We aren't out of the woods yet!
Even though King County has expressed their desire to purchase the property, the price for the quarry may be too high, the funds to purchase may be difficult to obtain and even if all goes well, the timeline could still be quite long. We must still remain diligent in reporting issues we see with the current quarry operation.
While the Periodic Review (released in September 2017 by the Department of Permitting and Environmental Review) outlines 51 conditions for the current quarry, some require updated plans by the quarry (they have 30, 60 and in some cases 90 days to submit their new plans). Others are monitored and enforced by agencies other than DPER (such as Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), King County Department of Transportation). We also were reminded that the quarry was permitted many years ago and King County Code does not allow for some of the updates in environmental standards that we had hoped for.
is to review the new quarry documents as they are submitted to DPER, and possibly hire consultants to refute quarry claims similar to the process we took with the documents for the quarry expansion earlier this year. And we will continue to meet with DPER, King County Department of Transportation, King County Council members, and other departments within King County to gain support and resolution for the health and safety issues as well as the environmental damage caused by the Raging River Quarry.
What you can do:
At this time, the area we feel where we might have the most impact is on the traffic issues. There have been several complaints regarding quarry trucks blocking traffic, trucks leaving the quarry causing traffic to swerve into the oncoming lane, rocks on the road. In our meetings with DPER, we were encouraged to file complaints with the King County Department of Transportation/Roads Division.
Click here for the link to the online complaint form
Please visit our website to read the Periodic Review, read about other ways to file complaints, and learn general information about the Raging River Watershed.
We know everyone is tired of this effort, but we are making steady progress!
Let's keep going!
Thank you!
Raging River Conservation Group
Please note the ANSWER from DPER regarding property issues:
24._The quarry operator shall be responsible for any damage to nearby properties, including domestic water supply wells, attributable to blasting on the subject property. Claims for any such damage shall be the responsibility of the affected property owner and the quarry operator to handle directly between themselves, but a failure of the quarry operator to respond in good faith to any such claim may be cause for denial of future grading permits, or prohibition or restriction upon future blasting.