Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Majority of public comments oppose project
Residents can make their voices heard at 1 p.m. Wednesday at 411 N. 5th Street in Shelton on a permit application for a proposed Taylor Shellfish floating oyster bag farm in Oakland Bay.
According to the hearing examiner webpage, the permit will allow Taylor Shellfish to grow Pacific oysters and install a floating oyster bag system in Oakland Bay, which will take up an estimated 9.1 acres of surface water within a 50-acre area that will be used for floating oyster gear.
According to Mason County planner Luke Viscusi, his department received 49 comments from the public about the project, with four in support, 43 with concern or in opposition and two comments neutral to the proposed project.
“It has been a substantial part of my last five months. I’ve had over 200 interactions with members of the public through email, phone calls, and in-person conversations in that time,” Viscusi wrote in an email to the Journal.
The hearing examiner has 10 business days after the hearing to make a final decision about the project. Once the hearing examiner issues a decision, a permit is appealable to the Shoreline Hearings Board within 21 days, either by project proponents or opponents.
According to Viscusi’s staff report, about 30 double-lines of oyster bags and 60 anchors would be installed with about 30 feet of spacing between the rows of oyster bags. There could be up to 30 screw anchors installed in the center of each line.
The gear is expected to remain in place, but can be removed for a few weeks for fishing access for the Squaxin Island Tribe.
The farm will be used for oyster seed and oyster grow-out cultivation intended for human consumption. The bags are made of a UV-resistant, high density polyethylene mesh and the dimensions are 48 inches by 48 inches. The bags will be arranged in double rows oriented in a northeast to southwest direction. Each row of bags will be secured by a headline that is 1,800 feet.
The current use of the proposed area for the farm is low-intensity recreation, which includes recreational boating and tribal fishing. Oakland Bay is characterized by calm waters and soft, sedimented bottoms.
In the county’s 2012 Shoreline inventory and Categorization report, Oakland Bay was identified as the only major industrial area in Mason County. The bay is an active shellfish aquaculture bay with a variety of shellfish species that support tribal, recreational and commercial harvests, and restoration activities.
The hearing was originally scheduled for May 24, but Taylor Shellfish requested an extension until June 14 to provide information in response to public comments. Taylor Shellfish received a second extension to respond to additional requests for information regarding public access.
According to the Viscusi’s report, a conditional use permit is not required due to Mason County code permitting floating aquaculture in aquatic shoreline designations with a Shoreline Substantial Development permit.
The project will impact the public use of waters subject to the public trust doctrine, but it does not mean the project violates the public trust doctrine, which can only be decided by a court, according to the report. As mitigation for the 9.1 overwater acres made inaccessible by aquaculture gear, Taylor Shellfish is proposing to formally grant public access to 16.6 acres of tidelands owned by the applicant and work with Oakland Bay Marina to provide assistance for improvements to their boat launch and related facilities.
While the project is 50 acres, boaters can navigate and recreate in the areas of water provided between rows of floating oyster bags, according to the report. Between each row of oyster bags are about 30 feet of water that is publicly accessible, according to the report, but Taylor Shellfish also said recreation at the site of the project is extremely low currently and most recreation is from those using kayaks or fishing along the shoreline.
While the project area is used for recreational boating, it is unclear how much use the area receives.
“Since there is no commercial navigation in the area of the project, the approximately 9.1 acres of public access that the project is removing affects recreation (ie., boating, kayaking, swimming, fishing, etc.). It would be impossible for the applicant to replace the acres rendered inaccessible with new acreage that provides for the exact same types of recreation,” the report reads. “The applicant would essentially need to find a way to create new public water. Instead, the public access sites proposed as mitigation in the Public Access Memorandum (Exhibit 23) provide other recreational opportunities, such as landing or launching personal watercraft, sunbathing, fishing, and walking the beach.”
The project would be visually evident, but not obtrusive, according to the aquaculture sitting study prepared for the state Department of Ecology. An aquaculture siting study is intended to be an environmental assessment tool for use in evaluating and regulating aquaculture facilities. The aquaculture sitting study used in the report is from 1986, but the Department of Ecology still considers the study to be the best for management practices for determining visual and aesthetic impacts. Taylor Shellfish intends to minimize the visual effect of the project by using colors and materials that blend into the surrounding environment when possible.
The project should help the water quality, according to the report. As filter feeders, shellfish are recognized as playing an important role in maintaining water quality, helping to clean up after the impact of the growing population of marine wildlife.
“The Habitat Management Plan (Exhibit 8) states the following: ‘Bivalves remove more nutrients from the water column than they input as feces or pseudofeces (also known as biodeposits), which can have a net benefit to water quality,” the report states. “Bivalves filter large quantities of organic matter from the water column and assimilate nitrogen and phosphorus into their shells and tissue (Newell et al. 2005). When shellfish are harvested, the sequestered nutrients are permanently removed from the system, also known as bioextraction.”
To view the report or other exhibits relating to the proposed project, go to http://www.tinyurl.com/ykzwpdvp.
Reader Comments(1)
ginnydouglas writes:
Mr Baide. It doesn't appear you personally investigated any of the information in your article; you just repeated everything you got from the County recommendation. This issue requires more scrutiny on the part of everyone in the county and the State. Please take the time to provide your readership with a fair representation of the issue at hand.
08/03/2023, 3:17 pm
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