Stopping DuPont Warehouse Requires Case for Aggressive Conservation

Submitted by Sean Arent, Clover Creek Restoration Alliance.

The Clover Creek Restoration Alliance, a community organization of watershed residents fighting for the restoration of the Clover-Chambers-Sequalitchew Watershed, has called for the use of Eminent Domain to preserve and expand the Sequalitchew Trail, Historic Methodist Mission Marker, 350 healthy trees, including 53 landmark trees, and 19.5 acres of forest in the historic Sequalitchew Village Ancestral Landscape, in present-day DuPont.

In November, a reluctant city-appointed hearing examiner approved the conditional use permit for warehouse developer Avenue 55 to build a 256,000 square foot facility abutting Sequalitchew Drive, with significant public outcry. A previous proposal by the developer was denied in 2019. The project’s proximity to a main drive was a defining reason for the previous denial. A small buffer from the road has been added as a work-around.

A few days after the public comment period closed, the Nisqually tribe’s Cultural Preservation Office submitted a late comment recommending the hearing examiner “reject the DuPont West proposal based on the failure of the proponent to provide the City with the information necessary to the assessment of the proposed project’s impacts on cultural resources which, according to our analysis, are slated to be adverse and extremely significant.” The previous denial in 2019 was also decided on archeological grounds, the applicant had planned to build over the First Methodist Mission Marker. They now plan to build around it.

A small town of just over ten thousand residents, the budget for the City of DuPont is “totaling $27,907,570 in 2023 and $20,299,452 in 2024” and projected to be $22 and $23 million respectively in 2025 and 2026. The city is home to major Amazon and Intel warehouses, and like everywhere else, is projected to swell in population.

DuPont’s main ecological feature and object for tourism is the Sequalitchew Creek Trail, a semi-paved path through historic markers along the creek canyon, ending at a splendid view of Puget Sound. The lush trail follows the trickling Sequalitchew Creek and is a favorite haunt of DuPont residents.

Calling for eminent domain has recieved criticism. Critics of our proposal have called it a “non-starter” or “not rooted in local expertise”. Yet this proposal was crafted with a group of majority DuPont residents, including a former city councilman. We are taken aback by these criticisms, but feel compelled to respond to them. To us, the “DuPont West” proposal is a non-starter.

This DuPont West proposal comes in tandem with a proposal from the CalPortland Gravel Mine to expand into the unmined “south parcel”, roughly 150 acres of forest along Sequalitchew Creek, and to drain the Vashon Aquifer in a two-mile radius to achieve deeper mine penetration.

DuPont’s water supply comes from five different wells. Wells that rely on groundwater infiltration to recharge. When so much forest land is under the axe, we recognize that “healthy forests are critical to maintaining a healthy water supply. In fact, forests provide drinking water to more than 150 million people in the United States. They’re also the source of 75% of the world’s freshwater. (Arbor Day Foundation)” Add in the unknowns of draining an aquifer next to Puget Sound, coupled with rising sea levels and you can see real risks of saltwater infiltration into the aquifer.

Water plays a large role in the politics of our watershed, particularly here in Sequalitchew. Originally home to several species of salmon and a year-round flow, Sequalitchew Creek’s headwaters at Sequalitchew Lake have been diverted for decades by Fort Lewis-for fear of flooding the base’s primary source of drinking water at Sequalitchew Springs with allegedly contaminated lake water.

According to RCW 8.12.030 “Every city and town and each unclassified city and town within the state of Washington, is hereby authorized and empowered to condemn land and property..and to condemn land or property, or to damage the same, either within or without the limits of such city for public parks…”. This is further upheld in In re Petition of City of Long Beach, 82 P. 3d 259 – Wash: Court of Appeals, 2nd Div. 2004 – using eminent domain to create an interpretive trail counts as a park and is allowed. This property not only includes part of the Sequalitchew Creek trail, but several paths frequented by residents wishing to visit the ancient culturally modified marker tree or site of the first Fourth of July Celebration in Washington.

In addition to park use, there is a significant argument for protecting the city’s water, which is another allowable use of eminent domain “…and for the purpose of protecting such supply of fresh water from pollution, and to condemn land and other property and damage the same for such and for any other public use after just compensation having been first made or paid into court for the owner in the manner prescribed by this chapter.”

So how expensive would it be? The current assessed value of the property as undeveloped is resting at $1,154,700, a large commitment for a small city. But with the issuance of 12-year bonds, this would put payments at about $96,225 plus interest, a much more achievable amount. This could be further offset by bringing in partners like Pierce County or the Nisqually tribe. The protection of, and official expansion of the trail would of course bring in more tourism, while preserving the sounds, sights, and smells of the trail. It would also come as a great relief to the besieged tenants of the immediately adjacent Creekside Apartments.

The truth is, our regional conservation strategy is not aggressive enough to stop the decline in our watershed. The county earmarks only $2 million a year in conservation futures, and that is for willing sellers. Being so urbanized and cloistered around the I-5 corridor, Clover-Chambers-Sequalitchew will always be passed over as a more expensive option for conservation. But our waterways require immediate triage, with extinct and declining salmon runs and drying creeks.

We are not without the legal tools needed to protect our watershed and stop unpopular forest-clearing developments. What we lack is political will. But that will doesn’t belong solely to electeds and bureaucrats, it comes from everyday water-drinkers and trail-joggers. It comes from people who are ready to get organized, fight back, and demand better than a system where the wealthy and their armies of attornies always win. Join us in our fight for clean water, clean air, and the right for salmon to return to our creeks, and our victory will be imminent.

On Saturday, 12/14 at 12 pm, we invite community members to join us for a guided walk of Sequalitchew, taking us passed the site of this proposed development.