Mine company loses fight for Black River site

By John Dodge | The Olympian • Published April 04, 2008

Quality Rock Products has lost an appeal to expand its gravel mine and build an asphalt plant near Black River National Wildlife Refuge south of Tumwater.

The state Supreme Court refused to review a 2007 ruling by the state Court of Appeals, which agreed with the Thurston County Commission decision to deny the company a special-use permit to expand operations.

The high court's refusal brings closure to a seven-year land-use battle that pitted the mining company against neighbors near its 88th Avenue Southwest mine, as well as conservation groups.

Project foes feared that truck traffic, air pollution and water supplies in a sensitive environmental area around the river and adjoining wetlands would be compromised by the project.

The company did win some rounds in the hotly contested case.

Both the Thurston County hearing examiner and a Mason County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the company, whose officials said expanding the mine from 26 to 151 acres and adding an asphalt plant would not harm fish and wildlife, wells, or river flows.

"Obviously, this was a hard-fought case," said Elizabeth Petrich, a Thurston County senior deputy prosecuting attorney. "The county's position was that the company didn't do enough analysis of the environmental impacts of the project, particularly to the Black River."

Black Hills Audubon fought the project from the beginning and joined the county in court appeals.

"Black Hills is grateful that an asphalt plant will not be adjacent to the Black River National Wildlife Refuge, a mosaic of wetlands in western Thurston County," Black Hills Audubon member Sue Danver said.

Quality Rock president Randy DeAtley could not be reached for comment Thursday.