Ownership of Maury Island sand and gravel at issue

OLYMPIA — Today the Senate passed a measure that addresses the issue of who owns the sand and gravel on a section of Maury Island. The mining company, Glacier Northwest, proposes to increase a modest island-based gravel mining operation some 300-fold in a designated aquatic reserve.

Senate Bill 6777 is narrowly crafted to address the major controversy that has emerged on almost 78 acres of the proposed mine site – that is, who owns the sand and gravel resources on this land, Glacier or the state?

“This legislation is important to every citizen of this state, and to all of our educational institutions supported by revenues from state trust lands,” said sponsor of SB 6777, Sen. Joe McDermott, D-Seattle. “It also aligns with our mission to clean up Puget Sound.”

These lands and all their mineral interests are the trust lands obtained at statehood. The Legislature is the ultimate entity that serves as the trustee to ensure the trust beneficiaries – our children and our schools – are not deprived of revenues owed to them.

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