 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2018) |
| Abbreviation | POI |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Website | www.preserveourislands.org |
Preserve Our Islands (previously known as Protect Our Islands) is a grassroots organization, created by Senator Sharon Nelson and residents of Maury Island, Washington, United States, [1] that is opposed to Glacier Northwest and their efforts to mine aggregate on Maury Island.
The Northwest Aggregates Company, also known as Glacier Northwest or Glaciers, [2] had announced that they wanted to expand their surface gravel mine in Maury Island. Specifically, in May 1998, the mining company intended to fill Seattle–Tacoma International Airport's third runway; therefore, they sought for a shoreline exemption in order to fix their broken pier and loading facility [2] located on a land owned by the State of Washington. [3] Moreover, they requested a permit that would allow them to mine 7.5 million tons (6.804 billion kg) of gravel per year. [3] Upon learning the extent of Glacier's expansion and driven by the need to protect the island's habitats and wildlife, Sharon Nelson and other homeowners and islanders formed Protect Our Islands (POI) (later named Preserve Our Islands) in opposition of the mine expansion. [3]
POI had convinced the Washington State Department of Ecology to send biologists to study Glacier's proposed mining area, which was located above Maury Island's main water supply. [4] They found high levels of arsenic and lead in the soil, elements that could contaminate the island's aquifer, [5] a permeable, underground layer of water-bed rock that acts as a reservoir for groundwater. [6] This contamination can lead to development disabilities in humans who drink the water. [5] Despite Glacier's proposal of building a 30-feet (9.14 m) high, 150-feet (45.7 m) wide, and 2,100-feet (640 m) long sealed berm that would isolate the soil and prevent any contamination, POI and other opponents were still not reassured of the safety of the island's water supply. [4]
Initially, POI and other opponents of the mine were on the losing end as the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Glacier, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (U.S.A.C.E.) approved Glacier's permit, and the Washington State Supreme Court denied to hear POI's case against Glacier. [3] Eventually, things were looking up for the opposition. First, Doug Sutherland, a supporter of the mine expansion, lost the position of Commissioner of Public Lands to Peter J. Goldmark, an opponent of the mine expansion. [3] Second, a statewide effort to restore Puget Sound was initiated by Governor Chris Gregoire. [3] Third, with the support of the Backbone Campaign, POI organized a protest at the Glacier mine area with more than 500 protesters; this garnered media attention and gave this issue greater visibility. [3] Fourth, in 2009, US District Judge Ricardo Martinez declared that construction on the loading facility can no longer continue until the U.S.A.C.E. thoroughly assesses the environmental implications of Glacier's project. [4]
In the end, Glacier Northwest ended the mine expansion and the site was turned into the 235-acre (95.1 ha) King County Marine Park, after it was purchased by King County on January 8, 2011. [4]
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials. Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Water from aquifers can be sustainably harvested through the use of qanats. Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology. Related terms include aquitard, which is a bed of low permeability along an aquifer, and aquiclude, which is a solid, impermeable area underlying or overlying an aquifer, the pressure of which could create a confined aquifer. The classification of aquifers is as follows: Saturated versus unsaturated; aquifers versus aquitards; confined versus unconfined; isotropic versus anisotropic; porous, karst, or fractured; transboundary aquifer.
Environmental geology, like hydrogeology, is an applied science concerned with the practical application of the principles of geology in the solving of environmental problems created by man. It is a multidisciplinary field that is closely related to engineering geology and, to a lesser extent, to environmental geography. Each of these fields involves the study of the interaction of humans with the geologic environment, including the biosphere, the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, and to some extent the atmosphere. In other words, environmental geology is the application of geological information to solve conflicts, minimizing possible adverse environmental degradation, or maximizing possible advantageous conditions resulting from the use of natural and modified environment. With an increasing world population and industrialization, the natural environment and resources are under high strain which puts them at the forefront of world issues. Environmental geology is on the rise with these issues as solutions are found by utilizing it.
Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock become completely saturated with water is called the water table. Groundwater is recharged from the surface; it may discharge from the surface naturally at springs and seeps, and can form oases or wetlands. Groundwater is also often withdrawn for agricultural, municipal, and industrial use by constructing and operating extraction wells. The study of the distribution and movement of groundwater is hydrogeology, also called groundwater hydrology.
Maury Island is a tied island in Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is connected to Vashon Island by an isthmus built by local homeowners in 1913. Before construction of the isthmus, the island was connected to Vashon only during low tide. The island is rural with large areas of farmland, forest, and relatively undeveloped shoreline. Currently, environmental issues on the island are under considerable scrutiny.
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The Waterloo Moraine is a landform and sediment body that was created as a moraine in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, in Ontario, Canada. It covers a large portion of the cities of Waterloo and Kitchener and the township of Wilmot, and some parts of the townships of Wellesley and North Dumfries. About 90% of the water supply of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo is derived from groundwater of the Waterloo Moraine aquifer system.
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The environmental issues on Maury Island are linked to broader Puget Sound environmental issues, which include concerns regarding declining salmon and forage fish populations, degrading critical marine and shoreline habitats, and threatened species such as the Orca.
Sharon Kay Nelson is an American politician from the state of Washington.
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Sequalitchew Creek, located in DuPont, Washington emanates from Sequalitchew Lake, Fort Lewis, Washington, was the location of the original Fort Nisqually trading post established in 1833 by the Hudson's Bay Company. The historic, natural flow of Sequalitchew Creek runs from Sequalitchew Lake, through Edmonds Marsh, down the canyon and out to the Puget Sound.
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