DUSEL Not Welcomed in Leavenworth

On May 12th, citizens and rural residents of Leavenworth, Washington had the opportunity to speak their minds about the proposed Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) for the Icicle Valley. Citizen attendance was high, three-minute allotments of speaking time were used intelligently and passionately. The response to DUSEL was not unanimous, but it was certainly a near-consensus. The majority of the people of this area, say an emphatic "no" to DUSEL.

At the May 12th meeting 45 of 48 public comments were against Dusel in Leavenworth. The reasons stated were varied, but at the heart of them all was a feeling that the damages to this pristine area were impossible to mitigate, and that the risks and their impacts far outweighed the few benefits the area might see from the lab.

Citizens expressed fears of heavy economic burdens resulting from increased infrastructure needs. One Forest Service Scientist pleaded that the City Council show their support for science by respecting the existing studies being done in the Icicle Canyon: watershed, plant and animal studies that are by their vary nature site specific and depend on the conditions that currently exist.

The Leavenworth City Council makes a decision about their opinion on DUSEL and a recommendation to the National Science Foundation in mid-July. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is expected to make their recommendations for top DUSEL sites by the end of July, so the City Council opinion comes at an important time. Should the NSF choose Leavenworth as one of the top choices for DUSEL, $500,000 will be granted to the University of Washington to invest in further development of the project's potential in the Icicle Canyon. For updates, visit www.iciclevalley.org.

Sharlynn Cobaugh