Okanogan County hearing examines 10-year extension and permit-area change for Cascade Concrete gravel pit

Okanogan County’s hearing examiner on May 7 heard an application from the Washington Department of Natural Resources to extend a conditional use permit for the Lewis (Cascade Concrete) gravel pit near Winthrop and to expand the county-permitted area to match a 20-acre surface mine reclamation permit. The DNR asked that the permit be extended for 10 years, through 2035, while neighbors urged explicit limits on disturbed acreage, hours, noise and road-maintenance liability.

The issue matters because the DNR’s aggregate removal royalties fund the common schools trust for Okanogan County and because the pit sits adjacent to several residences whose owners say ongoing truck traffic and backup beepers have created persistent noise and road wear. "We want to be good neighbors and figure out how we can live together over the next 10 years," resident Bill Bridal said, asking that the permit explicitly limit operations and require mitigation.

Pam Wilson, Planner II for Okanogan County, summarized the application and staff review, saying the county’s SEPA responsible official issued a mitigated determination of non-significance and that no appeals were filed. "Before you today is an application for conditional use permit submitted by Kelsey Stanton, mining and minerals program manager for DNR," Wilson said during the…