HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Meeting Remote Public Comment Sign-In 8/2/2026 7:01:25 PM CouncilCity • RemoteComment
ING •
Sign-in
PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING FORM:
This form is for remote meeting access and submittal of written public comment only.
When not attending a meeting in person please follow the instructions below:
1.To provide oral comment through Microsoft Teams,you must pre-register to speak by 9:00 a.m,the day of the meeting by choosing one of
the following options:
o Filling out this form and choosing the option"Remote(via Teams)"below,or;
o Call 360-403-3441 to register via phone with the City Clerk
Directions and the Teams link to join the meeting will be emailed to you by 5 p.m.the day of the meeting.
2.To provide written comment please complete the form below and choose"Submit a Written Comment". Your written comment will be
distributed accordingly.
Both written and oral public comment will be documented as public comment.
Date of the City Council meeting you would like to provide remote comment:*
2026-08-03
First Name:* Last Name:*
Nathan Land
Phone Number: E-mail*
3607741679 nate@nate.land
Address*
Street Address
10233 State Route 530 NE
Address Line 2
city State/Province/Region
Arlington WA
Postal/Zip Code
98223
Please select the method of comment:
Submit a Written Comment Remote via Teams
Will you be providing comment on an agenda item,or on a topic that is not on the agenda(general comment)?*
Agenda Item General Comment
Which agenda item or topic would you like to provide public comment on?
Miles Sand and Gravel proposed mine on SR 530
Please leave your written comment below:
Mayor Vanney and members of the City Council,
I want to talk about the gravel mine Miles Sand and Gravel wants to dig on the old school district property at the forks of the Stillaguamish,and
about something the City has not done.The City has sent comment letters on traffic and water quality,but as far as I can tell it has never formally
challenged what this project means for the City's own water rights at the Haller wellfield.
The connection between that site and our wells is not in dispute.The City's own water system plan says the Haller wellfield is groundwater under
the direct influence of the Stillaguamish River,and the state Department of Health rates those wells as highly susceptible to contamination.Miles'
own consultant put it in writing last November that groundwater beneath the mine site discharges to the North and South Forks upstream of the
wellfield.Whatever happens on that ground flows toward our drinking water.
The water rights picture is worse than most people realize.The state adopted an instream flow rule in 2005 that closed most of the Stillaguamish
basin to new year-round water uses.Miles proposes to supply a year-round industrial operation from an old farm well whose only paperwork is
an unadjudicated claim in the name of Gus Boettcher,for household and stock water,with no quantity stated.The County's April review letter
said a claim is not a water right unless adjudicated,and asked whether Miles needs a water right permit and whether it has applied for one.
Nothing in the file shows that it has.The County also had to ask Ecology whether evaporation off the planned 82 acre pit lake,water hauled away
in wet gravel,and captured stormwater all count against the 5,000 gallon per day exemption.Those questions are still open,and the City,which
holds senior rights just downstream,has a legal right to defend.
On contamination,the warning signs are already in the record.Groundwater testing at the site found arsenic and other metals at state reporting
limits,and the City's own water plan lists the river as already exceeding standards for mercury,lead,copper and arsenic.The proposal also
includes crushing waste concrete into recycled aggregate on site.Ecology studied recycled concrete in 2022,Publication 22-03-003,and found the
water that leaches through it can reach a pH of 13 and carry hexavalent chromium and arsenic above state water quality standards.If metals
reach our source water above federal limits,the Safe Drinking Water Act gives the City no choice.The city would have to build treatment at Haller
that the system is not designed for today,and Arlington citizens would pay for it,not Miles.
I am asking the Council to direct the city attorney and Public Works to formally assert the City's water rights in the County permit process,to
support the appeal of the County's decision that this mine needs no environmental impact statement,and to say on the record that the City
opposes approval until the water rights question is resolved.Thank you.
Signature*