WDOE should have been at meeting

To The Eagle:

The recent meeting on the Kandoll Road project, involving WADFW, ACOE, county commissioners, CLT/DU, and various property owners seemed to involve the wrong people, based on accounts published in The Eagle. It appears as if the meeting was simply another one touting the benefits, to the fish population, of the project, not examining the effects of the project on adjacent property owners.

As background, the project was done using what is called the ‘Streamlined Hydraulic Project Approval (HPA)’ process. An HPA is required to do any work that may impact fish habitat (http://wdfw.wa.gov/licensing/hpa/). One aspect of the HPA is that compliance with the State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) is required of all such projects, while projects done specifically to enhance fish habitat are sometimes exempt from full SEPA review and compliance.

To be clear, CLT/DU obtained an HPA for the project. There are, however, issues with that permit, as there are with the effects of the project on adjacent landowners, to say the least!

The aforementioned meeting should have involved the WADFW people who processed the HPA itself, not just the people involved with fish habitat restoration. Those are two separate groups within WADFW.

Likewise, the real issue with the project is SEPA compliance and the Washington State Shorelines Management Act of 1971 (RCW 90.58, http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=90.58). And that means someone from the Washington State Department of Ecology should have been invited to the meeting. WDOE is responsible, along with the county, for compliance aspects of SEPA. (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/sma/st_guide/intro.html).

The county is a part of this through ordinances that they have adopted, which deal with various SEPA issues involving wetlands, floodplains, and other waters of the county. The county issues what is called a ‘Substantial Shorelines Development Permit’ SSDP, or a floodplain development permit, after appropriate public review of the project itself. So another individual that should have been at the meeting, if he wasn’t, was Mr. Chuck Beyer, the county’s Building and Planning Department Manager.

Finally, since the Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board (LCFRB) provided funding for the Kandoll Road project, and sponsored it on the application for the HPA, they should also be invited to another meeting.

In general, CLT/DU has now done two projects while circumventing county ordinances. It seems appropriate that the commissioners set up an advisory committee of some sort, which would help the Planning Department decide whether or not any proposed project needed a full SEPA review. After all, the first time a dog bites you, it’s the dog's fault, but the second time it does, it’s your fault!

Regarding the Kandoll Road project, CLT is a real pit bull!

Chuck Wolfe

Naselle