Columbia River Gorge Commission hears appeal over Zimmerli mine drainage, disputed water resources

The Columbia River Gorge Commission convened an oral-argument hearing on an appeal of a Clark County land‑use decision on a proposed mining operation at the Zimmerli property, focusing on whether an unpermitted roadside drainage ditch and multiple on‑site seeps and springs must have been included and analyzed in the applicant’s land‑use filings.

Nathan Baker, senior staff attorney for appellant Friends of the Columbia Gorge, told the commission that "the ditch was constructed without the required land use permits" and that the ditch and related drainage features were hydrologically connected to the mine and therefore should have been treated as structures and included in the application. Baker cited a 1997 consent decree and maps in the record he said show the ditch, culverts and ponds are part of a single drainage system that has carried muddy mining water off site in the past.

Baker said the hearings‑examiner decision erred in several ways: treating the drainage features as "existing" so they need not be part of the application; concluding the stormwater…