EVERETT — Insisting it has not created any “unsafe or dangerous” conditions, an Everett mining company appealed an emergency order that halted its operations last month next door to Fairmount Elementary School.
On Wednesday, attorneys for OMA Construction submitted an appeal to the Snohomish County hearing examiner, arguing its aggregate yard should be allowed to stay open.
“This Emergency Order should not be upheld,” read a statement from Everett-based Adams and Duncan Lawyers. “It is devoid of factual content, it asks that OMA take remedial actions to fix problems that it fails to describe, it is overly broad, and it is not supported by the present use of the Property.”
OMA Construction owns Mountain Loop Mine — a mining company based in Granite Falls that, for about 10 months, operated an aggregate yard at 2615 Center Road without proper permits.
Since last April, Fairmount staff and children have reported headaches from constant scraping and banging, as a revolving door of dump trucks load and unload mounds of gravel, rock and sand at the yard about 50 feet from some classrooms.
Many teachers said students have also experienced bloody noses and coughing fits they attributed to dust from the Everett aggregate yard.
OMA Construction is aware of the school’s concerns. Last month, OMA Construction Vice President Brandon Akers emailed Fairmount Principal Bente Klatt to address dust and noise complaints. He proposed a plan to build a noise wall on the property.
“We don’t believe we have been omitting any dust from our operations,” he said, “but nonetheless, the wall should completely block any potential dust from blowing toward the school.”
After The Daily Herald’s initial article on the situation, OMA construction hired a noise consultant, Akers said in an email to The Herald on Thursday.
The consultant from Landau Associates found noise “can potentially be over the zoning noise limit” on the north border of the site when dump truck drivers bang the truck’s gate after unloading materials, Akers said.
“We do not allow banging of gates at our site, but it does happen infrequently,” Akers said. “In order to combat this noise spike overage, we asked the engineer to calculate the required noise barrier so even if a truck does bang its gates accidentally, it would still be within zoning limits and not exceed.”
The consultant found an 18-foot-high berm would help yard staff “comply with the daytime noise limits,” according to an email Akers forwarded to The Herald.
OMA Construction told Mukilteo School District leaders the wall could be built during summer break, so it would not disturb students, Akers said.
But OMA Construction’s appeal seemed to maintain the noise concerns were unwarranted.
“It is difficult to imagine how the noise of trucks loading and unloading could endanger property,” the statement said. “Nor does it seem likely that such noise, even if in violation of code, could create an immediate hazard or threaten people’s health or safety.”
School leaders said staff have been changing the school’s HVAC system filters more often — sometimes on a monthly basis — since the aggregate yard opened, even though filters can generally last three months.
Since last year, Akers said the company required a staff member to stand by with a water truck if any dust were to arise. During the summer, the staff member used the water truck “fairly consistently” to control the dust, Akers said.
“We do not want any dust leaving the site, especially toward the school,” he said.
Snohomish County’s emergency order and notice violation from Feb. 21 cited county code violations, mostly related to noise.
OMA Construction alleged county staff did not provide clear reasoning for the violations or information on how the company can remedy the issues, according to the appeal.
County staff also said work at the aggregate yard could continue while OMA Construction applied for a proper land disturbing activity permit, the company argued in the appeal.
But OMA Construction didn’t submit a land disturbing activity permit application until Feb. 14. The county had already extended the company’s deadline to submit materials twice last year.
“We always work to balance enforcement with non-punitive, collaborative efforts to bring businesses into compliance while protecting human and environmental health,” county spokesperson Jacob Lambert said in a previous statement.
On Monday, Akers, other leadership from the mining company and their attorney met with Mukilteo School District leaders and their lawyer to discuss OMA Construction’s noise and dust mitigation efforts and school staff’s continued concerns. OMA Construction wanted to share its efforts, Akers said, because he does not want to lay off the over 50 employees who worked at the Everett aggregate yard.
“We explained the county has already told us we are zoned appropriately,” he said, “and that we were there meeting with them with the intentions of building a better relationship, as well as a way to move forward.”
School district leaders believe “that operating a gravel dump in such close proximity to an elementary school is not compatible with school uses,” school district spokesperson Diane Bradford said.
She said staff remain very concerned about the yard’s impacts to school operations and want children and teachers “to teach and learn in an environment that is not impacted by dust, noise and excess traffic.”
On Monday, attorneys notified school district leaders that they witnessed ongoing operations at the aggregate yard, despite the county’s emergency order. Akers said in an email that this is not the case and that staff haven’t been working at the site since Feb. 21.
“We understand that the unpermitted gravel dump site is convenient for OMA’s customers,” Bradford said, “but are confident that OMA can find an alternative site that does not impact neighbors, schoolchildren, parents and teachers.”
Ta’Leah Van Sistine: 425-339-3460; taleah.vansistine@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @TaLeahRoseV.
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