Multiple residents brought up concerns about noise impacts from reciprocating engines, SMRs, or other kinds of power plants.

Specific concerns about the impact of a specific power plant would be carefully considered and addressed during the permitting process. Grant PUD’s goal is to do as much as possible to reduce the impacts to neighbors with any development of the property.

11. Residents brought up concerns about impact to local ag and a feedlot being constructed on a property near the Grant PUD property.

We appreciate this concern being brought up during the meeting and we will further explore the agricultural impacts that any development of the property may have.

12. Are other utilities looking at building SMRs?

SMR technology is a promising technology that is being explored by utilities throughout the world. However, there are not any functioning SMRs in the United States yet. This is one of the reasons why Grant PUD is carefully evaluating the technology to see if it would be a viable option in the future.

13. Several residents expressed concerns about the impacts to public health from a nearby nuclear facility.

We acknowledge the concerns addressed during the meeting. The “downwinder” concerns brought up at the meeting were from releases of radiation during the processing of plutonium for nuclear weapons. The Columbia Generating Station, a nuclear-powered electricity generating plant in the Tri-Cities, has been operating safely for more than 40 years. The SMR technology that Grant PUD is exploring would have even more advanced safety factors with the highest levels of permitting and regulatory oversight.

14. What about transmission lines connected to a power plant, where would they be located?

Transmission lines and a substation/switchyard would certainly be a part of any power plant proposed for the property. Without a specific plan in place, we would not be able to comment on where they may be located, except on and near the property.

15. How close would someone from Grant PUD live next to an SMR plant? Some residents are just 40 acres away.

While the mention of nuclear power can create conflicting emotions, it’s important to understand that developing SMR technology is very similar to the same technology the nuclear Navy has been using to power vessels that have been docking/anchoring near major cities around the world without significant incident for more than 70 years.

16. A resident said it was offensive that Grant PUD stated there were few impacts to cultural resources by developing the property. The resident said the people of Marlin have a vital culture important to them.

Grant PUD apologizes for the clumsy wording of that statement. Our intention was to describe that the property had not been officially deemed Culturally Significant by Native Americans in the region.

17. Residents brought up concerns about safety issues in the past with Grant PUD including a powerhouse fire at Wanapum Dam and the Central Ephrata Substation fire.

In both of those incidents, Grant PUD learned lessons that have improved our safety culture, and those lessons would influence how we would proceed with any development for this property.

18. How soon could an SMR be built?

Based on our present knowledge, we believe the earliest an SMR power plant would be built and in operation would be in 2034.

19. What about services for construction and power-plant workers including gas stations and restaurants?

The development of private retail-trade businesses in the Marlin area would be up to residents, investors, and permitting agencies and would not be in the purview of Grant PUD, other than delivering power to such facilities if they successfully applied for it.

20. Residents brought up concerns about the impact of transmission lines on landscape views.

The energy that powers our society is delivered on transmission lines. They are a necessary part of the landscape in our modern world. We can do some mitigating in the design and location of transmission lines for their impact on views, but the reality is more transmission lines will be built in Grant County and the rest of the country in the coming decades.

21. What is the local benefit?

The major benefit will include more reliable power for our county being sold in a manner that helps to keep rates as low as possible for all residential, agricultural, and small-business customers, including those living in the Marlin area. Often other benefits from the development of a power plant include increased sales tax revenue, opportunities for more retail trade, housing development, and opportunities for more residents to have high-paying jobs during construction and for operating the facility. (We understand these benefits are not being sought by many of the people we spoke with during the meeting on March 17.)

22. A resident made the statement that some people in the area near the property aren’t even connected to the power grid by choice.

They would not need to connect to the grid with this development, but if they chose to connect to Grant PUD’s system, they will be served with affordable and reliable power like all others in the county.

23. What about impacts to the aquifer? If this development requires pumping water out of the ground, it could cause other wells to go dry.

The land was not purchased with a water right. The lack of a water right and impacts to the current aquifer (if we try to secure one) are significant issues as we study potential development of the land.

24. What is the driver of developing something out there? Where will the power go?

The driver for exploring power generation development of this property and in other Grant County locations is because of the growing power requests we have from customers in all sectors. Any power generated on the property would go into Grant PUD’s power system for customers to use throughout the county.

25. Residents brought up concerns about impacts to the Hutterite community, which is near the Road W Property. How is Grant PUD planning to reach out to them?

We understand the area’s Hutterite Community is an important stakeholder in the future development of the Road W property, and we intend to have an on-going dialogue with them.

26. We appreciate the cheap, reliable power that Grant PUD provides. We just think a power plant should be located closer to where industry is located.

Grant PUD has reliable and affordable power primarily because the people of Grant County made the decision of self-determination when they established our public power utility in 1938. We are exploring how the development of this property may help us continue making power reliable and affordable for our customers.

27. Why can’t we say no to our industrial customers and not provide them with any more power?

As a public utility, per state law, we are obligated to respond to the power needs of our customers. We are not in a place to say no to them, but to do our best to meet the needs of all customers.

28. The property should just be used for Shrub Steppe mitigation.

That is a very important consideration to our study of the best uses of this property.

29. How many other locations in Grant County are being considered for power plants?

We are looking at several other locations. We cannot provide specific details because of negative impacts to our ability to purchase property at present market values.

30. The property regularly gets flooded in the spring.

We will explore this concern further as a part of our evaluation.

31. It’s all about money for Grant PUD, isn’t it?

Financial considerations are a very large part of our exploration for the development of this property. Grant PUD does need to remain financially healthy, but it is not the only consideration. As a public utility, we are not necessarily driven by the ability to make maximum profits, which is often a major motivation for investor-owned utilities. We are taking into consideration the issues being raised by Marlin’s residents and will use them in our continued analysis of the best uses for this property.

32. It’s not green energy if you take out all of this nature.

By state law, we are obligated to explore power generation that does not emit carbon. Any development of the property would require mitigation for impacts to the natural environment as part of the permitting process.

33. What about hunting on the property next hunting season?

This is something that we will investigate and communicate to the community.

34. In the end, if Grant PUD decides to build a power plant on the site, would you do it even if we object?

Yes. We believe it is important to set the standard that we will be truthful with the community from the start of our dialogue. There is much to consider as we explore potential uses of the property. Feedback we receive from the local community is one consideration. Any decisions made by Grant PUD will be made through a public process. There will be opportunities for the voices of the community to be heard during our commission meetings, and during a permitting process, which will include public hearings. Our promise to the community of Marlin is that we will demonstrate our values of Safety, Innovation, Service, Teamwork, Respect, Integrity and Heritage as we go through any potential development of the Road W property.

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