Summary

Puget Sound’s health at stake as gravel company plans to resume construction
in sensitive Maury Island shoreline habitat

Story

The decision by Glacier Northwest to defy the State Land Commissioner’s request to suspend gravel mining on the shores of Maury Island leaves unanswered questions about the project’s impact on the health of Puget Sound and endangered Chinook salmon and orca whale populations, according to Metropolitan King County Councilmember Larry Phillips. Phillips today called on Glacier Northwest to delay construction and work with the state and county to eliminate the environmental harms associated with Glacier’s planned gravel mining operations.

“I am extremely disappointed with Glacier Northwest’s decision to forge ahead with a project that threatens the sustainability of Puget Sound,” Phillips said. “We must find alternative ways for King County and our regional partners to protect critical nearshore habitat and the marine life they support.”

Phillips authored legislation in 1993 to purchase 1.3 miles of shoreline on Maury Island for conservation, habitat which became King County’s Maury Island Marine Park in 1995. He supported a successfully adopted amendment to prohibit the export of gravel from Maury Island Marine Park.

As Council Budget Chair in 2002, Phillips was also pleased to include county funding towards the purchase of the Glacier property on Maury Island for nearshore conservation purposes (Ordinance 2002-0510). Phillips added more county nearshore protection funding in 2003 (Ordinance 2003-0522) and then went to Washington D.C. to request a federal match. Senator Patty Murray provided a total of $4 million in funding to enable a local/federal partnership to make an offer on the property.

“Commissioner Goldmark is right to proceed cautiously and demand accountability on shoreline impacts,” said Phillips. “Public investment in Puget Sound needs to include efforts to prevent further degradation.”

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