Welcome
Welcome to the City of Puyallup’s online engagement site for the Knutson Farms Environmental Impact Statement project. The City is leading the development of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed warehousing development on the approximate 162-acre Knutson Farm property located within unincorporated Pierce County. The EIS is an objective analysis of the likely environmental impacts of the proposal and measures to mitigate harmful impacts. We are committed to listening to our stakeholders and working with you to gather input to help inform the EIS. We’re glad you’re part of the conversation! Click here to sign up for email updates.
Project updates
Updated January 2021
The EIS scoping comment period is now closed! Thank you to those of you who shared your input. Your comments were used to help identify possible areas of impact and to determine the extent of the EIS analysis.
The City of Puyallup has released the EIS scoping report comment summary related to the Knutson Farms EIS project and all comments received during the scoping comment period are now available.
Knutson Farms EIS Scoping Report 01/19/21
Appendix A – Knutson Farms Scoping Comments Received
Public comments most frequently received were related to the following topics:
- Traffic impacts
- Air quality
- Development impacts on plants, animals and critical biological resources
- The use of land for warehouses and loss of agricultural land
The project is now entering the second phase, which will involve field work, impacts analysis and report writing over the next several months. Later this year, likely in Fall 2021, in the Draft EIS report will be available for your review and comment. This will be the next opportunity to provide formal input.
Description of proposal
The proposed development includes construction of a Level 8 Warehousing, Distribution and Freight Movement facility of up to 2.6 million square feet of building area. The project would include construction of seven warehouse buildings. Site work activities would include grading, paving parking and truck maneuvering areas, landscaping, water and sanitary sewer extensions, building a storm water facility, franchise utility improvements and roadway improvements.
Proposed Knutson Farms Industrial Warehouse site plan (2016)
SEPA checklist (2016)
To learn more and access publicly available materials, visit Pierce County PALS Online and search permit ID numbers 792206 and 792210.
Where is the project located?
The Knutson Farms site is 162-acres. The site falls outside of Puyallup’s city limits but is within its Urban Growth Area (UGA.)
Environmental review
The State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) is a state law that requires agencies to evaluate the likely environmental consequences of proposed development actions. SEPA provides direction for the environmental review process, including preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) for certain projects.
The City of Puyallup, as lead agency, acknowledges that there is public interest and concern about the environmental impacts of implementing the proposed development plan (Proposed Action). Based on the level of concern and the potential for impacts that may occur with the implementation of the Proposed Action, the City has determined that a SEPA EIS will be prepared to study impacts regardless of whether such impacts may be significant.
Determination of Significance (second notice, 2020)
Appendix A – Knutson Farms Scoping Comments Received
Knutson Farms EIS Scoping Report 01/19/21
Knutson EIS Scoping Presentation
- An environmental impact statement (EIS) provides an objective analysis of the likely environmental impacts, feasible alternatives, and measures that would avoid or minimize adverse environmental impacts.
- An “impact” is a change in consequence that results from an activity. Impacts can be positive, negative or both. An EIS describes impacts and may identify ways to mitigate them.
- There are three major milestones in an EIS – Scoping, Draft EIS, and Final EIS.
Scoping is the first step in the EIS process. During scoping, we invited agencies, tribes, and the general public to comment on the likely range of project alternatives and areas of impact that should be evaluated. These comments will be used to narrow the focus of the EIS to the likely significant environmental issues, eliminate insignificant impacts from study, and identify alternatives for analysis in the EIS.
The project team has preliminarily identified the following environmental elements for analysis in the EIS. For each environmental element, we will evaluate the probable impacts associated with the proposed action and operations:
- Transportation, particularly transportation systems and traffic
- Public services and utilities, including stormwater, sanitary sewer and fire flow and fire protection services
- Water, plants and animals
- Cultural resources
- Noise
- Air quality, including greenhouse gases
- Land and Shoreline use, including aesthetics, recreation, agricultural crops, and the project’s relationship to existing land use plans
- Alternatives
- Mitigation measures
See this document for more information on our SEPA Environmental Checklist. To access publicly available materials, please visit Pierce County PALS Online and search permit ID numbers 792206 and 792210.
The project team is moving into phase 2 of the project, which will include an in-depth analysis of the project impacts. The city has hired a team of environmental consultants to conduct a rigorous and independent review of the project. The City anticipates that analysis of project impacts to take 8-10 months. Given this timeline, a Draft EIS report is expected in the Fall of 2021.
The public comment period for the Draft EIS is anticipated for Fall 2021. Sign up for email updates to stay up-to-date.
Knutson Farms EIS schedule
Fall 2020
- Issue Second Request for Further Comments on Scope of EIS
- EIS scoping
Winter 2020 through Fall 2021
- Conduct fieldwork and impacts analyses
- Prepare Draft EIS
- Issue Draft EIS
- Draft EIS public comment period
Winter 2021
- Prepare Final EIS
- Issue Final EIS
Please join our email list to receive project updates and a reminder when the Draft EIS public comment period opens. The public comment period for the Draft EIS is anticipated for Fall 2021.
We want to hear from you!
Your input is important and will help the project team make decisions through the EIS process.
EIS scoping comment period: November 17 – December 17, 2020
Draft EIS comment period: Anticipated for Fall 2021 – sign up to receive a notification when the comment period opens
All public comments will be documented and presented to the project team. In some cases, direct quotes from public comments may be included in the EIS Report and project webpage. The project team will use information from public comments to make decisions throughout the EIS process.
All email and comments become public records and, if requested, will be disclosed as required by the Public Records Act 42.56.RCW.
Your input is essential! Please join our email list to receive project updates and a reminder when the Draft EIS public comment period opens. The public comment period for the Draft EIS is anticipated for Fall 2021.