Letter to DOE Finds Simpson/Olympic Panel Public Notices Lacking Necessary Information

Submitted to Shelton Blog by Katherine Price Mason County Progressive

DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY
Water Quality Program IV Industrial Stormwater
Post Office Box 47696
Olympia, WA 98504-7696

Re: Public Notices, Shelton-Mason County Journal:

1. Simpson Lumber Co.
2. Olympic Panel Products

Enclosed are photocopies of the following:

Public notices published in the Shelton-Mason County Journal on May 26, 2011, and June 2, 2011, in connection with Simpson Lumber Company.

Public notice published in the Shelton-Mason County Journal on June 2, 2011, in connection with Olympic Panel Products.

Both of these businesses operate in the Shelton Harbor. Pursuant to these notices, citizens are directed to provide comments to the Department of Ecology. In the past few days, under the erroneous assumption that Ecology was the source of these published notices, I have left numerous telephone messages with several Ecology staff, including:

Steve Eberl (Water Quality)

Paul Stash (Industrial Storm Water Facilities Manager)

Joyce Smith (Water Quality Program)

Mr. Eberl referred me to Mr. Stash and Ms. Smith, who have not yet returned my telephone calls. I imagine Mr. Stash and Ms. Smith are as confused by these notices as the public might be; or as the public is intended to be.

These notices lack references to any permits pending, such as a permit number, or references to any statutory authority by which they are published and by which the thirty (30) day comment period would be applicable.

Because of the lack of actual information in the notices, they fail miserably as public notices and any thirty (30) day comment period should begin following properly provided public notice that actually provides the citizens of the area affected with sufficient information to track down underlying documents and make informed comment.

Notwithstanding the above, and based solely on the limited information provided, I believe both entities have been provided sufficient time to take the required level 3 corrective action, and I therefore respectfully request that they not be granted any extension of waiver, and certainly not one until December 31, 2011.

It is impossible to tell from the notices what activities requiring permit modification besides the implementation of the level 3 corrective action are being sought and, therefore, I respectfully request that the modification(s) be denied at this time in their entirety.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and for denying both of these modification requests.

For your convenience, I am enclosing a copy of this letter as well as a return envelope. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter on the copy and return it in the envelope provided.

Very truly yours,

Katherine Austin Price
Shelton, WA

/kap
Enclosures