Sundberg Gravel Mine

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The Sundberg Mining Pit is an abandoned gravel mine in the City of Olympia and at the headwaters of the Butler Cove Watershed and Green Cove Watershed. The property appears to be controlled by Gerald Mahan with a development corporation and registered agent in Puyallup, Washington. The City received a complete proposal to build 181 houses on the site in February, 2019.

Notes

• 2016 article describing a 2016 proposal from the same building at the same site that was withdrawn - http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com/2016/08/former-sundberg-mining-pit-proposed-for.html

• The 2013 "no further action" determination by Ecology was based on an extensive review of underground fuel tank cleanup sites completed by a contractor for Ecology, and was unlikely to have considered other concerns or claims about the site.

• State Mining law RCW 78.44.131 indicates "All reclamation activities shall be completed not more than two years after completion or abandonment of surface mining on each segment of the area for which a reclamation permit is in force." It is unclear that reclamation has occurred at this site.
• At a community meeting on 3/1/19 the lawyer for the developer stated that he would recommend to the owner that he submit to a toxics investigation, if it met their criteria and was paid for by neighbors.
• Several neighbors claim that over the last several generations truckloads of toxic materials were dumped and buried in the glacial swales on the site.
• The City is maintaining a record of the preliminary plat proposal - http://olympiawa.gov/news-and-faq-s/construction-news/green-cove-park.aspx

Documents

• File:Riner 2019 opposition to development.pdf - letter to the City in opposition to proposed development on 22 Feb 2019 from adjacent neighborhood.
• File:WDOE 2019 sundberg mine cleanup summary.pdf - describes actions supervised by WDOE. It provides ID numbers necessary for records requests. In 2013 Ecology determined "no further action" because petroleum/diesel levels were below cleanup. This appears to be related to a tank cleanup in 1993. There are no digital records. Paper records would need to be reviewed to determine the extent of sampling used to make that determination.
• File:Cereghino 2019 objection to the green cove gardens development design.pdf - comments based on rapid technical review describing a case for initiating SEPA EIS based on stormwater impacts to Green Cove Creek Watershed inconsistent with the ratified County and City watershed plan, and the risk of contamination in an unregulated landfill documented on site.
• File:Robinson & Sayre 2019 opposition to green cove development with attachments.pdf documentation and testimony submitted to the city concerning contaminants at Sundberg Mining Pit.
• File:Hansen 2019 sundberg gravel pit waste extent.pdf - a synthesis estimating the extent of unregulated waste buried at the site based on existing test pits.
• File:Hornbein 2019 green cove delayed review.pdf - notice to developer that review will be delayed due to site complexity.
• File:Thomas 2019 green cove document review analysis recommendations.pdf - review of site issues completed by city contractor.