Mining company to delay dock work restart 4 days

Glacier Northwest mining company says it has agreed to delay for four days its planned resumption of water-based work on a new dock for its Maury Island gravel mine.

Pete Stoltz of Glacier Northwest provided that update late Tuesday. He says the company is agreeing to the delay both in response to a request from state Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark and because Glacier was four days late with its response to an earlier letter from Goldmark.

Stoltz is environmental permit manager for Glacier. He says the "in-water" portion of dock construction has been halted since Jan. 15 because of fish protection regulations. The company has said that under terms of its lease and permits, it would have been entitled to resume that work Aug. 15 but that restart has been delayed for four days.

Glacier Vice President Mark Leatham has also requested a meeting with Goldmark.

Goldmark has voiced concerns about how the company will comply with its existing lease of state aquatic lands in Puget Sound. The lease was granted by Goldmark's predecessor, near the end of his term.