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HomeMy WebLinkAbout135PORT GAMBLE S'KLALLAM TRIBE 31912 Little Boston Rd. NE - Kingston, WA 98346 August 9,2017 Subjec* Pleasant Harbor Master Planned Resort Project Dear Board of Commissioners, On behalf of the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe (Tribe), this letter is to inform the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) of our ongoing concerns with the proposed Pleasant Harbor Marina and Golf Resort LLC Master Planned Resort (MPR). We understand that the proposed MPR and developer agreement will be discussed at BOCC's August 14 meeting and want to make you aware that Government-to-Govemment consultation between Jefferson County and the Tribe regarding the proposed MPR is not yet complete. We request that the BOCC arrange for a meaningful tribal consultation process in response to the Tribe's concerns before making any decision with regard to the developer agreement or regulations for the proposed MPR. The Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe is the successor in interest to Indian bands and tribes signatory to the 1855 Treaty of Point No Point, l2 Stat. 933.r Today the Tribe retains deep cultural and economic ties to the surrounding waters and to their fisheries in its usual and accustomed grounds and stations (U&A). More than a century of federal court decisions have fleshed out the components of the treaty right, including the right of access to places, the right to a share of harvest to meet tribal moderate living needs, and the right to protection of fish habitat. Maintaining access to the entire terreshial and marine landscape that was used by tribal ancestors is also of critical cultural importance, and helps to define the Tribe's identity. The proposed Pleasant Harbor project is located within the Tribe's U&A, in an area where tribal members depend on fish, shellfish and wildlife. MPR Impacts to Cultural Resourcp! Ordinance No. 0l-0128-08 requires 30 special conditions including consultation with the Tribes regarding cultural resources, and potentially one kettle preserved as a cultural resource (Ordinance 0l-0128-08 t63j]). The Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO)2 has notified Jefferson County that the proposed action would impact the integrity of Kettles B and C, which by oral accounts have cultural and spiritual significance and contribute to regional Native American history. The Traditional Cultural Properties at this site meet multiple federal criteria that render them eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. The MPR would be located in an area with high probability for I United States v. ll/ashington,459 F. Supp. 1020, 1039 (W.D. Wash. 1978) (hereinafter Boldt ll). 2 ln lgg2 the U.S. Congress adopted amendments to the National Historic Preservation Act (P.L. 102-575) that allow federally recognized Indian tribes to take on more formal responsibility for the preservation of significant historic properties on tribal lands. Specifically, Section l0l(dxz) allows tribes to assume any or all of the functions of a State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) with respect to tribal land. www.achp.gov/thpo.html Board of Commissioners, Jefferson County 1820 Jefferson Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368 j e ffbo cc@co j e fferson. wa. u s PORT GAMBLE S'KLALLAM TRIBE 31912 Little Boston Rd. NE - Kingstory WA 98346 encountering cultural resources according to the Washington Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) WI SAARD database. The Tribe has great concem with the County and developer's plans to remove 20,700 sq. ft. of wetland and associated buffers in and around the largest kettle, Kettle B, for the purpose of creating a control pond for storing stormwater and treated wastewater. The Kettle B wetland would be cleared of vegetation, filled and lined, eliminating any opportunity to evaluate cultural resources linking the Tribe's ancestral ties to the land and water. The proposal provides inadequate compensatory mitigation for these effects with the plan to manufacture a wetland in existing Kettle C that would also serve as a stormwater runoffbasin for the MPR. We do not consider this plan to be acceptable for compensating impacts to cultural and natural resources and we do not in anv v,ay consider this to be a preservation of the Kettle. MPR Impacts to Water Ouality The Federal Clean Water Act and Federal Rivers and Harbors Act require authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) for impacts to waters of the U.S. The jurisdictional determination (JD) from the Corps for the proposed MPR expired on March 27,2012, and we are not aware of any efforts to obtain a new JD. Proceeding without authorization from the Corps would be in violation of federal law. Ordinance No. 0l -01 28-08 (63 h,i,o,p,q,r) requires a detailed review to ensure that water quality issues are addressed. In multiple letters to the County, the Tribe has provided comments concerning the potential for water quality degradation from the proposed MPR project for surface and groundwater. The developer proposes to remove existing trees and vegetation replacing it with impermeable surfaces and landscaping. The MPR would increase vehicular traffic along highway, roads and parking lots, resulting in water quality impacts in Hood Canal through stormwater runoff, which has an impact on the Tribe's fish and shellfish resources. The proposed MPR project would be located in an aquifer recharge area and would significantly impact kettle ponds and wetlands, in addition to potentially impacting the adjacent marine waters. Our May 1,2017 comments included recommendations for changes to the draft water quality monitoring plan and for the development of a response plan to be carried out in the event of a water quality issue. The Tribe has not received any response from the County or the developer regarding how they will address these concerns and whether the recommendations would be implemented. The proposed MPR would be located in an area of importance for tribal fisheries and any water quality degradation would have an impact on tribal treaty rights. The economics analysis for the MPR did not incorporate risks of impacts to fisheries, an existing economic base in the area for tribal members and others. MPR Impacts to Adjacent Properties Jefferson County's Unified Development Code Title 18, Chapter 18.15 for