Central Samish Valley Neighbors

Our goal is to protect our community’s safety, environment and quality of life from potential negative impacts of Concrete Nor’West’s proposed Grip Road Gravel Mine

Concrete Nor’West’s Properties in perspective: 700 acres; 1.1 square miles

More than twice the size of La Conner, approximately the same size as Concrete and more than one-quarter the size of Sedro-Woolley 0.4 square miles

1.2 square miles 3.8 square miles

Mineral Resource Overlay

The Mineral Resource Overlay, adopted in 2007 as part of the County’s Comprehensive Plan, designated these areas as available to mining but subject to special use permits.

The site will be stripped of all timber, topsoil and vegetation

Excavation 50 to 90 feet deep -- to just 10 feet from groundwater

Announced excavation volume: 4.2 million cubic yards

Potential excavation volume: 8x this amount – 30-35 million cubic yards

3.5 million cubic yards if filled to the roof

Potential excavation volume: 10 times the volume of the Great

Pyramid of Giza

Well-established ‘rule of thumb’: One 80,000-lb truck&trailer combo causes the equivalent damage of 9,600 standard passenger vehicles (AASHO Road Test)

• 356,666 truck trips over 25 years to excavate 4,280,000 cubic yards

• Mine truck traffic = equivalent of 200,000 cars per day

Standard Truck & Pup Combo

24 cubic yards of gravel, up to 105,500-lb maximum

46 Truck -Trailer combo’s per day for 25 years

LINDA->

Some of our concerns

Large volume of truck traffic on narrow winding roads –

Safety for:

Other vehicles Children Pedestrians Bicyclists

Prairie Road and Grip Road are identified as established routes on the Skagit County Bike Route Map

Noise

Dust

Vibration

from both:

On-site mining operations

& Off-site trucking

Concerns……

HOURS OF OPERATION - ORIGINALLY STATED AS UNLIMITED…. RECENTLY - HOURS MAY BE LIMITED TO MONDAY-FRIDAY -- 7AM TO 5 PM

This does not address : - Hours of darkness when kids catch the bus - Blinding headlights from large trucks on steep curves - Limited visibility for all drivers

MB

Concerns about groundwater supply and the effect of mining on residential wells have not been addressed.

MB->

Concerns…… Impacts to wildlife, the Samish River, and water quality

Concerns…… Two mile-long private haul road – environmental impacts not addressed in proposal

Concerns……

Expansion of the mine in future,

and/or

On-site processing of gravel…..

Gravel Mine Expansion & Scope changes :

Lakeside Industries. Anacortes --

Belfast Gravel Company, Butler Hill

Day Creek Sand & Gravel, S. Skagit Hwy

Concrete Nor’West, Burlington Concrete Nor’West, Kelleher Rd

SEPA ENVIRONMENTAL CHECKLIST

“The checklist questions apply to all parts of your proposal, even if you plan to do them over a period of time or on different parcels of land.” (Actual instructions as listed on checklist)

We expect the applicant will provide accurate information in the application documents. It is very important for residents to know if CNW plans to expand this mine, and if they intend to do any type of processing on-site in the future. JED->

Property Value Impact The negative impacts of new mine development on local property values are clear and irrefutable. According to a well-documented study in Ohio:

• Properties within 0.31 Miles of the mine dropped in value by 25% or more.

• The decline .625 miles away was between 15% and 20%.

• The decline 1 mile away was just under 15%.

• The decline 1.25 – 2 miles away was just over 10%.

• The decline 2.5 – 3.1 miles away was between 5% and 7%.

Within 1 mile: 100 households and 245 residents Within 2 miles: 374 households and 955 residents Within 3 miles: 752 households and 1983 residents

Central Samish Valley Neighbors

• Within 1 mile: 100 homes worth a cumulative $25-$30 million will lose at least 15% in value = $3.75-$4.5 million

• Within 1-2 miles: 274 homes worth a cumulative $68.5-$8.22 million will lose at least 10% in value = $6.85-$8.22 million

• Within 2-3 miles: 378 homes worth a cumulative $94.5-113.4 million will lose at least 5% in value = $4.725-$5.67 million

$15.325-$18.39 million in property equity lost

Central Samish Valley Neighbors

Given a median residential property value of $250,000-$300,000, we can calculate the following impact on our property values:

The $15.325-$18.39 million in property equity lost would result in a loss in county property tax revenue of $150,000-184,000 annually. Over a 25-year period, the projected exploitation period of the mine, the cumulative loss would reach $3.75-$4.6 million for the county budget.

Central Samish Valley Neighbors

These property value impacts are lowball estimates: they do not take into account the prospect of project sprawl to the other parcels currently owned by CNW, which would substantially increase the impacted geography.

