YarrowBay promotes no net increase in phosphorus to Lake Sawyer

Unprecedented commitment to long-term stewardship of lake

Black Diamond, Wash. – January 25, 2011 –In a letter to the City of Black Diamond, YarrowBay will
today announce a “no net increase” plan with regards to phosphorus runoff to Lake Sawyer from The
Villages and Lawson Hills MPDs. Phosphorus is responsible for algal blooms and other water quality
issues and in order to protect the quality of Lake Sawyer, YarrowBay will implement a number of
mechanisms to ensure that the lake’s existing phosphorus levels are not increased as a result of its MPD
developments.

A major criticism of urban development, phosphorus runoff is limited by city code; however, unlike
most master planned communities in Washington, YarrowBay is self-imposing a “no net increase”
standard for its phosphorus runoff mitigation. This goes above and beyond the standards put in place by
the Lake Sawyer Management Plan and exceeds all existing state and local requirements, including the
Department of Ecology’s 2005 Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington, which the
City of Black Diamond has adopted and identifies phosphorous removal guidelines and treatment
strategies.

“After reviewing the data on existing phosphorus runoff and estimates of the runoff from the planned
MPD developments, we are confident that we can provide no net increase in the amount of phosphorus
flowing into Lake Sawyer from our property,” said Colin Lund, YarrowBay’s Chief Entitlement Officer.
“We want Black Diamond to remain an attractive place to live, and protecting Lake Sawyer is an
important part of building this community.”

YarrowBay will implement “source controls,” such as requiring the use of phosphorus-free fertilizers in
all parks, and will employ stormwater treatment facilities, such as large wetponds or large sand filters,
to remove phosphorous from the MPDs’ stormwater runoff. In addition, low impact development
techniques will be employed where appropriate on the MPD sites and YarrowBay will look for
opportunities to use other phosphorus mitigation measures elsewhere in the City. As a result, The
Villages and Lawson Hills MPDs will not cause any increase to Lake Sawyer’s existing phosphorus
levels.

“Because YarrowBay has a long-term vision for these new districts of Black Diamond, they plan to
invest in the monitoring necessary to assess their true potential impacts and in turn put in place the
mitigations necessary to protect Lake Sawyer,” said Al Fure, a consultant with Triad Associates.
“Small, piecemeal developments often aren’t able to assess and correct for their environmental impacts
to this degree, but the size and scale of the YarrowBay developments present a unique opportunity to do
this.”

YarrowBay will monitor phosphorus levels of stormwater currently exiting their MPD properties and
draining toward Lake Sawyer to establish a baseline and, with its proposed monitoring program, will
undertake all necessary mitigation measures to ensure “no net increase” of phosphorus levels above this
baseline condition.

Fast Facts:

• “Old fashioned” methods of drainage control, such as roadside drainage swales, are now shown to
provide a superior stormwater management benefit versus the curbs and pipelines seen in most new
development. This is one example of “low impact development”.

• Individual responsibility can go a long way to protecting a shared treasured resource like Lake
Sawyer:

• Washing your car on the lawn versus the roadway keeps phosphorous-laden detergent from entering
the drainage system.

• Limiting fertilizer use and using phosphorous-free fertilizers keep phosphorous from entering the lake
system.

• Being diligent in maintenance of your septic tank and drain field can help keep nutrients from finding
their way to the streams and/or lake.

• Collection and proper disposal of pet waste can help protect nutrients from entering the drainage
system and finding their way to the lake. Six dogs (or three chickens) are equal to one human’s waste.

• Erosion of soil is a major contributor to phosphorous pollution and is a reason erosion control
protections during the winter rainy season are so important – the straw mulch you often see on cleared
sites is a means of keeping the soil stabilized and keeping water from getting muddy while leaving the
site.

• A variety of stormwater treatment solutions are now known to be effective in removing phosphorous
from stormwater runoff. Some are commonly seen, such as large stormwater ponds, which settle out
phosphorous-laden sediment, others are invisible to the untrained eye, such as bioretention swales, rain
gardens and subterranean sand filter and settlement vaults.