OPG CONTINUED FROM A1

“I just think that (people discharging their waste) during the day is negligable,” Bauer said.

If parties are unhappy with conditions, the next step is the Superior Court, where it will be a battle of money and time, he said.

“We are mulling over whether or not to appeal the decision,” Rose said. “No overnight mooring kind of defeats the purpose.”

OPG needs three permits — from the county, state and federal levels. It has now received the county’s shoreline permit, based on the April 14 decision, and a hydraulic permit from the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

Rose said the next step for OPG is attaining a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers.

He said the first time he submitted the dock plans for approval by the WDFW, they were denied because of its importance to herring habitat.

“We hired a bunch of PHD guys to check out the water where we want to build the dock,” Rose said. “We were able to show them, based on 40 hours of dive work, that that particular area doesn’t grow a lot of vegetation. It’s not real important herring habitat.”

According to county code, Title 22, areas identified by the WDFW, or Department of Natural Resources, as “having a high environmental value for shellfish, fish life, or wild life, piers and docks shall not be allowed except where functionally necessary to the propagation, harvesting, testing or experimentation of said marine fisheries or wildlife, unless it can be established conclusively, as determined by the shoreline administrator, that the dock or pier will not be detrimental to the natural habitat or species of concern.”

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