Good Guys Win
by John Fabian
The official end of the state conservation easement appeal process ended on 9/2 when the State Court of Appeals declared the case closed after HOOD Canal Sand and Gravel did not file an appeal to the State Supreme Court. Here is the DNR press release that was issued:
Agreement to protect Hood Canal affirmed: Court rulings in favor of easement stand after gravel firm drops appeal
News Date: SEPTEMBER 7, 2016
Agreement to protect Hood Canal affirmed: Court rulings in favor of easement stand after gravel firm drops appeal
News Date: SEPTEMBER 7, 2016
More than 4,800 acres of pristine Hood Canal tidelands and bedlands will be protected for the future after a Jefferson County gravel firm dropped its appeal of a conservation easement granted the U.S. Navy by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Hood Canal Sand & Gravel appealed a May 2015 ruling in Jefferson County Superior Court that DNR “had the authority to grant the easement to the United States Navy” and the easement “was not arbitrary, capricious or unlawful.”
That decision was affirmed by a three-member panel of the Washington State Court of Appeals in July. Hood Canal Sand & Gravel did not appeal that decision to the Washington State Supreme Court by the Aug. 26 deadline, according to court documents filed last week.
“The people of Washington benefit from this agreement, both environmentally and economically,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark. “The courts’ affirmations ensure our agreement will provide a legacy of protection for a vital marine ecosystem and of certainty for the Navy’s national security operations.”
A federal lawsuit challenging the easement was dismissed in September of last year.
In July 2014, the Navy paid DNR $720,000 for a 50-year restrictive easement on 4,804 tidelands and bedlands in Hood Canal.
As steward of more than 2.6 million acres of state-owned aquatic lands, DNR ensures that the people of Washington benefit from the use of aquatic lands while also ensuring environmental protection of the state’s aquatic resources.