Thank you for your thorough article covering concerns expressed about the mill site development in the May 31 issue of the Snoqualmie Valley Record.

At that meeting (the May 23 public input meeting on the scope of the required environmental impact study) I spoke with an engineer from the Associated Earth Sciences, Inc. He said several contaminated “spots” were identified from a review of Weyerhaeuser’s own documentation of their cleanup efforts. However, he was adamant that for the environmental impact study (EIS) there is no plan to actually physically test any part of the mill pond site. The EIS will rely entirely on the study of the Weyerhaeuser documents already conducted.

His reason is the current development plan will not be building directly on any of these spots. Despite the fact that one of the toxins is PCB, not expected to move with our heavy rainfall, it is foolish to think that no migration of this and other toxins to different parts of the Mill Pond area has happened in the last 20 years.

Mark Hofman, Developmental Director for the city, states these known sites will be thoroughly examined. Does that include actual testing? When I asked Hofman about the statement of no plan to test for contaminants, he stated the Mill Ventures Company would be foolish not to do a thorough EIS.

So, who is right? Can we trust our mayor, city council, and others behind the scenes to make sure our concerns are addressed properly and we are protected, as we deserve?

Elaine Armstrong

Snoqualmie

Note: Richard Weinman, land use and EIS consultant for Snoqualmie Mill Ventures said the city is the lead agency of the process and will determine what is included in the EIS based on the concerns from the scoping process. Mark Hofman clarified that the study will include testing the soil for contamination. “The site hazards will be paramount and they will be addressed,” Hofman said.