A planned state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant in East Bethel is unlikely to be online before 2012, according to a Metropolitan Council official.

Bryce Pickart cited delays in acquiring property for the facility, as well as the prolonged permit process that comes with new technology for the later completion goal, but added that the current economy makes a quick turnaround less important.

"With the economic downturn, that's really OK from a city perspective," said Pickart, the Met Council's assistant general manager of environmental services, who said the original goal of late 2010 was always ambitious. "Given the downturn, I don't think anyone would expect that now."

City officials had set their sights on the $20 million project as the next logical step toward taking the city from a rural town to a city that could offer such desirable amenities as retail and service industry while still maintaining its country flavor.

The plant, which will be run by the Met Council and funded by those who connect to the system, eventually could serve a population of 23,500, in line with growth the agency predicts for the city by 2030.

When completed, the plant will treat wastewater generated by residents on the shores of Coon Lake and by tenants of a residential-business corridor the city hopes to develop along Hwy. 65. After the economy recovers, that is.

Earlier this month, the Met Council closed on the final piece of property it needs to proceed. The agency purchased the 10-acre parcel that will house the actual treatment plant from a private individual for $523,000.

It was chosen because of its location, west of Hwy. 65 and south of Viking Boulevard, and its low elevation, which will allow the system to make use of gravity flow to bring the wastewater to a central place. Two other locations that will house groundwater recharge fields, north along Hwy. 65, were already in hand.

Pickart said the Met Council is finishing the planning process and is proceeding with the environmental permitting process for the state. The agency also hopes to form partnerships with nearby golf courses and sod farms to find at least a seasonal irrigation use for the treated water.

Maria Elena Baca • 612-673-4409