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Underground Lab Still Up in the AirLeavenworth Chamber of Commerce pads figures in attempt to garner public support for projectby Sharlynn CobaughIn February 2005, the Washington Port Authority issued Resolution 2005-02 to be included with the University of Washington's Proposal for the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL). In this resolution the Port authority declares that it strongly encourages and supports the University of Washington (UW) in it's efforts to obtain funding for the project from the National Science Foundation. The Resolution also contains an Appendix in which the Port Commissioners recommend that the UW strive to address community concerns. (The full report can be read here. ) The UW proposal was submitted to the National Science Foundation (NSF) on February 28, 2005, and is now being considered. The NSF received seven other applications for the laboratory, in addition to the Icicle Valley proposal, and is expected to take six months to consider them. On February 10, the Port Authority held a meeting to discuss the Resolution they were submitting. Here, they heard from the general public and members of the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), a group of 25 local representatives who studied the project, its proposals, and gathered public input for approximately nine months prior to making recommendations to the Port. The CAC recommendations, however, were not unanimous. There were three recommendations that came out of their final report. The first was that the UW should look elsewhere for a home for its laboratory, that DUSEL should not be located in the Icicle Valley as risks and degradation to the Icicle Valley could not be mitigated. The second was that the proposal deserves the Port's full support, and the third maintained that "the process of analyzing the DUSEL proposal's potential impacts on and benefits to the community should continue. This [third] group believes that it is incumbent upon the Port to hold the University of Washington accountable at every step of the process. Both the Port and the University of Washington should strive to continually demonstrate that placing the DUSEL in the Icicle Valley will not degrade the environment or undermine Leavenworth's sense of place, and will achieve the community's long-term interests." At the February 10th meeting, statements from community members were as diverse as the CAC's recommendations. The Wenatchee Chapter of the Washington Society of Professional Engineers and the science division of Wenatchee Valley College said their members unanimously supported the project. The Mayor of Leavenworth reported that he had received 527 letters against the project, and 4 letters in support. A petition of well over 1,000 signatures opposing the project was submitted to the Port from Cot Rice of the Icicle Alliance. The Chamber of Commerce expressed their support. Support which is under scrutiny for its integrity. The Chamber of Commerce was "outed" recently by the a local Leavenworth newspaper, the Leavenworth Echo, for padding the DUSEL proponents numbers of support by taking into account their official support as an organization, extrapolating the numbers of their membership, subtracting the number of letters they had received as "against" DUSEL and then announcing that 1,516 people supported the project. This number was then used to convey the general feeling of residents. Changing what was 905 against and 34 for to 905 against to 1,516 for when only 34 of these pro-DUSEL comments were individually made has residents deeply concerned about receptivity to public input in the DUSEL decision making process. Several Chamber members have since officially made statements that they would not like to be counted as supporters, and the Icicle Alliance is strongly urging other Chamber members to who feel similarly to speak out. Another speaker at the Port Meeting was Leavenworth resident Bill Schmidt, who reported that a study of the economic impacts of the lab for the Leavenworth area had been requested by the Citizen's Advisory Committee, but had never been done. He insisted that a resolution from the Port stating its support and encouragement before obtaining this piece of information was premature, and pointed out that now, an economic study has been commissioned but that it is going to be done by DUSEL's proponent base, the University of Washington. The Leavenworth City Council has not yet made a decision about whether or not to support the project. They would like more information before making a decision. The City Council has organized a public meeting which will be held May 12th in Leavenworth at the FesteHalle, a large new building on the east end of town on Front Street. Residents who would like to have their voices heard must show up between 6:15 -7 pm to sign up for an opportunity to speak at the meeting which officially begins at 7pm. (Sources: Leavenworth Echo, Feb/March; official documents; phone calls) Contact information for the National Science Foundation:
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