Merrily Knutsen appealed a city of Chehalis ruling on a fill project along Dillenbaugh Creek at Thursday's Board of Zoning Adjustment.
Elaine Clark wants to place fill on her 4.2 acres at 821 W. Main St. The project involves the same developers as the proposed fill at the former American Crossarm and Conduit site.
Knutsen, who represents the Chehalis River Council, said she is concerned about the cumulative impact of filling on the water quality of Dillenbaugh Creek and the Chehalis River. She is appealing the city's decision that the fill will not cause a significant adverse environmental impact.
In the winter, the creek provides spawning and rearing grounds for coho salmon, and steelhead and cutthroat trout.
Larry Morris, environmental engineer and agent for Darrell Peterson Construction Inc., said although 25,000 cubic yards of fill were specified in the environmental review checklist for the project on Clark-'s property, the amount would probably reduced to I 0,000 cubic yards.
In Thursday's presentation to the board, Knutsen called on two fisheries experts. Mike Kelly, head of the Chehalis Fisheries Restoration Program at Dillenbaugh Creek, said filling in the floodplain will cause problems in the immediate area and downstream.
About $36,000 has been spent on improving the creek, Kelly said, and allowing fill could cause erosion problems when the area floods.
Mike McGinnis, fisheries director for the Chehalis Indian Tribe, said the tribe has been granted authority over water quality, and will begin reviewing permits for projects affecting the Chehalis River and some of its tributaries.
He said about $250,000 has been spent on river restoration work in the past three years.
"What fill does to creeks like this is constrict them," McGinnis said.
Issues similar to those of the Superfund cleanup site emerged as the meeting continued. Board member Paul Dugaw questioned the city's review process of development projects and permits, and suggested detailed and comprehensive information should be submitted from the beginning.
Under a phased review process, the developer submits permit applications to the city as plans become tangible. This can mean initial applications or checklists, such as the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) checklist, are vague or incomplete.
"My understanding of the purpose of SEPA is to evaluate all environmentally related concerns at the beginning of the project," Dugaw said.
Chehalis Community Development Manager Bob Nacht argued the city's permitting process, which includes state regulations, effectively addresses environmental concerns.
In her testimony, Knutsen requested all further fill projects in the floodplain be delayed until their impact can be analyzed with the use of a computerized hydraulic model.
The model, still under development, has been requested by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Transportation. It will be able to evaluate the fluctuating flows and volumes in a flood cycle.
The city currently uses a 1979 flood insurance study by FEMA to support its policy on developing in the floodplain.
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