January 14, 2004
Vol.10, No. 3

Proposed gravel mine on Hood Canal runs into trouble

Fred Hill Materials, owner-operator of a gravel mine in Jefferson County, has run into serious opposition to its plans for greatly-expanded mining operations, which include a proposed conveyor belt to a pier on Hood Canal, for shipping the materials to market by barge, and by 60,000-ton ore ships.

After the Jefferson County Commissioners approved an environmental impact statement for a major land-use change to accommodate operations at a proposed second mining site, a coalition of local groups & citizens, spearheaded by the Olympic Environmental Council, appealed successfully to the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board. The Board sent the case back to Jefferson County because the county failed to comply with the State Environmental Protection Act. The county is ordered to conduct additional environmental impact studies, including aspects of a pit-to-pier project. In addition, the county has been directed to evaluate various alternatives, including a "no action" decision that would eliminate a special land-use category and allow Fred Hill Materials to mine only 10 acres at a time. The Board will evaluate the county's efforts in response to this order at a "Compliance Hearing" on April 14, 2004.

A motion for reconsideration has been denied by the Board.

It is widely assumed that the mine owners hope to sell millions of tons of gravel to the successful bidder in the next round of third-runway work at Sea-Tac Airport.

 

Hood Canal Coalition

Growth Management
Board Decision