Thurston County Development Services Review Officer

Re: SEPA No. T-94-215, Case No. LL-906, PRRD-68, Plat -606

Dear Environmental Review Officer Ehlers:

As a resident of Thurston County, and with the support of the Board of Trustees of the Chehalis River Council, I am writing to appeal the Mitigated Determination of Nonsignificance for the Preliminary Plat approval for development of a Large Lot Subdivision and Planned Rural Residential Development. The location is the southwest corner of the intersection of Bordeaux Road and Mima Road, Section/Township/Range 9&10/16N/3W.

The Chehalis River Council is a volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of water quality in the Chehalis watershed. Its mission is to promote the conservation and restoration of the greater Chehalis River Basin resources. In addition to being on the board of trustees of the Chehalis River Council, I am a resident of Thurston County and a property owner on the Black River. I respectfully ask Thurston County to withdraw the determination of nonsignficance and to require an Environmental Impact Statement under RCW 43.21C.030(2)(C). This request is based on the following considerations:

1. Revised Environmental Checklist dated June 21, 1996. The information provided in this checklist is inadequate and insufficient to make a determination.

a.The checklist does not recognize that Mima Creek is a tributary of the Black River (3.a.(1)). It does not address the potential for streambank erosion along Mima creek (1.f.).

b.The checklist erroneously asserts that the proposal does not lie within a 100-year flood plain (3.a.(5)). The FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map, Panel 275 of 600, Community-Panel Number 530188 0275 C, shows Zone A (100-year flood) along parts of Mima Creek in Section 9.

c.The checklist is spectacularly deficient with respect to listing of animals observed on or near the site. The Black River is near the site, and animal populations have been described in detail in many studies. For example, Thurston County Parks and Recreation has a "Management Plan for the Black River-Mima Prairie Glacial Heritage Preserve," 1991. Perhaps the most comprehensive study is the "Inventory of Vegetative Communities and Associate Wildlife of Black River Drainage," Washington State Game Commission, 1980. To mention only two that were not circled on the checklist, great blue herons and eagles have been observed near the site. Among mammals, beaver should certainly have been circled. The report "Chehalis River Basin Fishery Resources: Salmon and Steelhead Stream Habitat Degradation," U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services, May 1993, Wampler, et al., identified and mapped a number of beaver dams on Mima Creek including the area covered by this proposal.

d.The checklist answers "unknown" to questions regarding threatened or endangered species (5.b) or whether the site is part of a migration route (5.c). It also indicates that no measures are proposed to preserve or enhance wildlife (5.d). This is particularly troubesome since both Oak Woodlands and Native Outwash Prairies are known to be habitats for a number of threatened or endangered species. For example, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife study cited below states, "A close correlation exists between the distribution of the western gray squirrel, a State Threatened species, and Oregon white oak habitat in Washington (Wash. Dept. Wildl. 1993)." To respond "unknown" to this section of the Checklist does not provide sufficient information for issuance of a DNS.

2. Settlement Agreement and Release. The County and DaPaul, Inc. are bound by a settlement agreement and release (dated April 23, 1996) which states that the Habitat Mitigation Measures approved under the agreement adequately mitigate impacts to the critical areas on the Property under the Critical Area Ordinance. Nevertheless, two issues that affect critical areas should be considered.

a.The Oregon White Oak Woodland is only briefly addressed in the settlement: "The location of the Oregon white oak woodland shall appear on the plat. Oaks in these areas are remote from developable homesites and therefore cutting of these oaks shall be prohibited as a condition of the plat." Oak woodlands greater than five acres in size constitute an Important Habitat under the Critical Areas Ordinance. In April of 1997, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife issued "Management Recommendations for Washington's Priority Habitats: Oregon White Oak Woodlands." This report states, "Oregon white oak stands in Washington are currently threatened and declining (Taylor and Boss 1975, Kertis 1986). Cutting of oaks for firewood, land clearing, land conversion, or activities not inherent to the enhancement of oak woodlands are inappropriate" (p. 30). Although this report makes recommendations rather than regulations, it gives added weight to the value of these unique habitats.

The settlement agreement indicates that the oaks are remote from developable homesites; however, the site plan shows four 5 acre lots that extend across Mima Creek and into the oak woodlands. This is contrary to the settlement and does not provide adequate protection for these critical areas. The mitigation regarding the Oak Woodlands states that future development of the property may require a habitat management plan in accordance with the Thurston County Critical Areas Ordinance, TCC 17.15. Given that the site plan shows lots that encroach into the critical area, such a habitat management plan should be required and reviewed before issuance of the DNS. A suggested mitigation would require that both Mima Creek and the oak woodlands be excluded from lots and reserved as common areas.

b.Although the issue may be closed, it must be stated again that the 51-acre Resource Parcel is not sufficient to protect the Native Outwash Prairie (NOP). The mitigations require, "The Native Outwash Prairie shall be contained within the 51-acre resource parcel." This requirement cannot be met, since the NOP is much bigger than 51 acres. The Coot Company's Habitat Evaluation of 8/25/94 (provided by DaPaul, Inc.) states, "Regardless of the details surrounding the NOP community description relative to species occurrence densities ("dominance"), even the "weakest" definition would likely encompass large portions of this property. Quite simply, the potential NOP habitat here may represent one of, if not the best example of this community within Thurston County" [my emphasis]. The plan, and the agreement, will only protect 51 acres while the rest will be permanently lost.

3. Available information. It appears from the MDNS attachments that the review by the Department of Environmental Health has not been completed. It was not available for review by this commenter. The DNS should not be issued until all information has been received. This is especially true because water resources and waste water treatment are two factors with potential for great environmental impact.

a.Water Resources. The Hydrogeologic Report (dated August 8, 1996) does not indicate whether the aquifer has a hydrological connection to the Black River. I understand that the Black River drainage is closed to new water rights. The subdivision evidently plans to install a large number of exempt wells. These exempt wells are increasingly under criticism (e.g., "Water Quality Needs Assessment for the Western Olympic Water Quality Management Area," 1996, Washington State Department of Ecology Water Quality Program, p. 5 - 40). Before a DNS is issued, the County and the Department of Ecology should be encouraged to seek a legal opinion as to whether their current interpretation of the exemption is within the intent of the law.

b.Waste water. The impact of 70 septic systems should be evaluated by Environmental Health before a DNS is issued. All of the property in question is an aquifer recharge area identified by the County as being of the highest level of sensitivity. The hydrogeologic report suggests that there will be an increased nitrate impact, but it will be within County rules. The impact on Mima Creek should also be considered. The Department of Ecology has a TMDL study for the Black River which requires a 49% reduction in fecal coliform loads at the site nearest the mouth of Mima Creek (Upper Chehalis River Basin Evaluation of Total Maximum Daily Loads Summary Report, 1994, p. 9.).

In closing, I want to commend Thurston County planners for their efforts to ensure that these critical areas are protected. This is particularly appropriate because of the unique and historic character of the property in question. Arthur R. Kruckeberg, in his "The Natural History of Puget Sound Country," said that "Nothing so captured the imagination and whetted the curiosity of explorers and pioneer settlers as that unusual and enigmatic landscape, the Mima mounds. . . . Mima Prairie epitomized the mound phenomenon and in fact is the ‘type locality' for all such singular microrelief wherever such mounds occur in other parts of the world" (p. 290.) A great deal has already been lost and only a tiny fraction preserved. When the mounds are gone, they are gone forever.

Sincerely,

Margaret Holm Rader

11521 Holm Rd. SW

Rochester, WA 98579

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