EDITOR’S NOTE: This report has been corrected to reflect that Mark Miloscia is a state senator.
OLYMPIA — A state Senate committee has scheduled a hearing this week to determine whether the state Department of Natural Resources acted properly in determining the amount the Navy would pay for a 55-year easement that restricts development on Hood Canal aquatic land.
The easement blocks a project known as “pit-to-pier.”
The Accountability and Reform Committee is scheduled to address the topic at 8 a.m. Thursday in Senate Hearing Room 2 in the John A. Cherberg Building, 304 15th Ave. S.W., Olympia.
The pact between DNR and the Navy, which went into effect in August 2014, is a barrier to a Thorndyke Resources proposal to build a 998-foot pier on state-owned tidelands 5 miles south of the Hood Canal Bridge.
The Poulsbo company plans to transport gravel from a quarry at Shine on a 4-mile conveyor belt to the pier, where some 6.75 million tons of gravel would be loaded on barges annually.
The pact between DNR and the Navy covers more than 4,800 acres of Hood Canal aquatic lands in a strip of state subtidal lands stretching from the Hood Canal Bridge south to just below the border between Jefferson and Mason counties.
Amount paid to DNR
The agreement has the Navy paying DNR $720,000 for the easement that restricts development in the area around Naval Base Kitsap, just north of Silverdale on the Kitsap Peninsula, and gives the Navy unrestricted access to waters for military exercises.
That amount is too small, said Dan Baskins, Thorndyke Resources spokesman.
“I don’t see how they could charge that amount when the land was assessed at $1.6 million,” he said.
Thorndyke Resources had approached committee chairman state Sen. Mark Miloscia, a Republican from Federal Way, to request the hearing, according to Baskins and Miloscia.
The company has lost two court challenges of the easement, in Kitsap County Superior Court in May and in U.S. District Court in September.
Thorndyke has appealed and is waiting for the Court of Appeals to assign time for oral arguments, a process Baskins said could take from four to 18 months.
A DNR spokeswoman said court decisions support the easement.
“As shown by the repeated court victories on this issue, the agency behaved appropriately, and in the best interests of the state,” said Sheila Kaiser.
“We are proud of the Hood Canal easement, which is a historic win for national security and the environment.”
Opponents to the project, led by the Hood Canal Coalition, have focused on possible environmental effects, traffic and the potential impact, including collisions, of multiple Hood Canal Bridge openings required by up to six barges a day.
No judicial powers
Miloscia said the committee has no judicial powers,
“There are a lot of unanswered questions as to how the DNR arrived at the price and got fair and reasonable value,” he said.
“If we determine that something didn’t follow the law, we will write legislation that will clarify the state law and make sure things are done right in the future.”
While it has no legal weight, Baskins expects the committee’s reaction to the case will be brought up in the courtroom by the prevailing side.
“Using the law and legislative intent is commonly used in court case arguments,” Baskins said.
Miloscia said DNR and Thorndyke will have an equal amount of time for presentations.
Baskins will give Thorndyke’s presentation, accompanied by company attorneys.
Speaking for the DNR at the hearing will be Megan Duffy, deputy supervisor of the aquatics and geology divisions, and Matthew Randazzo, senior adviser to Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark.
“It is unusual for us to be asked to be invited to a work session where litigants against the state will be presenting information and we are then asked to speak on issues pertinent to that pending litigation,” Kaiser said.
“We have informed committee staff that we may be not able to answer certain questions given those legal concerns, but we will certainly participate in good faith.”
Miloscia said the committee will fulfill its purpose as a watchdog over the executive branch, which includes the DNR.
“At the end of the day, whether it’s legal or not is unimportant,” he said.
“Being legal is not always the same as being right.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
