By Marianne Lincoln

Sequalitchew Creek runs from Sequalitchew Lake, through Edmund Marsh, to Puget Sound’s Nisqually Reach, through the City of Dupont, Washington. This is the same Dupont where the Nisqually Indians lived and later welcomed and worked for the Hudson Bay Company at Fort Nisqually.

The Fort had two sites above the Sequalitchew. The first site is a fenced area inside the Home Course, a golf course built there by the Quadrant Corporation near Fort Lake. The second site is also now a fenced area on Center Drive across from the current Dupont City Hall.

In 1832, when the Hudson Bay Company decided on the location for Fort Nisqually, there were native people living around the area. They had camps that they moved between in the summer and winter as berries ripened, camas bloomed, elk and deer hit the meadows, and the salmon were running up the creeks and rivers. The Sequalitchew flowed freely and bore a run of salmon in those days.

Between 1910 and 1913, a dam was built on the creek and water routed to create power. The powerhouse sat on the shore of Puget Sound near the mouth of the creek. Wooden remains of the dam can be seen east of the walking path over the creek near the Dupont City Hall.

From 1959 to 1997, Fish and Wildlife used the lake to rear juvenile salmon and had a hatchery operation from 1976 to 1997.

In the 1950’s, culverts and the Diversion Canal on JBLM created a secondary outlet for the water flowing out of Sequalitchew Lake, which then went out to Puget Sound at Solo Point.

Beavers, vegetation growth, population growth, climate change, and time have been nipping away at the flow of water to the creek. In the summer months, there is no longer water in the creek west of the Edmund Marsh. In the ravine to Puget Sound, there are springs which contribute water to the creek bed and provide cooling under the tree canopy for folks who hike the trail.

To the north of the creek is the CalPortland gravel mine. The coastal area is blessed (or cursed) with a pristine underground layer of small gravel that is much sought after. In addition, the proximity to the coastline allows it to be easily placed on a barge for transport, saving thousands of dollars in trucking costs.

The mine has been in operation for nearly one hundred thirty-five years. Company managers have been active contributors to local charities and concerns. Not all of the property has yet been mined. CalPortland is a subsidiary of Glacier Northwest, Inc. and the proposal that is under consideration at this time is called the Pioneer Aggregates Mine Expansion Project.

This project proposes to use the southeastern parcel of the property for mining, but to be efficiently productive, or profitable that is, they want to dig deeper into the hillside. That deeper penetration will cut into the upper aquifer, the Vashon aquifer.

This project area puts the open gravel mine in conflict with aesthetics and cultural history of the area as well as water flow considerations. In past reviews, historic locations on the northern ridge of Sequalitchew Ravine were a hot topic. The Northeast corner was a burial ground according to Hudson Bay records. The current project has added buffers for tree canopy, left the Methodist Mission site intact, and makes promises to do restoration work that will add water back into the creek.

So on June 20, the hearing began with the Hearings Examiner, explaining procedures and calling the City of Dupont representatives to explain the project. He also explained the Nisqually Tribe had appealed the Cultural Resources portion of the EIS, so that testimony on that part would be held off until the case was argued by the Tribe. The tentative date for that hearing was set as July, 23 and will be a virtual hearing with the parties to the legal appeal online by invitation.

There were 88 submissions in writing and 43 commenters, so several people sent in more than one comment letter.

Issues the city said needed to be considered were:

• Logging
• The removal and replacement of the Kettle wetland
• Ground water management during the course of the mining
• The gravel being mined is projected to run out in 14 years
• The mining will be done in the perimeter of the parcel and then the center
• Dewatering the Vashon aquifer
   ° 60 day pumping test
   ° Installing dewatering wells
   ° Active dewatering will begin at the farthest point, Edmund Marsh and Sequalitchew Creek first
   ° Then passive dewatering
   ° Affected areas will be Old Fort Lake and Pond Lake
• Consistency with the Comprehensive Plan
• Potential Unavoidable Significant Adverse Impacts
• Balancing the mining while preserving the long-term integrity of the natural environment
• Estimated 3-foot lowing of Edmund Marsh east and west
• Kettle wetland removal and replacement
• 10% reduction in flows affecting aquatic habitat
• Warmer temperatures in Sequalitchew Creek
• Potential off-site impact without mitigations
• For the city approval, the applicants must mitigate any impact south and east of Sequalitchew Creek
• Dupont wants to see consistency with their comprehensive plan
• Impacts to parks and cultural resources (historical sites) are a concern

In the restoration plan, there are two new trails, one from the Wilkes Observatory to the Sequalitchew Creek Trail near the shore of Puget Sound and another from the North side of the Sequalitchew Trail upland to the mouth of the creek.

There is a city site plan consistency evaluation that includes traffic, dust control, light emission, visual screening, loss of tree cover, noise emissions, environmentally sensitive critical area wetlands, species impacts, and flood plains. Wetland and lakes that are affected include Sequalitchew Creek, the creek floodplain, the west end of Edmund marsh, Wetlands #7, #8, #9, #10, Old Fort Lake. There is potential for a requirement for compensatory water storage for the work removing and restoring Kettle Lake and the other three small wetland to the south and west for fish and wildlife habitat.

They will need to address concerns for slope stability along the edges of the gravel mining areas to prevent slope failure or landslides.

Concerns will be addressed for nearby development areas and offsite critical areas.

Plans are being made for 108 identified landmark trees, there is a DNR approved reclamation plan.

It was nearly noon at this point and the city opened for questions from the Hearings Examiner. He asked about whether the plans are going to affect any private wells. The city responded that there are no private wells in the area. (There are city wells.)

Next CalPortland made their statements about the project. First that Pioneer Aggregates, CalPortland and Glacier Northwest, LLC are all the same company. They are one of only two quarries on Puget Sound that can load barges, saving money and impacts on trucks on roads. 80% of their product is transported by barge. Growth in the Puget Sound region is creating the demand for more sand and gravel.

They stated the reason they want to dewater the aquifer is because it is a relatively high groundwater table area in the south parcel. This is a link to their plans.

CalPortland also pointed to their proposal to do extra restoration work to Sequalitchew Creek in return for having the opportunity to access this additional gravel in the south parcel. They project there will be a five to 20-fold increase in creek flow from the work they have offered to do.

At this point, other public comment was opened for those who could not return after lunch. The group broke for lunch at 1:05 p.m. to 2:05 p.m.

Significant comments were from Weyerhaeuser in support of CalPortland, Dr. Karen Caputer who is a tribal cultural resource professional who has worked for the Secretary of the Interior, Dr. Corey Larson PhD of Evergreen State College Native and Indigenous Programs, and Corey Shelby of a non-profit trading group for sand and gravel.

After lunch many people did not return. The room of roughly 80 dropped to 35.

After lunch speakers included Judy Norris and Beth Elliott of Dupont, a spokesperson from the Washington Department of Ecology on behalf of the Southwest Region Director Bobbak Talebi, Sean Arent from the Clover Creek Restoration Alliance, Renee Buck, a Dupont resident who happens to also be President of the Chambers Clover Watershed Council, Christina Manetti of the Garry Oak Coalition, several Dupont and local watershed residents, a local middle school science teacher, and Marianne Lincoln who was Historian of  the Descendants of Fort Nisqually Employees Association.

A final comment from the City of Dupont was a reiteration of their interest in this project generating no net loss.

In order to save time in the hearings room, the Hearings Examiner allowed responses and rebuttals to be submitted in writing by Wednesday, June 25. These can be sent to Barbara Kincaid, bkincaid@dupontwa.gov.

Here are a few photos to help understand the area.