SANDPOINT — Counsel for Citizens Against the Newport Silicon Smelter is threatening legal action against the Pend Oreille Public Utility District over its sale of property to a Canadian firm developing the proposed facility.

Attorneys representing CANSS contend the PUD’s sale of the property was illegal because it does not fall within the scope of generating and delivering energy as required by Washington state law. Moreover, the district did not receive authorization by a vote from three-fifths of its constituents within the district to divest the lands for sale to HiTest Sands, which seeks to construct the silicon smelter near Newport. The attorneys also argue that property bundled up by Pend Oreille County for sale to the PUD was illegal as well.

“We, as the representatives of these two citizen groups demand that the PUD take immediate curative action to void these land transactions,” attorneys for CANSS said in an April 23 letter to the PUD.

If such action isn’t taken in 30 days, counsel for CANNS and Responsible Growth *Northeast Washington said they would seek redress through a legal action against the PUD.

A request for comment from the PUD went unanswered on Wednesday.

The demand by CANSS and RG*NEW marks continued shelling of the PUD’s sale of property to the Edmonton-based HiTest in a bid to halt the project, which opponents contend will foul air and water quality due to emissions from the plant.

Earlier this year, CANSS argued that the land sale transaction should not have gone through because HiTest was not registered as a foreign entity doing business in Washington at the time of the sale. HiTest officials brushed aside those claims, although the company did register in Washington after the transaction was finalized, according to Washington Secretary of State records.

Although some in the community are welcoming the prospect of additional manufacturing jobs in the region, the smelter proposal has been met with a substantial amount of opposition that is transcending political lines. Both liberals and conservatives have been deposing the smelter proposal on grounds that it jeopardizes public health and natural resources.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.