PORT ANGELES — The long battle over whether an Elwha River rock quarry violates a critical-areas ordinance took another turn Monday.
Clallam County’s three elected commissioners determined they don’t have the legal authority to rule on constitutional claims raised by Little River Quarry owners Mike Shaw and George Lane.
On a separate track, the county lawmakers set a May 25 closed record appeal of a hearing examiner’s decision that the 40-acre quarry on Olympic Hot Springs Road qualifies as an erosion hazard.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge George L. Wood signed an order denying the county’s motion to dismiss the appeal of Shaw and Lane on Feb. 12.
In part, Shaw and Lane argued that the county is not treating them equally under the law.
“We believe we are not the proper venue for the constitutional issues they raised,” said Commissioner Mike Chapman, after a pre-hearing conference at the end of a three-hour work session.
Erosion hazard
Clallam County Hearing Examiner Pro Tem Lauren Erickson ruled in June 2009 that the quarry, which has a 40 percent slope, is an erosion hazard.
Planners in the county’s Department of Community Development said the steep slope, soil composition and non-consolidated rock qualifies the quarry as an erosion hazard.
While the quarry can still operate, the erosion hazard designation means that Shaw and Lane must develop a stormwater management plan to comply with the county’s critical-areas ordinance.
No decision was reached when the commissioners held an initial closed record appeal on the matter in September. Shaw and Lane cited discrepancies in county code during that hearing.
Motion to dismiss
The commissioners decided they did not have the legal jurisdiction to rule on the hearing examiner’s decision, and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Doug Jensen filed a motion to dismiss the appeal.
“Superior Court sent it back to us and told us to make a decision on the hearing examiner and to make a decision on the constitutional issue,” Chapman said.
Clallam County commissioners act in a quasi-judicial role in the appeals process. Any decision made by the commissioners can be appealed to Clallam County Superior Court.
Shaw and Lane are being represented in court by Craig Miller and Lawrence Freedman.
Miller, Freedman and Clallam County lawyers will hold a series of briefings before the closed record appeal hearing in late May.
The Little River Quarry operated without county approval under the Forest Practices Act from 2007 to 2008.
In March 2008, the state Department of Natural Resources withdrew the quarry’s permit after an appeal from nearby residents.
The state found that the operation didn’t meet the requirements of the act because its primary purpose was to mine and sell rock rather than forestry.
Some neighbors have opposed the quarry on environmental grounds since it was proposed in 1998.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.