Moses Lake dredging permit approved

MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake Planning Commission approved the permits required for a dredging project on Parker Horn.

Commissioner Rick Penhallurick was absent during the planning meeting Thursday night.

The commission passed two permits for the project, a shoreline conditional use permit and a conservation and reclamation zone conditional use permit.

The permits allow the Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District to dredge up to 300,000 cubic yards of sediment from Parker Horn, which is mostly upstream of Neppel crossing, according to city documents.

Senior Planner Anne Henning said a written permit application will be presented to the commissioners for a formal adoption at the next meeting.

The decision will be sent out individuals who have testified and they will have 14 days to appeal, according to Henning.

After that, if there are no appeals to the application, the planning commission will send the application to the Department of Ecology for a final approval, she said.

It will be at least two months before the state permits are approved, she added.

Commissioner Steve Schield said he believed the dredging project is a necessary step in improving the recreational uses of Parker Horn.

Commissioners came to their permits approval decision after listening to proponents and opponents of the dredging project during a public hearing.

Ryan Walker, a biologist for the environmental consultant group Grette Associates, told commissioners the sediment on Parker Horn needs to be addressed sooner rather than later for the recreational and environmental benefits of Moses Lake.

"Parker Horn is at capacity for sediment. If we do not dredge, the sediment will go to other areas of the lake," he said.

Moses Lake resident Randy Bruce did not support the dredging project, saying the project would "impact the health of the lake."

"There are eagles, trumpeter swans, ducks and geese that would not come back if we dredged that area," said Bruce, who told commissioners he had a biology degree from Eastern Washington University. "We still not know (sic) all of the impact of this project. I ask that there be further studies that would have a different light on this project." 

Another Moses Lake resident, Eric Heikell spoke to commissioners as well.

He supported the dredging project "100 percent."

"If we do not do anything about the section, I believe it will turn into a marsh. I've seen sediment build in that area up by 3 inches in the last 10 years," said Heikell, who lives on West Northshore Drive.

Irrigation district director Ron Covey and chamber of commerce executive director Debbie Doran-Martinez also spoke at the public hearing, supporting the dredging project.

The proposed Parker Horn dredging project involves using a hydraulic dredging machine that collects the sediment and pumps it through a temporary pipe to a dewatering area. 

The dewatering area will most likely be located across from Walmart, said community development director Gil Alvarado.

The sediment will sit in the dewatering area, anywhere from 12 hours to three days, depending on weather conditions, before it is hauled to Connelly Park, according to Walker.

The irrigation district plans to test each sediment load before it is brought to the park for chemical contaminations, he said.

Irrigation district general manager Curt Carpenter said the six-year project will cost roughly $1.5 million.

Covey told commissioners the irrigation district can fully fund the dredging project with the $1 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.