Opinion ID: 1177070
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: physical size of dock and support area

Text: The proposed dock is some 1,470 feet in length, including two mooring dolphins on either end. The dock is 140 feet in width and would be supported by 500 to 600 pilings, some of which will extend 100 feet downward from the dock itself. The applicant does not presently propose any cranes or other loading devices on the dock but admits that the dock is designed and engineered to permit their installation at some future date. The dock is built to accommodate single ships up to 1,010 feet in length, or two ships up to 610 feet each. The dock is accessible from the shore over a causeway some 400 feet in length and 57 feet in width. The causeway is elevated and, like the dock, is supported by pilings. The causeway is, in turn, connected to an upland staging area by a road which is approximately 3,000 feet in length, and 54 feet in width. It is built through the Sequalitchew Creek gorge. The upland staging area would provide about 40 acres of storage for finished products and 55 acres for logs. This area would be cleared of vegetation and paved. This staging area will have new road and rail access built to the south toward the main lines of Burlington Northern, Inc. and Interstate 5. Weyerhaeuser has stated that the purpose of the proposal is to allow it to assemble and load raw and finished forest products. These products will be transferred from the staging area to the dock over the road and causeway by use of large trucks, which will generally resemble logging trucks. During full operation, the dock will be used from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., about 16 hours a day. If a ship is in port, the logs will be transferred onto the ships by use of ships' cranes. Weyerhaeuser estimates that there will be 2 to 4 1/2 calls per month at the Weyerhaeuser dock. It will take 2 to 5 days to load a vessel, depending on its capacity. The ramifications of the construction and operation of this facility in such a significant and sensitive environmental region of this state are apparent. The uproar and public concern over this potential development have twice brought issues, relating to this state's environmental legislation, to this court.