Open letter to my state representatives and senator in the 46th District. Currently we have a set of railroad tracks in the adjacent 21st and 32nd district that are primed for disaster. Daily we have multiple passenger trains, Amtrack and Sound Transit, that run on these rails. BNSF runs many coal and oil trains along these tracks as well. The coal and oil trains are projected to increase dramatically in the next several years. These tracks run along the edge of Puget Sound beneath towering bluffs north of Shilshole Marina up to Edmonds. During the rainy season, these bluffs have multiple mudslides, about one a month. Last week a passenger train ran into the mudslide but fortunately no one was hurt. These mudslides are caused by the geology of the local area. The bluffs are made from repeating layers of sand, gravel and clay. The clay layer, called the Lawton Clay (named after the failing cliffs at Ft. Lawton), is impervious to water. Surface water percolates down through the sand and gravel until it hits the clay. Then it must flow horizontal. This creates enormous hydraulic pressure that collapses the cliff face from below – exactly the same reason for the Oso mudslide. Currently BNSF and WSDOT are trying to prevent a landslide by piling up little granite blocks at the base of the cliffs. That is a silly political solution to be used as a “we tried our best” excuse when the tragedy occurs. The very idea that these granite blocks, which have exactly the same density as the mud, would stop an Oso scale mudslide is … just ridiculous. Not IF but WHEN the tragedy occurs, we will either have a train load of dead people in the Sound, or a 100 tanker car oil spill into Puget Sound. As I said, these slides happen about once a month, and have been since the end of the last ice age 10,000 years ago. Our modern “technology” of piling up granite blocks is not going to stop it. So, given the obvious prediction of pending disaster, what are our politicians doing to prevent it? 1. Not talk about it. Maybe if nobody says anything it will go away. Let’s talk about something else. 2. Refuse to do anything about it. In fact, they are allowing a huge new housing project north of Richmond Beach right on top of a previous epic mudslide – right where the oil tank farm is. 3. Refuse to consider alternate rail routes. The only other viable route is the BNSF Eastside Rail Corridor, and hey, we all love bicycles, don’t we? The politicians directly in charge of the looming disaster have chosen to fail to do their public duties. Dow Constantine may put it on a Sound Transit meeting agenda. Snohomish County Executive John Lovick is too busy trying to rebuild directly in the Oso mudslide area (really!) Not one Snohomish County building permit in a mudslide area has been refused. Our federal senators and congress women don’t give a hoot. A disaster is an opportunity to pose in front of the camera with the president and publicly weep for the victims (Oso redux). The state legislators from the 32nd and 21st districts have too much vested interest at stake to take a public stance. Many of their very wealth constituents live on the bluffs above the sound or down on the water. Removing them from obvious danger would be very risky. I could write to them, but they are not my representatives. You are. So, what are you going to do? You can start the ball rolling by pointing out the obvious, demanding hearings, studies, answers from the controlling agencies. Force the useless governor to recognize that he has the executive power to prevent a very real humanitarian and environmental disaster right where he lives. Or you can shrug your shoulders, not my district, not my problem. Golly, too bad for those people, good thing that oil spill didn’t come into my neighborhood. As public officials with real power, I expect you to do more than address strictly parochial issues. Your focus must be to take a larger view. What happens in Spokane, Vancouver, or Bellingham is also your responsibility. This looming disaster is literally right next door. Please do something to prevent it. Thank you,
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 18:36:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015