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Monday, January 28, 2008

What They’re Doing for You Lately in Olympia

posted by on January 28 at 14:34 PM

Rep. Sharon Nelson (D-34, Vashon) is living up to her word.

Often, when the voters send someone to Olympia, the representative quickly backs off his or her campaign-trail rhetoric and spends warm-up time schmoozing and compromising to make allies so they can eventually get to that stuff they said they’d do. Uggggh.

Not so with Rep. Sharon Nelson.

While Nelson was appointed (she had to win votes from 34th District committee officers … which is about 130 folks), she was certainly sent to Olympia with a specific mandate from the 34th: Fight Glacier Northwest’s mining operations on Maury Island.

And, sure enough, I give you HB 2530—which would upgrade Dept. of Fish & Wildlife licenses for companies doing work that affects fish reserves so that getting the license actually means companies have to protect fish.

The bill deals with licenses in general (and the Dept. acknowledged in testimony before a House agricultural committee hearing on Nelson’s bill that the licenses weren’t strict enough to ensure smart practices), but Nelson has tacked on some targeted language:

Until the requirements of this section are completed, and the legislature can obtain a better sense of the protections offered by chapter 77.55 RCW, the department of fish and wildlife may not, within the Maury Island aquatic reserve created by order of the commissioner of public lands on November 8, 2004, approve or renew any approvals under chapter 77.55 RCW for any commercial, industrial, or barge loading facilities.

Rep. Ed Orcutt (R-18, Kalama)—over $1,000 in contributions from Glacier Northwest—is aiming to kill that section.

RSS icon Comments

1

With a multi-billion dollar restoration plan in the works, it makes no sense to put the largest gravel mine in the US in the middle of Puget Sound.

And Glacier doesn't even own the mineral rights - the citizens of Washington State do.

This mine is a boondoggle all around.

We need gravel for construction, but let's get our priorities straight.

Posted by BigGravel | January 28, 2008 2:48 PM
2

Thanks for this, Josh. Two small tweaks:

(1) When Sharon was appointed, we had 159 Precinct Committee Officers.

(2) We hardly had to send Sharon to Olympia with a mandate to stop Glacier. She had been in the forefront of efforts to protect our part of the Sound for more than 10 years already.

Please tell your Senators and Representatives to approve HB 2530, as written, no amendments. Thanks.

Posted by ivan | January 28, 2008 2:50 PM
3

Sorry, Dude, everybody's way too going crazy over ECB's posts right now. Bad timing.

Posted by DD214 | January 28, 2008 3:04 PM
4

Josh,

Thanks for this one.

Sharon Nelson has distinguished herself as a regional leader for environmental protection-both on and off the island-for years.

This marine mine is so lame. There is a huge mine with decades worth of gravel on Grouse Ridge east of North Bend. We need to protect what little undeveloped shoreline remains on Puget Sound if we ever hope to bring it back from the brink of collapse.

The money changers have obviously visited Mr. Orcutt, early and often.

Posted by Freedom Boy | January 28, 2008 3:33 PM
5

A politician who sees the right legislation through to its end. Well done, Rep. Nelson.

Posted by laterite | January 28, 2008 3:41 PM
6

I think Sharon is great, and good for her for getting right down to business. But isn't it the schmoozing that gets the supporting votes?

Posted by watcher | January 28, 2008 7:23 PM
7

go Sharon! fuck conventional politics! we love you fish!

Posted by from east of miss | January 29, 2008 1:52 AM

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