Opponents of a proposed Northstar Chemical tank farm in Sumner met Friday night to discuss their next steps in attempting to halt the project. The group is currently raising money to pursue legal action should work move forward.

Northstar is working on a final proposal to submit to the City Council. The company would like to build an installation used for storing chemicals at 1115 Zehnder Ave., a plot of land adjacent to residential homes, the White River and a drinking water well that has been drilled by the city, but not yet put into use.

Sara Hoime, a leader of the opposition group, argued in her presentation that the chemical plant presents potential risks to river wildlife and human health.

“It contradicts logic to build a chemical facility next to thousands of residents, on our precious aquifer, next to the White River which is used by federally threatened fish species such as spring Chinook salmon and on soils with high propensity for liquefaction during an earthquake,” Hoime wrote in an e-mail to The Courier-Herald. “People are worried about what happens if there is an earthquake and a toxic chemical spill results.”

The opposition group, which is organized under a Facebook page titled “Keep Chemical Corporations OUT of Sumner, WA!,” has retained the services of Gendler & Mann, a Seattle law firm specializing in environmental issues. But to challenge a project proposal in court will cost $25,000, a sum Hoime admitted sounds steep.

“We don’t like asking the good people to dig into their pockets to fix this problem, but… that may be our only choice,” Hoime wrote. “If 5,000 local and regional people skip their latté this week and mail in five dollars to our attorney, we can go to court.”

The mailing address for Gendler and Mann is 1424 4th Ave., Suite 715, Seattle, 98101.