(by Sue Danver) –
Black Hills Audubon (BHAS) is happy to announce that a Settlement Agreement has been completed with Quality Rock Products (QRP, also known as Eucon)! Under this agreement, QRP has signed a Covenant on their mining property adjacent to the Black River National Wildlife Refuge ensuring that neither a concrete plant nor an asphalt plant can be built on that property. This covenant applies in perpetuity and runs with the land. In return, BHAS withdrew its SEPA appeal of the Special Use Permit and five-year review permit concerning QRP’s gravel mining and our right to object to further reviews of the same project or help others do these things. But this settlement agreement will prevent two major forms of industrial development that would increase noise levels, expand truck traffic, and increase air pollution and toxic chemicals in the Black River watershed and its productive habitats for wildlife.
The Special Use Permit Hearing for the proposed expansion of the QRP’s gravel mine was held at the Thurston County Courthouse. A more detailed article describing BHAS’s participation in improving the mine’s future operations will appear in the next Echo. By then we will have the County Staff report, which reviews the history of the mine and project, and the final Hearing Examiner decision.
We appreciate the emotional and financial support of all BHAS members, who are so dedicated to conserving birds and their habitats. Thank you. (by Sue Danver)