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The Thurston County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing on Tuesday August 9, 2011 regarding proposed extension to the county’s mineral extraction and special use permits interim Ordinance No. 13030.
The public hearing was held to accept comment on the possible renewal of Interim Ordinance No. 13030. Specifically, this ordinance affects mineral extraction and asphalt production activities. It addresses the minimum designation criteria such as set back standards, site size, and various environmental considerations. Please read below for more information.
Status
Companies that intend to build asphalt plants, gravel mines, or
conduct any other type of mineral-extraction activities must get a
special-use permit from the Thurston County Permit Assistance
Center. Currently, the ability to get a special-use permit is
limited under Ordinance 13030. Approved by the Thurston County Board of
Commissioners in 2003, this ordinance is an interim measure that
grants Thurston County time to update its permitting ordinance. This
interim ordinance has been
renewed several
times and remains in effect today.
The Thurston County Planning Commission is currently working on
recommendations for updating the special-use permit ordinance for
mineral extraction and asphalt plants. (The first public
hearing was held April 21, 2010 for the mineral extraction
special-use permit. The Planning Commission will hold a second
public hearing to take comment relating to the special use permits
for asphalt plants later in 2011.
Click here
for a timeline.) An updated draft of the special-use permit
ordinance for mineral extraction, with the Planning Commission's
changes, will be available soon.
Background
In August 2007, Thurston County Board of Commissioners established an Asphalt Advisory Task Force of citizens, agency and industry representatives to study and make recommendations regarding the siting and permitting of asphalt plants in Thurston County. (Click here for meeting notes.) This Task Force was appointed to build upon the work of the Mineral Lands Task Force (MLTF) appointed in October, 2003 when Interim Ordinance No. 13030 was established to prohibit the designation of new mineral lands, the permitting of new gravel mining operations, and the permitting of new asphalt plants. This interim ordinance was established as the county reviewed the designated mineral lands of long term commercial significance as part of a seven-year review of the Thurston County Comprehensive Plan, as required by the WA State Growth Management Act (RCW 36.70A.050).
The 9-member AATF included representatives first from those who participated in the MLTF and then from referrals from those members and solicitation from the public. The AATF met for ten facilitated work sessions, toured two asphalt plants and invited an expert panel for a question and answer session so they could gain perspective on the current technology and state-of-the-knowledge regarding asphalt processing, operation, environmental permitting, and regulation. The ultimate objective of this group was development of a report with recommendations for the siting and permitting of asphalt plants and use of recycled asphalt in these plants.
The members of the asphalt advisory task force met for a final meeting on March 16, 2009 to review their past work, and agree on the recommendations that will be presented to the Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners. The recommendation report is available below.
Asphalt Advisory Task Force Final Report of Recommendations (PDF
97KB)
Contact Us
Interested Parties: If you would like to be added to our Web Mail list, please click here. Staff contact: Olivia Story, Assistant Planner. Phone: (360) 754-3355, x5477 E-mail: storyo@co.thurston.wa.us
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