Important Port Angeles Shoreline Meetings this Week

Hi all, two important opportunities to provide public comment to the City of Port Angeles on Shoreline Management are scheduled for this coming week:



1. City of Port Angeles Shoreline Master Program open house and public hearing, 6 pm Monday, March 18, Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth Street, Port Angeles WA 98362. Public Hearing begins at 7 pm.


2, The City of Port Angeles is considering next steps for managing a closed landfill located on the shoreline west of Port Angels and east of the Elwha River mouth. Erosion is degrading existing efforts to maintain the old dump site which contains decades of historic garbage. The City installed a seawall earlier this decade to try and slow erosion. Not surprisingly, the seawall is already showing signs of failure and accelerating erosion on the neighboring bluff, jeopardizing one of the closed garbage cells.

Please consider signing onto this letter (attached) to the Port Angeles City Council asking them to adopt an alternative approach to additional shoreline armoring.


The City will be hearing Public Comment on Tuesday, March 19, at 6 pm at the City Council Chambers at 321 East Fifth Street, Port Angeles WA 98362.



Please distribute your comments to any and all of the following:

City council: http://www.cityofpa.us/citycouncil.htm.

Email is council@cityofpa.us

citymanager@cityofpa.us


Board of county commissioners:

http://www.clallam.net/bocc/board_contact.html

E-Mail Addresses

commissioners@co.clallam.wa.us

Commissioner Jim McEntire, District 1 jmcentire@co.clallam.wa.us

Commissioner Mike Chapman, District 2 mailto:mchapman@co.clallam.wa.us

Commissioner Mike Doherty, District mailto:mdoherty@co.clallam.wa.us

Administrator Jim Jones, jjones@co.clallam.wa.us

Email sent to Clallam County will not be received if total file attachments exceed 10MB (see more information).



Wa State Legislators:

Senator Hargrove

Representative Van De Wege

Representative Tharinger

https://dlr.leg.wa.gov/MemberEmail/Default.aspx


Additional questions can be directed to:


Jody Kennedy

Washington Policy Manager

Surfrider Foundation

jkennedy@surfrider.org
206.940.6509



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DRAFT LETTER
March 6, 2013




Mayor Cherie Kidd

Deputy Mayor Brad Collins

Councilmember Sissi P. Bruch, PhD

Councilmember Dan Di Guilio

Councilmember Patrick Downie

Councilmember Max Mania

Councilmember Brooke Nelson



RE: Landfill bluff stabilization project



Dear Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councilmembers:



We believe the City of Port Angeles has a unique opportunity with the closed landfill to restore a section of marine shoreline that offers habitat for forage fish and juvenile salmon, rich recreation opportunities, and a chance to enhance productivity and health of the Elwha River nearshore.



We appreciate that the City of Port Angeles is attempting to address the complicated issues presented by the erosion of the historic dumpsite. Please consider these comments as you make a decision about how best to move forward in managing this site.



The closed landfill presents numerous challenges. The site is part of an active drift cell, where wave impacts continually pull at the shoreline, threatening measures to contain decades of garbage, including toxic materials. Since inheriting the landfill, the City has been confronted with challenges in containing the garbage and addressing the leaching of toxins into marine waters. Now, the City must also address new seawall complications including accelerated erosion of the bluff adjacent to the wall.



Historically, the City has prioritized low cost alternatives for managing problems associated with the landfill. The decision to build a temporary seawall has now caused more problems and greater costs to the community. We are asking that the City take a new approach -- rather than adopt the lowest cost alternative for another short-term fix which guarantees future management problems.



The solution to the problem of erosion of the existing closed beach cell at the Port Angeles landfill is not additional shoreline armoring. The preferred long-term solution to the erosion of the closed beach cell is complete removal and appropriate off-site disposal of all of the municipal solid waste on the existing hill-slope and restoration of the marine bluff. This approach would re-establish natural rates of sediment delivery to the nearshore environment, enhancing habitat for forage fish and salmon. In addition, this would allow for public to enjoy the high recreation values of the site, which could lead to new economic opportunities and improve the quality of life in our City.



cc: city manager, county commissioners and state legislators