Corps backs gravel-mine plan

A massive pier proposed to unload gravel from a mine on Puget Sound's Maury Island would not cause serious environmental damage, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has concluded.

The Corps released its draft findings Friday, making them available for public comment.

If the Corps sticks by that conclusion in its final report, that would help clear the way for a controversial expansion of a gravel mine on the island and construction of a pier extending into a state marine aquatic reserve.

Environmentalists and nearby residents have fought expansion of the mine owned by Glacier Northwest, arguing, in part, that it could destroy important underwater habitat and disturb noise-sensitive, endangered orcas.

But the Corps said the pier could be built so as to limit much of the damage. For example, construction would be done only when orcas weren't visible in the area, and the conveyor belt to barges would be covered to prevent gravel from spilling into the Sound.

The the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service both agreed it wouldn't cause harm.

To read the report, go to www.nws.usace.army.mil and look at the section marked "Links of Interest." Send comments to olivia.h.romano@usace.army.mil, or to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch, P.O. Box 3755, Seattle, WA 98124-3755.