Skagit County Commissioners have assigned a new hearing examiner to review plans for a controversial gravel mine in a rural area north of Sedro-Woolley. The move comes in the turbulent wake of what critics called a “semi-incoherent, absurd” final decision by the previous examiner, which paved the way for Concrete Nor’West to begin developing Grip Road Gravel Mine.
The long-awaited “Notice of Decision,” issued by former county hearing examiner Andrew Reeves, failed to include the fundamentals: finding of facts, conclusion of law and conditions on the project moving forward to address any environmental and public health concerns, said Will Honea, the senior deputy attorney with Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The county is paying William H. Nielsen $35,000 to reconsider Reeves’ decision, according to a contract obtained by Cascadia Daily News. Nielsen, who was appointed Friday, March 1, has 90 days to review the materials and issue a decision on the project that has been stuck in limbo for more than six years.
Commissioners stated Reeves “technically completed” the work on the matter, and he was removed as hearing examiner on the project.
A new hearing examiner was deemed necessary because the commissioners stated they had “no confidence” Reeves would issue a decision on the reconsideration that was meaningful to the concerned parties. The contentious decision issued by Reeves on the special-use permit followed mounting legal pressure after he missed multiple deadlines. Reeves was not immediately available for comment.
Nielsen’s decision will factor in information from recordings from seven days of testimony and thousands of pages of documents submitted to Reeves in 2022.
The Grip Road Gravel Mine, proposed in 2016, is slated to place a 51-acre gravel mine on a 77-acre forested property near Old Highway 99 in Skagit County. Concrete Nor’west plans to log about 68 acres to make room for the mine before hauling about 23 loaded trucks off the property each day for gravel management at other facilities, according to proposal documents.
The proposal was met with stiff opposition from local community members, including those who banded together to form Central Samish Valley Neighbors (CSVN).
John Day, a central member of CSVN, pointed out that Reeves’ decision failed to address public concern about road safety, truck traffic and environmental impacts of the mine — including those on Oregon spotted frog critical habitat.
“In releasing this decision, the County appears to have disregarded, without comment or rationale, years of public concern, study and legally filed testimony on this proposal,” a CSVN news release stated in February.
The group’s lawyer filed the formal “Request for Reconsideration” on Friday, Feb. 8.
Unlike an appeal, the filing asserts that the decision released by the county on Feb. 2 was invalid and requests that a new hearing examiner review the evidence.
“I personally feel betrayed by my county government,” resident Dave Goehring said on Feb. 22. “Their number one job is public safety — and they’re not even considering that.”
The county resolution issued on March 1 stated that the reconsideration was the most appropriate action prior to the board considering any appeals.
Prior to CVSN’s action, Cougar Peak LLC filed a narrow appeal of Reeves’ decision based on the lack of traffic safety conditions. The document called the decision “clearly erroneous” and “wrong” saying the failure to address these concerns put “children on school buses, local residents and employees” at risk. Cougar Peak owns about 800 acres of land directly south of the proposed gravel mining operation.
The appeal argues the traffic impacts on Grip Road from the project “create an unacceptable risk to public safety and therefore require denial under applicable law.”
Isaac Stone Simonelli is CDN’s enterprise/investigations reporter; reach him at isaacsimonelli@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 127.
