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 hearing.

Kelsey Stanton, mining and minerals program manager for the Department of Natural Resources, explained that the DNR leases the site to Cascade Concrete under an aggregate removal contract and that DNR seeks to align the county conditional use permit with the state surface mine reclamation permit. Stanton said the surface mine reclamation permit covers 20 acres while the actual current excavation and disturbed area is 7.14 acres. "The surface mine reclamation permit area is 20 acres… the final excavation acreage and the disturbed acreage is 7.14 acres," Stanton said. She added that the lessee has historically removed roughly 10,000 to 14,000 tons per year and expects about 100,000 tons over the next decade, a level Stanton said would not represent an increase in intensity.

Stanton also described limits already in the DNR contract and the county staff report: no blasting, no asphalt or concrete processing on site, material may be stockpiled on the DNR parcel but is transported off site, and operations are proposed to remain within daytime hours. She told the examiner that two proposed county conditions (identified in the staff packet as conditions 6 and 9) raised DNR concerns and that DNR requested those be removed. "Point number 9 … would put Department of Natural Resources liable if any material from the site was to travel to a different property," Stanton said, and she characterized the proposed inspection-attendance requirement as atypical.

Neighbors who live along the access route off Highway 20 urged specific permit conditions. Resident Bill Bridal asked that the permit expressly limit the disturbed area to 7.14 acres, prohibit structures, exterior lighting, fencing, crushing and blasting, and require reclamation milestones. "No structures, no exterior lighting, no fencing, no crushing or blasting. The acreage of the project should be explicitly limited to 7.14 acres," Bridal said. Several nearby landowners supported Bridal’s requests and asked that the county or the DNR/lessee bear responsibility for road maintenance rather than individual underlying property owners.

Chris Johnson, who said he and his wife are prepared to sign a DNR lease, asked that the conditional use permit address impacts such as road wear and reclamation timing and said he supported neighbors’ requests for noise and reclamation conditions. He and others said they could hear backup beepers at their homes during operations and supported equipment changes. Cascade Concrete representative Luke Hughes said his company supports working with neighbors, has ordered lower-noise backup devices ("growlers") and plans to raise berms and plant vegetation to reduce noise and visual impacts. "I plan on working with the neighbors to resolve the problems like backup beepers," Hughes said.

Several speakers requested a site visit and a stakeholder meeting including DNR staff, Cascade Concrete and interested neighbors to review which portions of the site have been reclaimed and to clarify reclamation timing. Stanton and county staff clarified that different authorities and agreements govern different issues: the DNR aggregate removal contract (a state contract), the state surface mine reclamation permit (regulated by the DNR surface mine program under RCW/WAC provisions), and right-of-way agreements that allow DNR and neighbors to use the access road. Stanton told the examiner those rights-of-way and reclamation oversight are managed by different DNR divisions and therefore some neighbor requests fall outside the conditional use permit’s direct scope.

No formal action or vote was taken at the hearing. The record shows public testimony, DNR and county staff explanations, and requests from both the lessee and neighbors for specific permit conditions and clarifications. The hearing examiner did not announce a decision during the session; next steps will follow the county’s administrative process for the conditional use permit record and subsequent written determination.