By Kirk Kirkland
On June 11, 2026, the DuPont Hearing Examiner approved the South Parcel gravel mine expansion. The final decision confirms that this gravel project will create significant, irreversible environmental disruptions. The approved permit completely fails to provide adequate mitigation for the following structural impacts:
- Catastrophic Stream Loss. Active mining will drain the Vashon Aquifer. It will reduce Sequalitchew Creek’s peak flows by 83%. CalPortland will turn off its temporary mitigation pumps at year 14. This action makes the massive water loss permanent.
- Wetland Destruction. Multiple protected public wetlands face severe drops in water levels between one and three vertical feet. The developer is not required to construct functioning, oversized replacement wetlands nearby to offset these structural ecological failures.
- Wildlife Habitat Degradation. The severe water drawdowns will permanently dry out local salmon spawning channels. It will also degrade the surrounding riparian canopy. Migratory birds and wildlife rely on these stable water levels for baseline survival.
- Aquifer Depletion and Forest Fire Risk. Drawing down the regional aquifer permanently strips moisture from the surrounding forest soils. Future generations face heightened forest fire risks during prolonged summer droughts. The dried-out ecosystem completely loses its natural resilience to global warming.
My experience with appealing Conditional Use Permits to Superior Court indicates that an appeal is hard to win. Judges are reluctant to stop a mine expansion once the land has been permitted. This is especially true after the initial permit process has already considered protests from neighborhood groups, birders and hikers..
The DuPont mine proposal calls for the permanent destruction of the aquifer. Although it provides temporary mitigation for streams and wetlands, that mitigation ends when the pumps are turned off after 14 tears..
After the public hearing in June 2025, local residents and environmental groups lacked the resources to appeal the decision. The Nisqually Tribe did file an appeal, and they successfully negotiated a private settlement agreement last month.
If you wrote a comment letter or hiked these local trails, you need to understand the structural tricks built into this permit. Read our full, multi-page legal breakdown on the website to see how the public was locked out of the enforcement process.