master planned resorts requires a description of how the MPR relates to surrounding properties, and how its design and arrangement minimize adverse impacts and promote compatibility among land 2 PORT GAMBLE S'KLALLAM TRIBE 31912 Little Boston Rd. NE - Kingston, WA 98346 uses within the development and adjacent to the development ( I 8. I 5.126 ( I Xg)). The County and the developer have not provided any such description for the proposed MPR. On multiple occasions the Tribe has commented on the potential impacts of the proposed MPR on adjacent shellfish harvesting areas. The proposed MPR would be located just minutes from two adjacent public beaches, on the Duckabush and the Dosewallips fuvers, which provide both significant commercial and ceremonial/subsistence harvest opportunities to the Tribes with Usual and Accustomed fishing rights in the area and to the public. The proposed MPR would create an increase in visitors, both temporary and permanent residents, intensiSing the harvest pressure on the Duckabush and Dosewallips tidelands. Natural recruitment of bivalves in Hood Canal is sporadic and increased pressure from additional harvesters without an annual enhancement would result in a decline in the existing resource over time. In 2015, the Washington State Dept. of Health (DOH) reported that one water sampling location on Dosewallips and two locations on Duckabush were in Threatened status and additional locations on each tideland were falling into Concemed status. ln 2017, we received notice from DOH regarding Hood Canal #3 Growing Area on the Duckabush River.In response to DOH marine sampling near the mouth of the Duckabush River, failing the 90tr' percentile fecal coliform NSSP standard in 2016 and 2017, DOH will be downgrading a portion of the Hood Canal #3 Growing Area to Conditionally Approved status. The area will be closed to shellfish harvest seasonally, when fecal coliform levels are highest (May through October). Additional MPR system overflows or contaminated stormwater runofffrom the increase in impervious areas in these sensitive areas could result in poor water quality in the Duckabush and Dosewallips Rivers leading to additional downgrades in status or area in regards to shellfish in the tidelands. Closures and downgrades of these tidelands due to water quality issues have a cultural and economic impact on the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe. The Tribe has not received any response from the County or the developer addressing these significant concerns. MPR hpects to Wildlife Ordinance No. 0l-0128-08 (63L) requires the applicant to develop a Wildlife Management Plan focused on non-lethal strategies in the public interest in consultation rvith the Department of Fish and Wildlife and local tribes. The Tribe is concerned about impacts to the elk herd that forages to the west of this project area in the lower end of the Duckabush River Valley and the development of an "attractive nuisance" in the form of highly alluring elk and deer forage opportunities. The construction of lawns and fairways proposed as part of this MPR will create an "attractive nuisance" that will increase the frequency at which elk cross highway l0l. Coupled with the projected increase of more than 4,000 vehicle trips per day, the "attractive nuisance" poses a significant risk to human health and the viability of the elk herd. The contractor that produced the recent Wildlife Management PIan did not do so in consultation with our tribe. We were not even aware that the Wildlife Management Plan was being developed until August 2,2017, when the final edition was forwarded to us by the County's Dept. of Community Development. While the new plan promises some J PORT GAMBLE S'KLALLAM TRIBE 31912 Little Boston Rd. NE - Kingston, WA 98346 improvements in reducing vehicle collisions, it still does not address our concerns regarding preventing elk from shifting their home range east of highway l0l. The plan takes a passive approach to protecting the elk herd by proposing to take action only after the elk have entered the property. Our wildlife expert has recommended scientifically credible preventative measures that have not been incorporated into the plan. Our requests for the developer and the County to meet with Tribal and WDFW staffto discuss wildlife management issues have been ignored. Tribal Consultation Jefferson County's tribal consultation process for the proposed MPR over more than a decade has been and continues to be seriously flawed. The Centennial Accord (1989) and the New Millennium Agreement (1999)3 established a basic framework and provide the general foundation for relations between the Tribes and Washington State, an! are applicable to local govemments. A meaningful tribal consultation involves much more than scheduled "technical meetings" with no follow up, no response to the Tribe's concerns, and very limited communication with regard to the developer agreement and code amendment process. It is very concerning that the Tribe has not been invited to review the developer agreement or participate in its development, even though the document includes information regarding the Tribe and its treaty rights. More appropriate tribal consultation would involve close coordination with the Tribe on the developer agreement language and other documents before moving forward, particularly those documents that attempt to describe the Tribe's history and treaty rights. We would expect an immediate response to these concerns and clarification of the County's process. In addition, we request that BOCC arange for a more meaningful government-to- government consultation process with the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe before any decision is made to move forward with the proposed MPR project. Please contact me at (360) 297-6342 or ieromys@,psst.nsn.us. Thank you. wk_ Chair, Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe Cc: Phillip Morley, Jefferson County Administator Patty Chamas, Director, Jefferson DCD 3 Govemor's Oflice of Indian Affairs: http://www.goia.wa.gov/govemment-to-governmenUdata./agreement.htm 4 fyrt'UI /6]{ Jo\n5pn,E",L, Excc..,r\'*". D ;rtok' Octobe ' ZolZ' " Lo*t\ Go* cAtaexr {- tol t U'dr 'st''iJ t"h Co"^\ (q*r,"^.r-.f i"^ tvd,^=L,L* o"^ S'L*<- ." Oq -''Pl ^, WA' \.das\,, ,^6b ,^ St.{E Ast o.i.^\ or-', dp G.a^ f v.-, ,,._ t-r.,r^1..8= oF U.a Co..r^ti*a lj,-- lVf.r^. 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