BRIAN ->

Permit Process – Past, Present, Future

• March 2016 – Notice of Application, SEPA Checklist accepted

• May 2016 – County’s SEPA Threshold Determination – Mitigated Determination of Non-Significance (MDNS) – County declares that there are no significant barriers to the mine’s development – Community members who are aware of project begin to send in comments

• November 2016 – Notice of Public Hearing for Special Use Permit

Permit Process – Past, Present, Future

• December 2016 – Special Use Permit Public Hearing convened, then cancelled (“continued”) due to inadequate notice to adjacent landowners; Public Comment Period extended – Community members alerted to concerns / many comments submitted

• January 2017 – Community Meeting held at Hoogdal Community Center – more than 70 people attend; Central Samish Valley Neighbors organize further; attorney retained; Public Records Request made by attorney

Permit Process – Past, Present, Future

• February 2017 – Intensive review of documents reveal many errors and discrepancies in application materials

• Early March 2017 – Neighbors’ Attorney sends letter to County re. procedural errors, lack of proper public notice, etc

• Mid-March 2017 – County responds by revoking MDNS and requiring applicant to provide additional info. And , County implies in letter that certain restrictions will be put on the permit (hours of operation; limits on truck trips; etc) It appears that some of our concerns are being heard!

• Late March 2017 – Neighbors invite County and Concrete Nor’West to 2nd Community Meeting, CNW declines; Second Community Meeting held at Samish Elementary School ; Community provides input.

WE ARE HERE –

Permit Process – Future • Future dates unknown TBD – CNW provides additional

info/studies to County; Community provides input to County on scope of additional info/studies;

• County issues a revised SEPA determination (MDNS or Environmental Impact Statement required);

• Community comments on SEPA determination (usually a two- week comment period; determination can be appealed);

• County releases revised Staff Report and issue Notice of Special Use Permit Public Hearing;

• Community reviews and submits comments on proposed

Special Use Permit. Comments can usually be submitted up to the day of Hearing, then it is ‘closed’.

• Community and CNW attends Public Hearing; Hearing Examiner issues decision (decision can be appealed)

25 YEARS IS A LONG TIME …….

Many unanswered questions: What hours of mining operation will work for the community?

What hours of gravel truck operation (to/from the mine) would be safe?

How will truck traffic affect peak traffic hours and school bus routes?

How do we know truck traffic will stick to the proposed haul routes?

What improvements need to be made to County roads to keep us safe?

How can the roads be made safe for bicycles and pedestrians with the increased truck traffic?

Who pays for ongoing damage to County roads?

More ….????????????

How will wildlife feeding, resting, and movement across the landscape be affected?

How will groundwater and domestic wells be protected?

What guarantee do we have that the mine will not be expanded in the future?

What guarantee do we have that gravel processing will not occur in the future?

How do we know that the conditions placed on the permit will be monitored and enforced in the future?

MANY IMPACTS ARE NOT REVERSIBLE

We need accurate and complete evaluations BEFORE Permitting

• Road Safety Analysis

• Traffic Impact Assessment

• Truck Haul Routes – clarity on where/when

• Haul Road Evaluation

• Noise, Dust & Vibrations

• Complete Wetland/Critical Area Evaluations

• Fish & Wildlife Assessment

• Hydro-geological study - impacts to Groundwater

• Hazardous Materials Storage and Spill Plan

Accountability….

From Mining Special Use Permit (SCC 14.16.440):

The Hearing Examiner shall consider all relevant evidence and conditions that will mitigate detrimental impacts to the environment and conditions that protect the general welfare, health and safety. The permit shall be granted if the impacts are

mitigatable. The burden of proof shall be on the applicant…..

We deserve transparent responsive government that puts the community’s safety and quality of life first…

Linda->

ENJOYING FAMILY AND FRIENDS IN THE BACKYARD

Diverse wildlife habitat along the Samish River

68 acres…

25 years

SHARING THE OUDOORS ALONG THE SAMISH RIVER -- RAIN OR SHINE

Central Samish Valley Neighbors Please help us protect our community’s safety and quality of life.

Email: gravelpitcsvn@gmail.com

Website: Centralsamish.wordpress.com/

Donate: www.gofundme.com/gravel-pit-fundsafetyenvironment/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/csvn2017/

Please fill out the comment form……………..Thank you for coming!

END

Central Samish Valley Neighbors If you have questions we cannot answer we will do our best to try to find answers if you email gravelpitcsvn@gmail.com. There will be many questions that cannot be answered until we have the additional studies and evaluations from Concrete Nor’West. Please be patient with us, we are a small group of your neighbors with limited time.

DONATIONS

Central Samish Valley Neighbors(CSVN) have opened a joint checking account. This account will require two signatures to withdraw any funds. The Account is listed as CSVN –Larry Hedgepeth & Linda Walsh, at Skagit Bank. We are a not a formally formed group and therefore must have individuals listed on the checking account. As many of you know there is a gofundme.com campaign set up to help us manage the donations. The fees associated with that are 7.9% fee + .30 for each donation which is deducted by the gofundme foundation before it is deposited. To donate online you can use your credit or debit card. Any donations received tonight will not have those fees deducted, we will deposit them directly to Skagit Bank. We will provide complete account of any deposits and any funds used. The funds donated will be used for expenses such as consultants and other experts who will review and provide us with reports, and expenses such as the facilitator. As we have said before that the cost for the Traffic Consultant to review any traffic reports starts at $2200.00 but we fully expect it will be closer to $4000.00 before we are done. If we have additional experts review the Wetland reports or other documents those will be additional fees. We are extremely fortunate to have all the Attorney’s fees covered by our generous anonymous donor. Thank you for all your support.