The Grays Harbor Economic Development Council is leading the push for a fast
track response to site a steel mill on 400 hundred acres currently covering
Bowerman airfield the Hoquiam sewage lagoon, and waterfront land to the
east. Nucor Corporation is considering this site and sites at Coos Bay and
Clatskanie, Oregon to build its first west coast mill. Nucor wants a
decision by September and to begin construction next May. The Port of Grays
Harbor voted unanimously two days ago to begin the process of selling the
airfield and locating to another site in Grays Harbor County. The city of
Hoquiam will undoubtedly begin the process soon of considering an alternate
site for iis sewage treatment plant so that the current site can be turned
over to Nucor.

There is considerable local enthusiasm for this project. One hundred twenty
jobs are directly connected to it, plus the contruction jobs in building it
and the prospect of other industry moving in.

Grays Harbor Audubon initially thought that this proposal would collapse
under its own weight. Apparantly it will not. I have been asked to consider
the positive implications of this proposal for the Grays Harbor Wildlife
Refuge: maybe more airport land will be made available to the Refuge as
partial mitigation for constructing the mill, for example.

Any thoughts from those of you who know Bowerman Basin?

David Beatty, President
Grays Harbor Audubon Society
DJ Beatty