Permitting Pitfalls
It’s been nine years since a gravel mine was proposed in Skagit County. After multiple appeals and a lawsuit, the application is at a standstill.
Gravel mine off of Old Hwy 99 west of Sedro-Woolley owned by Miles Sand & Gravel during a gravel mine tour with general manager of Miles Sand & Gravel, Dan Cox. A machine is sorting gravel by size into piles. // Photo by Megan Neufeld
Story by Megan Neufeld // Photos by Ian Ferguson
June 13, 2024
June 19, 2024: Please see the update to this story included at the end of the original article.
Grip Road runs east of I-5 through the rural community of northern Sedro-Woolley, WA. It looks about what you would expect of a small, rural road in Skagit County: narrow, winding and steep at times, with quaint farm homes and large trees on either side. This rural road is at the center of an ongoing debate over a proposed gravel mine.
The gravel mine was first proposed in 2015. Nine years later, the mine was officially approved after the hearing examiner was court-ordered to deliver a decision. The decision was immediately appealed by two groups: Cougar Peak LLC and the Central Samish Valley Neighbors.
A new hearing examiner has been appointed to the case. All parties, tired and frustrated by the permitting process, await their decision.
Less than a mile east of the intersections of Grip Road and Prairie Road is a two mile long access road through clear-cut forest. The proposed 51-acre mine site sits at the end of this access road.
Currently, the site remains empty of mining equipment. However, there is already a small pit where gravel was removed by the logging company who cleared the land for timber. The rest of the site is regrown forest.
If the mine is approved, the concrete and mining company Concrete Nor'west, owned by Miles Sand & Gravel, will be removing gravel from the site for the next 25 years. The sand and gravel excavated from this mine would likely be used for residential driveways, septic systems and concrete for highways and buildings.
Eventually, the site will be reclaimed, a process that returns removed topsoil and allows for the forest to regrow.
Dan Cox has been the the general manager of Miles Sand & Gravel since the Grip Road gravel mine was proposed. Cox expressed frustration with the length of the permitting process and the lack of a decision on the mine.
“There is a process for defining the criteria for approving a sand and gravel mine,” Cox said. “Our issue with Grip Road is we have met the criteria, and that's not even being debated, and yet no permit has been issued.”
The beginning of the steep and winding section of Grip Road leading up to the entrance of the future gravel mine May 23, 2024.
The strength of those criteria, however, is being debated by the two groups that appealed the mine’s approval. They claim that the criteria outlined in the permit proposal do not adequately address traffic safety concerns.
Cougar Peak LLC, owns land across from the mine entrance. A mine across the road would bring large trucks transporting gravel. The company, and the family living as caretakers on the company’s property, argue that Grip Road has unsafe roadway widths, lacks wide shoulders and contains blind curves unfit for these large trucks.
Unlike the Cougar Peak appeal, the Samish Neighbors in particular are worried about the environmental impacts of the mine.
“Gravel needs to be extracted and transported in ways that are demonstrably not going to cause an undue risk to the public, to the local residents or to others,” John Day said, a member of the Samish Neighbors.
Day is concerned the mine will damage critical environmental resources, including the nearby Samish river. The mine could potentially harm endangered species like the Oregon spotted frog and salmon species living in the Samish and its tributaries, according to Day.
The permit proposal anticipates an average of 46 trucks per day, or approximately eight truck trips per hour on Grip Road. However, the proposal notes that during high market demand, mining operations may require up to 60 trips per hour.
“There were no limits whatsoever on the numbers of trucks that could run on a daily or hourly basis,” Day said.
Cox recognizes the mine will have impacts. However, he believes these impacts can be reasonably mitigated.
“Surface mining of sand and gravel is always going to have some level of impact. It's not a benign use,” Cox said. “There is traffic, and it can generate dust and noise. But the idea is that you limit the activity and you condition it so that it's reasonable.”
Site of the proposed Grip Road Gravel Mine. The site is currently empty but there is a small pit where gravel was removed by the logging company who previously cleared the land for timber. Forest has reclaimed much of the area.
Martha Bray, a member of the Central Samish Valley Neighbors, stresses the importance of stricter county regulations to ensure the mine doesn’t adversely impact her and her community.
“None of us are against gravel; we all use gravel,” Bray said. “The county has pretty good regulations in place to protect communities and the environment. What we've been trying to do all along is to get the county to impose reasonable restrictions and conditions on this mine, not to stop it altogether.”
The Skagit County Planning Department recommended that the Miles Sand & Gravel permit application be approved. However, the gravel company must comply with certain conditions that have not been made available to the public.
The planning department could not comment on the permitting process because of an ongoing lawsuit. Their former hearing examiner, Andrew Reeves, was sued by Miles Sand & Gravel after failing to meet multiple deadlines to deliver a decision on the mine.
Both the Samish Neighbors and the gravel company expressed frustration regarding the permitting process.
The Samish Neighbors proposed settlement terms with Miles Sand & Gravel, but the company was unwilling to enter negotiations with the neighbors, according to Bray.
“I think when they [Samish Neighbors] slam their fist on the table and say, ‘Hey, no new mining permits,’ it’s really shortsighted,” Cox said.
Cox has invited those interested to come tour a gravel mine and the Grip Road proposed gravel site. As of yet, no one has taken him up on the offer.
“We've gotten to this polarized place where we can't really meet in the middle anymore. We could if they would come to the table and negotiate with us; that doesn't seem very likely at this point,” Bray said.
In March, Skagit County hired a new hearing examiner. The examiner was given a 90-day deadline to review the permit application and deliver a decision on the mine. An updated decision is anticipated in June.
“To me, this is a complete failure of the system to be able to efficiently move a project through to an outcome—whether that's approval or denial,” Cox said.
Update June 19:
On Thursday, June 13, 2024 the same day as this article’s publication, Concrete Nor’west’s Special Permit was approved by the appointed Skagit County Hearing Examiner, William Nelson, allowing the proposed gravel mine. Appeals to this decision must be submitted by June 25.
https://www.skagitcounty.net/Departments/PlanningAndPermit/gravelmine.htm
Megan Neufeld is an environmental studies student who is focused on exploring policy-oriented climate change solutions at the local, state, and federal level.
Ian Ferguson is studying environmental studies to further his passion for the outdoors and to learn more about our world.