A young Columbian reporter and her fiance spent last weekend picking out towel bars. The couple just purchased a home in one of Ridgefield’s new subdivisions, and towel bars are one of the things that usually aren’t included with a newly built house.
But, the concrete driveway was included. So was the garage floor, and the home’s foundation. The house sits on a paved street, with curbs and sidewalks. All of that construction required sand and gravel.
But aggregate products are not in abundant supply in Clark County, as Columbian reporter Shari Phiel (not the reporter buying the Ridgefield house) laid out in a Dec. 28 story. No one wants a quarry near their home, many areas with potential sand and gravel deposits are environmentally sensitive, and some operators previously have ignored regulations and exceeded permits. But the fact is the county needs an ample and cost-effective supply of these products.
That leaves county councilors with a challenging path to craft the right policies, and county staff with an equally challenging task of enforcing the rules.
Under the state’s Growth Management Act, it is up to counties and cities to identify mineral lands with long-term significance and protect their viability as mining sites through land-use zoning, according to the DNR’s chief reclamation geologist.
But it’s hard to tell whether the county currently has enough supplies or enough mining sites. “We don’t have a good inventory of operating mine sites,” admits Jose Alvarez of the county’s planning department. The construction industry says more mines are needed, and 22 new requests for surface mining zoning have been filed, mostly for rural areas in the north part of the county. Meanwhile, at least one neighbor who claims to have done his research says the county has ample materials for the next 40 years.
According to county records, 10 quarries are active in Clark County. But some of those probably ceased operations since the report was compiled by the state Department of Natural Resources nearly 20 years ago; a DNR employee says the state has no plans to update its inventory. And each quarry provides a different mix of products. J.L. Storedahl & Sons’ Yacolt Mountain Quarry is a source of gravel; Fazio Brothers on Lower River Road is a source of sand. Concrete requires both.
As it works through the growth plan and the surface mining applications, the county is left in a difficult position where there is conflicting information, vocal citizens and attorneys.
“I still have a lot of information that I need,” Councilor Glen Yung said recently. “Everybody expects that concrete truck to be ready for them when they need concrete. Everybody expects there to be roads. The truth is that if we don’t open or we don’t have enough mines that are actually producing at the moment, we do have a shortage and we do have to import from outside the county.” Importing heavy, bulky rock products is expensive and carbon-emitting, be it by truck, railroad or river barge.
The county could hire a consultant to do its own resource survey, but the funds were not included in the county’s most recent operating budget. Even if there was money for a survey, it’s possible current operators would not want to divulge information about their business operations.
Finding the balance may be difficult, but it will be essential. With the county’s population expected to increase by more than a third over the next 20 years, there will be a lot more young couples buying new homes and looking for towel bars.
