The Palmer Coking Coal Company plans to host a public meeting this month regarding a mining rezoning application.
The meeting is currently scheduled for Nov. 16 at the Black Diamond Bakery (32805 Railroad Ave., Black Diamond) from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The meeting concerns Parcel No. 3021079080, which is located off Enumclaw-Franklin Road SE, just to the northwest of Fish Lake and Nolte State Park. It appears PCCC would like to apply to rezone the 240 acre parcel from a RA-5 (meaning it’s a rural area with a minimum of a 5-acre lot size) to M (meaning mining), but has yet to do so.
The interest in rezoning the parcel suggests that PCCC would like to expand its mining operation in the area; the company has a fully-permitted 24.5 acre sand and gravel mine within the parcel, though it is not currently in use.
Despite nothing having officially moved forward, some Plateau residents are already sounding the alarm bells about the project.
“240 acres of wilderness and animal habitat is in danger of becoming a sand and gravel mine. This could affect the Black Diamond Watershed, Fish Lake, and many critical wildlife habitats,” reads a Change.org petition against the rezone effort. The petition was started by Amy Winslow, an Enumclaw resident. The petition has garnered 59 signatures since it was created Oct. 28. “This action would also affect homeowners and businesses in the Black Diamond, Cumberland, and Enumclaw areas with increased truck traffic and congestion on narrow roads, increases in noise and air pollution, and reduction to the enjoyment of the natural resources.”
Bill Kombol, manager at PCCC, was unaware of the petition when contacted by the Courier-Herald, but said the opponents of the rezoning must have missed the mining that’s been going on in the area for the last several decades.
“The adjacent property has been successfully mined since the 1950s, and is currently the same type of active sand and gravel mine. That one is called ‘Green Section 30,” Kombol said. “The opponents of our rezone can probably use that as a gauge of how much impact there’s been.”
Kombol added that King County has designated the property as a potential mining site since 1990 in the King County Comprehensive Plan.
