This communication of 3/30/04 was sent to the Washington State Democratic party from John Fabian of the Hood Canal Coalition and was distributed to all party leaders at the county and state congressional district levels.

Pit to Pier - A Future Ecological Disaster

Perhaps the greatest proposed state-wide environmental threat on the horizon is known as the "pit to pier" project on pristine Hood Canal. Fred Hill Materials, a Poulsbo sand and gravel company has received permission from Jefferson County to strip mine 690 acres to depths of up to 200 feet. Rocks would be crushed and shipped down a 4-mile long conveyor belt to a nine-story tall, 1100- foot long pier with a 900-foot T-shaped moorage. This would be a huge industrial port facility on Hood Canal. Here, gravel would be loaded on barges the size of football fields larger than anything operating on Puget Sound today. Later, ore ships the size of NATO aircraft carriers would appear at the port loading 60,000 tons of rock, destined for California, Hawaii, and other Pacific ports.

Thirty years ago, a similar, but much smaller, operation was proposed on Hood Canal. Permits were issued by Mason County for a gravel mine, conveyor belt and pier. Fortunately, a citizens group, the Hood Canal Environmental Council, and the Department of Ecology appealed the decision to the State Shorelines Hearings Board. The Board overruled Mason County and rescinded the permits. They reasoned that such an operation was not compatible with the Canal, with other users, and could open the door to further industrialization. Those same arguments apply today. The scale of this operation - strip mining and marine transportation is a threat to all who love Hood Canal, the Olympic Peninsula and our precious environment.

Ships and barges would transit the Hood Canal Bridge to and from the pier, causing massive traffic disruptions and a potentially disastrous collision that could sever the transportation lifeline to the Olympic Peninsula.

Operating an industrial port facility inherently brings pollutants and toxic substances to an already threatened environment. With the Canal teetering on ecological collapse, we need not add immeasurably to the sources of pollution diesel fuels and fumes, lubricants, and foreign species on ship bottoms and in bilge tanks.

Fishermen, boaters and kayakers, shellfish farmers, and others would soon see, feel, and taste the impacts of pollution. Surrounding property values would sink while oil spills float across these waters. The proposed pier would be in close proximity to the Navy Submarine Base at Bangor, raising significant concerns about national security.

This project is opposed by Senator Maria Cantwell, Congressman Norm Dicks, Kitsap and Jefferson County Democratic Central Committees, 2200 local citizens and 52 separate organizations. Virtually every state-wide environmental organization is opposed. Community associations, businesses, and recreational groups join in opposition.

A citizens group, the Hood Canal Coalition, is leading the fight to protect Hood Canal and the surrounding environment. However, this is an issue that impacts every citizen of Washington. The decision should not be left to the all-Republican Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners and their appointees. Our waterways are treasures for all of our people. Our shorelines have been designated as being of "statewide significance." This is a battle for all democrats. Please join with us.

If you would like to have one of our teams make a PowerPoint presentation to your group, send an e-mail request to fabianj@olympus.net.

For more information, visit www.hoodcanalcoalition.org