South Maury Island Environmental Issues - Glacier Northwest's EIS

Glacier Northwest's EIS

In order to mine for gravel, Glacier Northwest is required to provide an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) detailing the proposed scale of operation, which is then reviewed by King County. Sand and gravel extraction could be as high as 7.5 million tons per year, but could also be much lower, depending on demand. Also dependent on demand is the lifetime of the mine, which could be 11 years at full production, up to 35 years before the site is closed. The clearing of ground is proposed to occur in phases of 32 acres (129,000 m²) each, with no more than two phases in process at a time. In order to reduce arsenic contamination, contaminated materials will be contained within a sealed berm, and no contaminated materials will leave the site.

Also stated in the EIS are alternative actions that Glacier Northwest proposes to take in order for them to mine at the Maury Island site, including reduced hours of barging to control noise, mitigation of the Madrone forest, habitat retention for the pileated woodpecker by creating a habitat elsewhere prior to removing the Douglas-fir snags, and the alternative of not only repairing the dock that already exists, but replacing it altogether. This new dock is proposed to be built with the latest technology to reduce shade and contamination, and to extend into deeper water to avoid impacts to the most sensitive areas of the shoreline. Building a new dock would eliminate repeated repairs on the existing dock.