Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout056 Wold Verbal CommentJan Wold's public comments on August 19, 2025 for public hearing on the proposed Carson (Rock Island Shellfish) 2-acre oyster farm near Shine Road. I am Jan Wold and I have lived on Shine Road next to Hood Canal for 12 years. I spent over three decades as a public servant. I learned over the years the importance of public input for the best possible decisions of government and for public support for those decisions. First and foremost, the county needed to start this permit process over to align it with the permitting regulations and to provide the required public input opportunities. There has been one egregious error after another, all of which have limited or eliminated the opportunity for appropriate public input. I would ask that you thoroughly examine the complete summaries of these failed processes as they have been documented by my neighbor, Marilyn Showalter. Since Jefferson County did not elect to correct these errors in this permitting process, it is now necessary for you to direct the county to correct them and to start the public process over to ensure that the required public involvement can occur. There has not been adequate analysis or mitigation of the environmental, recreational, visual, safety and navigational impacts. This project has not adequately addressed the requirements of the Shoreline Management Act for no net loss and has not adequately reviewed the cumulative impacts of this oyster farm. These are requirements for the permit under the Shoreline Management Act. There are many examples of the deterioration of Hood Canal and Puget Sound. A number of species, some listed as threatened and endangered, such as Chinook salmon and marbled murrelets have had their numbers dropping precipitously as the acres of commercial shellfish farming expand more and more. I believe about 30% of all of Washington's tidelands are under permit for shellfish farms. I have provided extensive written input on the continuing net loss of these species and their food sources. A change to mechanical harvesting with a tulip bulb digging machine is being added to shellfish farms in Hood Canal. This adds to the impact of these farms on Hood Canal. Cumulative impacts need to be addressed with the addition of this oyster farm, all active and proposed shellfish farms in the north portion of Hood Canal as well as any farm expansions and additions of mechanical harvesting. The county should have required a complete listing of all of the shellfish farms in the area and considered all of the cumulative impacts from them. Other cumulative impacts such as reduction of phytoplankton and other food web species due to filtering by unnaturally high numbers of shellfish in the many area shellfish farms were not evaluated. This is of particular concern where these food web species are the basis of the food chain of a number of threatened and endangered species. My written input covers this topic in depth. Hood Canal is a very high wind area, especially in the vicinity of the Hood Canal Bridge and this proposed oyster farm. In February, 1979, there was a wind gust of 120 miles per hour with sustained winds of 85 miles per hour. The high winds in this storm caused the west end of the Hood Canal Bridge to sink. This proposed oyster farm is about one thousand feet from this part of the bridge. The system of rebar and oyster bags in such a high wind area is not appropriate. There is already a large problem in this area with debris from commercial shellfish farms. The rebar and other apparatus proposed for this farm is a navigation and safety hazard, especially for boaters, sailboarders, paddle boarders and kayakers. This is an even greater problem due to the location between two public boat launches and three public parks within about a half mile in both the east and west directions. It should not be permitted. There has been a great deal of un-permitted activity on this property both in the Hood Canal shoreline buffer and the uplands. A very large solar panel was added without permitting in the shoreline buffer. It is an eyesore for boaters as well as anyone crossing most of the length of the Hood Canal bridge, made even worse when the sun hits it. I hope my recent three comment letters that were sent to the County have been or will be provided to you. Thank you for the opportunity to comment.