Gravel-mine foes pursue buyout, despite price tag

By Keith Ervin
Seattle Times staff reporter

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While waiting for a key legal decision, opponents of a proposed gravel-barging operation on Maury Island still hope to resolve the battle with a buyout of the 235-acre mining site.

The King County and federal governments have pooled $8 million for a possible deal, and the Senate Appropriations Committee last month approved legislation from Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., that would add an additional $2 million.

The pending appropriation, which has not been passed by the full Senate, would double the $2 million approved by Congress last year.

The Metropolitan King County Council earmarked $6 million in the past two years for a possible buyout.

It is not clear, however, that property owner Glacier Northwest and those who would preserve the property will come to terms.

Worth $50 million?

Glacier Northwest claims its extensive reserves of sand and gravel are worth $50 million or more, an amount that could make a deal hard to reach with the funds available for a buyout.

If it can get permits to rebuild a long-unused dock for barging sand off the island, the Japanese-owned company contends, it could resolve a regional shortage of sand for construction projects.

Environmentalists advocate a public purchase of the property, which has a significant stand of madronas and offshore eelgrass beds where herring spawn and young salmon feed. But they say the company's price tag for the land is too high.

Both sides are waiting for a ruling from the state Shorelines Hearings Board on whether King County erred in refusing to issue shoreline permits to rebuild the dock earlier this year. A decision is expected by Nov. 2.
 
Glacier Northwest won a first-round victory in August, when the shorelines board rejected the county's primary rationale for refusing to issue those permits: its determination that the project was not "water dependent." The board, which later held eight days of hearings, has not decided whether the county had other valid reasons for denying the permits.

Further review

Preserve Our Islands, a group fighting the gravel-barging project, asked the shorelines board to order further environmental review of possible damage to orcas, eelgrass beds and recreational use of the site by scuba divers.

The county initially opposed reopening its environmental study. But after two scientists testified that the effects of barge operations on orcas, or killer whales, merited further study, Ralph Palumbo, an attorney hired by the county, agreed in his closing statement that more study was needed.

Orca researcher David Bain said recent research has shown the behavior of orcas is disrupted by the noise of boats. He also testified that Maury and Vashon islands are an important part of the marine mammals' winter habitat.

Stephanie Warden, King County's director of the Development and Environmental Services Department, told the shorelines board she removed an official from reviewing the project last year after the county issued an environmental document that was identical to a submittal from the company on the likely effect of barges' propellers on eelgrass beds.

Warden said the official, Mark Mitchell, had received a conflicting submittal from Preserve Our Islands but placed it in a desk drawer and didn't tell others of its existence.

Warden ordered a review of the environmental document after the incident, which she called "a real breach of public trust."

Warden would not say whether Mitchell was disciplined. Mitchell declined to comment.

Murray has discussed a possible buyout with representatives of Glacier Northwest, the Cascade Land Conservancy and King County. Those discussions have not been continuous, but Cascade Land Conservancy President Gene Duvernoy said his organization will be strategizing how and when to restart talks.

The Cascade Land Conservancy is expected to take the lead role in negotiating any deal with Glacier Northwest. The Vashon-Maury Land Trust is prepared to raise additional funds for a buyout if an agreement is struck, said Executive Director Tom Dean.

Company is willing to talk

Glacier Northwest Vice President Ron Summers said the company is willing to talk about selling some or all of the property. "I still think that sometimes getting together with our neighbors and finding a solution together for this project is the right way to go."

But $10 million from the county and federal governments falls far short of what it would cost to buy a property whose value is "in the $50 million range," Summers said.

John Arum, attorney for Preserve Our Islands, said that price is inflated. "The prices I have heard are in the range of $10 million to $15 million," he said.

Unless a buyout is negotiated, Arum said, he expects one side or another to appeal the shorelines board's decision to the state Supreme Court.

Glacier Northwest executives said the company has spent $4 million on permit applications and environmental studies since 1998.

Executives said they were stunned when the county denied permits for the gravel pier after the company satisfied all of the county's environmental concerns.

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com