Originally published Thursday, December 4, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Comments (3)
E-mail article
Print view
Lease clears way for Maury Island mining project
After 10 years of bitter legal and political skirmishes, work may soon get under way on a huge gravel mine on Maury Island.
Seattle Times environment reporter
After 10 years of bitter legal and political skirmishes, work may soon get under way on a huge gravel mine on Maury Island.
Glacier Northwest, the company that for a decade has tried to expand its small sand and gravel mine on the Puget Sound island, says it wants to start construction as soon as this month, after receiving a critical state lease Tuesday.
The lease, issued by departing state lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland, clears the way for Glacier to begin removing a decrepit dock there, and replace it with a new, longer dock meant to fill barges with gravel.
"This project is protective of the environment," said Pete Stoltz, Glacier's permit manager, who said work on the 305-foot dock could start within a month. "It provides needed materials to the region. This is a good project."
Environmentalists, meanwhile, went to state court Wednesday morning, hoping to get the lease thrown out. They argue a big industrial dock shouldn't be built in a state aquatic reserve, and that shade from the dock and noise of the operation will cause damage.
David Mann, an attorney representing the environmental group Preserve Our Islands, said Glacier might also be blocked for now by a county permit that requires litigation to be over before construction starts.
Stoltz, however, said the company has the approval it needs, and he didn't think the lawsuit would interfere with the county permit.
Goldmark on Wednesday didn't indicate if there's anything he could, or would, do about the lease. But he said in a statement that "we are looking at options for the state to make sure the Sound is not harmed."
Environmentalists were fuming Wednesday over what they see as a parting shot from Sutherland, a Republican, and a gift to Glacier, which donated $50,000 to a fund to re-elect Sutherland.
Environmentalists backed his opponent, Democrat Peter Goldmark, in the November election. They had recently sent a letter to Sutherland asking him to leave the lease decision to the next commissioner.
Amy Carey, president of Preserve Our Islands, said she was appalled that just as a new Puget Sound cleanup plan costing billions of dollars is unveiled, the state gave Glacier the lease for $1,500 a year — roughly $4 a day.
"A latte a day, and how many billions are we spending over the next 12 years to repair the Sound from things like this?" she said.
![]()
Sutherland defended the decision, saying the issue had been before his agency for some time and it was time to act.
"I felt that when the work was done and a decision was to be made, that it was most appropriately made by me," he said.
The price of the lease is set by state law, based on the value the county assessor puts on the land adjacent to the underwater land, according to the state Department of Natural Resources, which Sutherland oversees.
Sutherland said the lease imposed strict environmental conditions on the size of the dock, and required Glacier to permanently set aside land along the shore, to protect it from development. The dock will be mostly a tube, high above the water, through which an estimated 2 million tons of gravel and sand will be funneled to barges each year.
He also noted that the state Department of Ecology, King County and the Army Corps of Engineers have also issued permits for the project.
Environmentalists are asking a federal court to reject the Corps of Engineers permit, arguing it will hurt federally protected chinook salmon and orcas.
Warren Cornwall: 206-464-2311 or wcornwall@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Jerry Large: Issues of aging affect all
Seattle-area homebuilder losing projects to foreclosure
Trees vs. houses: Narrow, leafy street is last chance for two Madrona homes waiting to be moved
Court rules partial fence not enough for burglary
Health-plan costs soar for individuals

Gen. David Petraeus: Iraq and Afghanistan Wars
Watch highlights of General David Petraeus discussing the Iraq and Afghanistan War at the Global Leadership Series sponsored by the World Affairs Council.
Entertainment | Top Video | World | Offbeat Video | Sci-Tech
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
Tax tips for new independent professionals
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new SUV? Weigh the impact your choice will have on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
nwhomes

Find a new home or condo that fits your lifestyle.
Search New Developments
Builder Directory
- Key lawmakers warn of Boeing no-strike ultimatum
- Hemmed-in Ballard house to rise above
- UW Football | Tailbacks David Freeman, Brandon Johnson ineligible
- Seattle-area homebuilder losing projects to foreclosure
- Health-plan costs soar for individuals
- Trees vs. houses: Narrow, leafy street is last chance for two Madrona homes waiting to be moved
- Experts work to untangle US, Korea cyber attack
- Drunken man shocks Spain with his generosity
- Nickels gives City Light chief $40,000 bonus
- Coffee City | New "sexpresso" stand coming to Ballard
- Mass. files lawsuit against federal marriage law
905 - Key lawmakers warn of Boeing no-strike ultimatum
599 - Health-plan costs soar for individuals
301 - Mariners game thread, July 8
186 - Judges strike broad ban on Washington's Plan B rules
157 - Teen charged in pit bull attacks ordered held after pleading not guilty
135 - Sheriff's Office: Man not armed when fatally shot by deputy
118 - Trees vs. houses: Narrow, leafy street is last chance for two Madrona homes waiting to be moved
73 - Wednesday night notes
58 - Pay parking in West Seattle?
56
- Hemmed-in Ballard house to rise above
- Key lawmakers warn of Boeing no-strike ultimatum
- Seattle-area homebuilder losing projects to foreclosure
- Health-plan costs soar for individuals
- Rick Steves' Europe | Beware of new and classic travel scams
- Happy Hour | Ruth's Chris has super rib-eye sliders and quality cocktails
- All You Can Eat | "Top Chef": Seattle chefs tapped for Bravo knife fight in Vegas!
- Trees vs. houses: Narrow, leafy street is last chance for two Madrona homes waiting to be moved
- Grab the kids and hop on Amtrak for a stress-free getaway to Portland
- All You Can Eat | Oceanaire files bankruptcy, shutters Seattle, former chefs weigh in









