ADAGE Approval Process Fragmented in Mason County

The way the county is going about this approval process is leaving me feeling less than secure that our elected officials are looking out for our best interest. (See my blog "Staff Driven" dated Dec 19, 2009 for more on how Mason County really works.)

On April 6 I asked the Department of County Development (DCD) what the county process will be and what I heard is that it is going to be quite fragmented. DCD Planning will take the SEPA (State Environmental Protection Act) application. DCD Building will get a piece of it to issue permits for building construction. Public Works or County Roads will consider traffic and transportation issues.

And get this: the county commissioners have no rulings or public hearings. The one county public meeting that must be held is before the Hearing Examiner.

As of April 6 around 1030 am DCD Planning had not received the SEPA application. That's at the county level.

But at the regional level the focus will be less diffused. Accordingly, the ORCAA review is the best place for us to learn more about whether ADAGE will cause a degradation to our air quality. On April 5 on this blog I posted what I learned about the issue of air pollution and the involvement of ORCAA.

There are more questions than just about air quality that need to be answered. Do we have the water supply capacity to support this operation? A question for the city since the water will be supplied via the PUD 3 financed water line going out to the Port. What happens to the waste water - where will it go? Will the waste water harm shellfish production in Oakland Bay? What about the woods - will the removal of slash damage the forests in the long run? Where does the ash go after the woody bio mass is burned? If there isn't enough slash will ADAGE resort to burning trees? If there isn't enough woody bio mass then will we then allow this facility to burn garbage?

I'm really concerned that we are going to be guinea pigs because this will be the first plant of its kind built by this multinational firm. ADAGE is a joint effort by Duke Energy and AREVA, a French firm that is mainly involved in nuclear facilities.

Now is the time for us to be involved and learn all that we can. It's going to take some real attention from all of us to protect the environment and the economy.

I plan to attend meetings today, April 7 and will ask questions and post answers. Please check back for more on this.