Council OKs rezoning near Yacolt mine

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The Clark County Council voted to approve a zoning change of 107 acres of land near the Yacolt Mountain Mine to allow for storage of dirt collected from the current operation, with the condition that operators cannot mine the location for 10 years.

The council unanimously approved the change Dec. 11, which applies a surface mining overlay to land to the south of the current mine. 

The zoning change has attracted the attention of surrounding residents. Throughout the hearing process, they have expressed concerns regarding current mine operations. Noise and potential contamination of the nearby environment from mining and truck traffic in and out of the mine on rural roads have been the main points of contention. 

During an August meeting, residents’ concerns managed to sway the Clark County Planning Commission, ultimately leading them to recommend denial of the zoning change. County council would vote differently, with Councilor John Blom noting that the vote would not have any immediate impacts on existing operations.

“If we deny the overlay it’s not going to make anything any better for any of the residents,” Blom said.

Alongside the zoning change, J.L. Storedahl & Sons, the mine operator, signed a covenant on the land, promising not to mine it for 10 years.

Bo Storedahl, representing the operator, estimated about 70 million tons of aggregate remained in the current mine, which given the current maximum number of truck trips equaled about 30 years of mining operation. The dirt stored in the area with the overlay expansion would be used for reclamation at the existing mine site once that area is exhausted of material.



Councilor Jeanne Stewart noted that the operators will have to go through a conditional use permitting process before it could begin storage, which could include an environmental review. She expressed concerns over the existence of areas with the potential for landslides as well as runoff into nearby streams.

“We have a lot of exploration to do before we even make application to move forward,” Storedahl said, adding he believed an environmental review was likely.

Councilor Julie Olson pointed out that one of the charges for counties like Clark that plan under the state Growth Management Act is to protect mineral and resource lands. Olson acknowledged that relationships between the county, mine operator and residents had not been ideal in the past, pledging that the council would work to bettering communication and enforcement in the future.

“Nothing that we’re going to do today is going to change … the concerns that you have, and we’re going to address those immediately,” Olson said.

Stewart said she believed that enforcement specifically of gravel trucks on nearby roads had been spotty.

“We need to have it be more spotless going forward … not just talk about it, not have a committee where people think they’re getting results and no results happen,” Stewart said. “We need to actually have the results.”