PORT ANGELES — A partial startup of construction at the $17 million graving yard begins today with work on a stormwater drainage system.
It will be the first non-archaeological work at the huge on-shore dry dock since Aug. 26, when the project was shut down by state Department of Transportation officials following the discovery of Klallam remains and artifacts.
The shutdown has cost the state $30,000 a day, more than $1.5 million to date, based on terms of the project’s contracts.
The work beginning today on the muddy waterfront acreage just east of the Nippon Paper Industries USA mill is seen as an important step forward toward restarting the entire project.
State, federal and Lower Elwha Klallam tribal officials have been working for 2½ months on how to handle recovery and reburial of remains and artifacts on the property, once a Klallam village called Tse-whit-zen.
No one involved will comment on the talks or estimate when an agreement will be reached — and they have rebuffed attempts by Port Angeles city officials to help in the negotiations.
Meanwhile, completing the drainage work “will help protect the property — and any archaeological materials that may be found — from the winter rains’ Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald said last week.
It will hopefully also demonstrate that work at the graving yard can be done with care and respect for the Klallam culture, he added.
Tribal officials said workers will begin the day with a safety meeting and cultural sensitivity training before heavy equipment begins to slowly scrape away the earth.
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The rest of the story appears in the Wednesday Peninsula Daily News.
