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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
February 17, 2011     Shelton Mason County Journal
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February 17, 2011
 
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- . , , o , . , ......... Shellfish companies fight to farm geoduck in Thurston County By ARLASHEPHARD Continuing more than seven months of legal battles, Taylor Shellfish and Blind Dog Enter- prises filed an appeal in Thurston County earlier this month to be able to construct geoduck farms in Henderson Inlet, fighting the no- tion that the farms' tubes and net- ting constitute shoreline "develop- ment." On February 3, the Shelton- based shellfish companies ap- pealed a ruling made by the Thur- ston County Hearing Examiner at the end of January that geoduck farming constitutes as "develop- ment" under the state Shoreline Management Act (SMA), thus requiring the companies to file a substantial development permit. The companies, along with Ar- cadia Point Seafood, have been fighting to farm geoduck in Thur- ston County since at least July of last year, when all three compa- nies filed an appeal against the Thurston County Resource Stew- ardship Department's adminis- trative decision that the proposed geoduck operations constitute as "development" under SMA be- cause the tubes and netting quali- fy as "construction of a structure." According to court documents, the hearing examiner noted that interpretation of the SMA should lean toward a broader reading of the definitions of "structure" and "development." "The definition of development is in large part the litmus show- ing when a permit is required for a proposed use," wrote Thomas Bjorgen, Thurston County hear- ing examiner in a 20-page order on summary judgment. "Whether or not it is absurd to deem the tarp to make a structure, it is not irra- tional or absurd for the legislature to decide that having parts joined together in some definite matter makes a piece of work a 'structure' "This decision stifles this economic opportunity and the jobs it wiii provide by creating an overly burdensome regulatory process." in applying this prong of the deft- nition of development." Taylor Shellfish spokesperson Bill Dewey said the company has no choice but to challenge the de- cision. "We're already required to ge t Army Corps of Engineer permits for our farms which include a rigorous environmental review," Dewey wrote in a statement. "In addition, new rules being final- ized by the Department of Ecol- ogy will likely be requiring Con- ditional Use Permits for geoduck farms, which is another level of environmental review." Dewey estimates that geoduck farming has provided around $4 million in annual wages over the last 10 to 12 years in south Puget Sound. "This decision stifles this eco- nomic opportunity and the jobs it will provide by creating an over- ly burdensome regulatory pro- cess," he wrote. "We simply can- not stand by and have Thurston County pile on an additional and duplicative Substantial Develop- ment Permit requirement." Dewey noted that the hearing examiner's decision contradicted a 2007 Attorney General Opinion (AGO) that stated that geoduck operations fall under SMA "devel- opment" if they cause substantial interference with normal public use of the surface waters. The opinion stated that since the PVC tubes used to protect geo- duck are not edifices or buildings, they do no constitute "structures." According to the Thurston County Hearing Examiners' sum- mary judgment, however, the AGO analysis ignored the ele- ment of the definition including "any piece of work artificially built." The Thurston County Board of Commissioners will hear the ap- peal at 5:30 p.m. on March 22. ' State Route = ltShelton WA ust minutes ....................... .I.llr .................... Ill lit Inlrf Irllln II IIIIIIrll.lr.I ................................................................................ 1. Tell Them What You're Going to Tell Them. O 00l'ell Them. Advertise In the jour.ai and you*ll rteh more Mano. County opinion leaders tha, any other media available• Affordably• Your #1 Mason County News Source $1n©e 1886 High Low Precip Fahrenheit (In.) February 9 46 26 .00 Februaryl0 48 24 .00 Februaryll 50 30 .00 February 12 48 35 .60 February 13 51 41 .39 February 14 48 39 .77 February 15 44 35 .35 Measurements are recorded for the National Weather Ser- vice at Sanderson Field. The weather service pre- dicts rain showers on Thursday morning, then rain and snow showers later in the day. The night temperature should be around 43. Less than a half an Ilwe Make House Calls! 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