Dear Legislator's
Fred Hill Materials and its surrogates have attempted in the past to introduce
legislation to override Jefferson County jurisdiction over the proposed pit-to-pier
project, industrial marine port facility and large-scale expansion of strip
mining on the Hood Canal shoreline and watershed.
This is to reaffirm the strong opposition of the Kitsap County Democrats to
these attempts to circumvent the will of the people of Jefferson County.
The proposed large-scale expansion of strip-mining and commercial shipping
operations for the purpose of exporting gravel outside Washington State is
opposed by some 62 organizations, including virtually every major environmental
organization in the State.
It is also opposed by the Jefferson and Clallam County residents. The voters
of Jefferson County elected three county commissioners who oppose the project
to replace three who favored it. At overflow Jefferson County hearings, testimony
has run ten to one against the FHM proposal.
In addition, the project is opposed by the U.S. Navy, four different tribes,
Representative Norm Dicks, Senator Maria Cantwell, two Kitsap County commissioners
and the Kitsap Association of Realtors.
The proposed project would threaten the fragile health and future of a cherished
national treasure. It would threaten the shellfish industry and recreational
uses of the Canal.
Multiple daily transits of large ocean-going ships and barges would also disrupt
traffic and tourism via the Hood Canal Bridge by necessitating frequent bridge
openings. It would endanger the bridge itself, as demonstrated by recent bridge
collisions with the San Francisco Bay Bridge. If the Hood Canal Bridge were
to be disabled, the economic impact to the region would be devastating.
We believe the threat of large-scale strip mining and commercial shipping
to the fragile health of the Hood Canal, its watershed and the Hood Canal
Bridge outweigh the profitability of Fred Hill's export business and the few
jobs it might create. Tourism is a much bigger job generator on the Olympic
Peninsula, and the Hood Canal Bridge is its lifeline.
Please help us protect this shared natural resource that is so important to
tourism, our quality of life and the preservation of an already endangered
Hood Canal ecosystem.
Sincerely,
Carl Olson, Chair
Kitsap County Democratic Central Committee