On Wed, 10 Sep 1997, David Beatty wrote:

> So what do you do when your home town Port Authority decides to bring a new
> steel mill next to one of the premier shorebird staging areas on the Pacific
> coast? (Yes, Bowerman Basin)
>
> So what do you do when the plan is to replace a sewage lagoon and an
> airfield with a storage rail yard? (Yes, the Hoquiam sewage lagoon, and
> Bowerman field).

It sounds like we need lots of specific information.

1. Do the local enthusiasts claim that in the vast
Aberdeen-Hoquiam area there is only a single site suitable for this
enterprise? If so, why? Has anyone challenged that claim? Has anyone
looked for an alternative site?

2. What is the actual plan? What would the facility be like and
where would it be located? The airport is a large piece of land, and the
plant itself might be located far from the refuge.

3. What kinds of wastes does such a plant produce? How would
such wastes be handled? There must be half a zillion regulations about
sewage and toxic wastes that could be used to (a) mitigate the effects of
the project, (b) get the locals up in arms over the dangers of poisoning
their air and water, or (c) stop the project completely.

4. Surely the airport itself must have economic benefits. Has
anyone looked into these benefits in comparison with the proposed plant?
Bringing that factor into the picture might at least be used to argue that
a plant should not be sited at the airport, even if it's desirable in the
general area.

5. They have to have some kind of sewage pond to handle their
wastes. Surely opponents can argue that it is insanity to destroy the
sewage pond in one place only to create another one somewhere else.

6. I imagine the noise pollution from such a plant would be
terrible. Are there ordinances that regulate noise? Can this factor be
used to force them to move the plant elsewhere or stop the project?

7. Who really stands the benefit, from a strictly economic point
of view? In a deal like this, I imagine one or two fat cats get rich and
most folks get nothing. That's information we ought to have to fight the
claim that this is a wonderful project that's good for everyone.

There are probably a lot of other important questions to be asked,
but I can't think of them right now. This could be the local fight of a
lifetime, and I hope no one is just giving up on it. Last night I caught
a program on TV about Wallace Stegner, the writer who was so involved in
various conservation efforts; the program made it clear that the pen of a
good writer is a powerful weapon, and that if a lot of people feel
passionate about an issue like this, they can win their battle. Let's
hear more about this project, get some questions answered, and find out
what can be done about it.

Burt Guttman guttmanb at elwha.evergreen.edu
The Evergreen State College Voice: 360-866-6000, x. 6755
Olympia, WA 98505 FAX: 360-866-6794

Reunite Gondwanaland!