Iron Mountain Quarry Information - Need to act by 1/19/12

THE GOOD NEWS. The attached SEPA comment letter states “WSDOT has determined that the proposed Iron Mountain Quarry will have a significant adverse traffic impact of SR 104”. This is a big step forward; your SEPA comments late last month are being heard and are effective!

THE BAD NEWS. The attached letter goes on to say “WSDOT also requests these improvements be conditioned to be designed, constructed, and operational within one year after mining production first starts at IMQ”. In other words, IMQ is allowed to start and operate without a guarantee that they will fulfill their traffic mitigation obligation.

If you fully trust IMQ and Pope Resources, then do nothing.

If your trust is limited, request a completion bond from IMQ, which is commonplace in the construction industry. You can do this by contacting the relevant State and County Officials using the email below.

NUMBERS COUNT AND TIMING IS CRITICAL, so start a new email NOW and add the following by copy and paste:

1              In the “To” line insert: hammonp@wsdot.wa.gov; jeffbocc@co.jefferson.wa.us;

2         . In the “Cc” line insert: SeversD@wsdot.wa.gov; dwjohnson@co.jefferson.wa.us;

3         . In the “Subject” line insert: Bond to Guarantee IMQ Traffic Improvement Compliance

4        .  In the text area insert the following text:

Dear Sirs,

Port Ludlow residents profoundly share WSDOT’s concern about SR-104 safety hazards created by the New Shine Quarry and sincerely appreciate that WSDOT has taken a firm technical position in their email Severson to Johnson dated January 10, 2012.

However, SEPA and resulting permits do not normally provide a simple mechanism to ensure that the mitigation is readily enforceable. Our experiences with and information about IMQ raise serious doubts concerning IMQ’s good faith. We therefore request that the State and County take appropriate action to require that an IMQ “time and performance” bond or its full equivalent be in place before the final permits are issued. The cost of a time and performance bond should not be an onerous imposition.

Thank you,

5            . At the end, add your name and address.

6            . You can change and customize the email as you wish.

7           . SEND

Do not delay your email—the deadline is next Thursday,  January 19, 2012

If you wish, you can also send the text by USPS to:

Paula J. Hammond Transportation Secretary WSDOT PO Box 47316 Olympia, WA 98504-7316

Board of County Commissioners Jefferson County Courthouse PO Box 1220 1820 Jefferson St. Port Townsend, WA 98368

Dale C. Severson, P .E. Development Services Engineer WSDOT, Olympic Region P0 Box 47440 Olympia WA 98504-7440

David W. Johnson Jefferson County Department of Community Development 623 Sheridan Street Port Townsend, W A 98368

 

Click Here to see SEPA comment letter.

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