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PRESS RELEASE

Date: March 2, 2017

In November 2015 representatives of the Sno-King Watershed Council (SKWC) discovered unpermitted parking
lot construction on property owned by the Snohomish County Paine Field Airport. Because the Airport refused to
halt its use of the parking, the SKWC filed a citizen Clean Water Act lawsuit in February 2016. That law suit was
settled and a Consent Decree was entered in the 9th Circuit Federal Court in November 2016.

The Consent Decree required Snohomish County to make a payment in lieu of penalty in the amount of $125,000
for an environmental benefit to fund projects involving rain garden construction in the Swamp Creek watershed.
The rain gardens will be constructed by Farmer Frog and overseen by Earth Corps. The estimated value of these
rain gardens will vary and it is likely not to exceed $6,400 each.

The primary purpose of the rain gardens is to improve stormwater quality and reduce runoff; but rain gardens also
offer an aesthetic landscape improvement and provides habitat for small birds.

We are currently looking for homeowners who wish to have a rain garden installed in their front yard for free said
SKWC representative William Lider, PE. Primarily we are looking for older homes constructed in the 1950s to
1990s that are suitable for stormwater retrofits.

There are relatively few requirements to qualify for a rain garden:

The property must be located in the Swamp Creek Drainage basin, which includes Scriber Creek, Martha
Lake, and the Lake Stickney drainage basins.
The property must be residential and not already have some form of stormwater flow control.
The Landowner must agree to maintain the rain garden for a minimum of 5-years.
The property must be inspected by Farmer Frog to verify that the site is suitable for rain garden
construction.
To obtain an application to have your property evaluated for a free rain garden, please contact Zsofia Pasztor CPH at
Farmer Frog zsofia@farmerfrog.org or Bill Lider at 425-776-0671.

You can learn more about rain gardens and their benefits on the Department of Ecologys website:
https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/documents/1310027.pdf
Landowner Application & Agreement
EarthCorps and Farmer Frog have been selected to administer a Consent Decree settlement payment to
resolve a Clean Water Act citizen lawsuit brought by the Sno-King Watershed Council et.al. related to the
Snohomish County Paine Field Airport construction of a 5-acre parking lot without permits or code required
water quality treatment. The payment of $125,000 is to be used for construction of residential rain garden
water quality enhancement projects within the Swamp Creek Drainage Basin.

Farmer Frog and _________________________(landowner) hereby agree to the following terms and
conditions:

Landowner hereby attests to legal ownership of property


Landowner must agree to maintain the rain garden for a minimum of 5-years.
To qualify for settlement money, the property must be located within the Swamp Creek drainage
basin (see attached map).
Farmer Frog will make the final determination if the project site qualifies under this program.
Rain garden construction will be performed by Farmer Frog.

Property Location:

Legal Land Owner(s): ____________________________Address: ______________________________

City: _____________________________ Zip Code: _________ Phone No.: ________________

Parcel No.: ___________________________________

If you have questions, please contact Zsofia Pasztor CPH at Farmer Frog zsofia@farmerfrog.org or Bill
Lider at 425-776-0671

X___________________________ X___________________________
Landowner Farmer Frog

___________________________ __________________________
Date Date

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