Gravel-mine barging gets state board OK

By Keith Ervin
Seattle Times staff reporter

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The state Shorelines Hearings Board yesterday gave its blessing to a sand-and-gravel company's plan to load barges from a rebuilt dock off a largely untouched stretch of Maury Island shoreline.

Even while reversing King County's denial of shoreline permits for the dock, however, the hearings board ruled out regular operations at night or on weekends.

Opponents of Glacier Northwest's barging plan said they will appeal.

"It's a setback for us, but it's just one decision in many, and I think that all of us feel that there is no way a dock belongs out in that pristine spot," said Marnie Jones, a spokeswoman for Preserve Our Islands, a group that has fought the gravel mine for years.

Preserve Our Islands had asked the Shorelines Hearings Board to find that King County did an inadequate job of studying the dock's environmental impacts, and Glacier Northwest had asked the board to overturn the county's denial of the necessary permits.

William Cronin, a lawyer for Glacier Northwest, said the decision "plainly is a rejection" of the county's review of the project.

"I think it is pretty much a vindication of what Glacier has been saying about the project: It's environmentally sound, it makes sense for the region, and it can be done in a way that reasonably satisfies the needs of the residents of the island," Cronin said.

The shorelines board remanded the proposal to King County for issuance of shoreline permits and imposed these new conditions:

• In order to keep down noise, regular barge-loading operations are limited to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

• Divers must inspect nearby eelgrass beds for possible damage after the first 25 barge loads.
 
• King County must re-examine a previously established technical standard intended to protect eelgrass from tugboat propellers.

• The county must determine whether barge loading should be restricted during "minus tides."

• Barge decks must be lined with concrete or some other material to reduce noise.

The board also encouraged the company to work with the county and other agencies and interest groups to notify recreational divers of the best times to dive at the site.

Preserve Our Islands' objections to the county's environmental review of the gravel dock largely centered on possible damage to the underwater eelgrass beds where herring spawn and juvenile salmon feed.

During the state board hearings, the citizens group also said the county didn't give serious consideration to possible harm to orcas. Though a county environmental official agreed during his testimony that the impact on orcas deserved more scrutiny, the state hearings board yesterday dismissed those concerns as "remote and speculative."

John Arum, attorney for Preserve Our Islands, said the group has 30 days to decide the court in which they'll seek an appeal — King or Thurston County Superior Court — or whether to try to go directly to the state Court of Appeals.

He said "the $64,000 question" is whether the county will appeal the shorelines board's reversal of the county permit decision.

Ralph Palumbo, who represented the county before the shorelines board, said he had not yet talked to county attorneys about whether they wish to appeal.

Metropolitan King County Councilman Dow Constantine, D-Seattle, and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., have raised $10 million for possible purchase of the 235-acre Glacier Northwest property. The company contends the property is worth some $50 million, and discussions have gone nowhere.

But Ron Summers, vice president of the Washington division of Glacier Northwest, said yesterday he hopes to reach accommodation with neighbors. "I think that now there's a decision, it's a time for everyone to look at the cards they have in their hand and maybe it's time for a solution where we can all get a part of what we want and go on," he said.

Jones of Preserve Our Islands stood firm against a deal that allows barging. "We're not going to compromise on this," she said. "We shouldn't have a dock out there. Nor should they have a big [mine] up the hill. Is there really any way to mitigate a huge barging operation in the middle of a delicate ecosystem? No."

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