Roger Wright, an engineer with SCM Consultants who is working for Eucon on the project, said samples from the Richland site indicate the rock there is of good quality. The 250,000 to 500,000 tons of material that would come off the site each year would primarily be used in local construction projects. The stakes in Richland differ from those in Vancouver. The proposed mining operation in north Richland is well-removed from areas where people live. Its nearest neighbors are a locomotive maintenance business and the other industrial occupants of the 1100 area, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Horn Rapids business park and the Horn Rapids athletic complex.
King notes the city wears two hats in regards to the proposed mining operation.
It is the regulatory agency, and, since it owns and operates the business park and the athletic complex at Horn Rapids, it is a neighbor, too. As a regulator, the city is interested in things such as traffic impacts and assurances the operators will control dust. As a neighbor, it wants to be sure its own investment isn't diminished. The port's request for a permit to mine the area on a test basis for 60 days is the subject of a city hearing Dec. 20. If approved, the limited mining could start as early as January or February.