Peninsula Daily News
news sources
PORT TOWNSEND – A long-awaited environmental review of Fred Hill Materials’ controversial pit-to-pier project begins this week with a public meeting Thursday about what issues need to be studied in detail.
The meeting is expected to draw scores of Jefferson, Clallam and Kitsap county residents who oppose the construction of the four-mile mining conveyor belt and 1,000-foot dock on Hood Canal.
Executives from Poulsbo-based Fred Hill Materials are also preparing for this first public meeting on the project’s EIS – environmental impact statement – to continue defending what the company and other proponents view as a good business venture.
Michelle Farfan, a planner with Jefferson County Department of Community Development, said Thursday’s meeting in The Commons at Fort Worden State Park is an opportunity for the public to raise concerns and urge the county to study particular issues.
Following the meeting and a comment period that will end Oct. 5, it could take a year or more to draft the impact statement, Farfan said.
The meeting will include a presentation of information to the public from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. with comments taken from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“We’ll be there during the open house with a show-and-tell presentation,” said Fred Hill Materials project manager Dan Baskins.
