Public comment remains open for what is known as the “scoping period” for a proposed silicon smelter in Newport, Washington.
No more public meetings are planned but written comment on the smelter proposal will be taken until October 26th.
Gonzaga University’s Environmental Law and Land Use Clinic will sponsor an event related to the smelter on Wednesday.
“It’s to help people understand what is the smelter proposal, what some of the impacts are. What is SEPA and the scoping process, and how they can effectively participate,” said Rick Eichstaedt, an attorney at the clinic.
The Department of Ecology is leading the scoping process to gauge what citizens believe are the important issues related to the smelter, if it is built.
Eichstaedt says the vast majority of public comment at the three previous public hearings was against the smelter.
“I think you could count on one hand the number of people that supported the smelter, more than overwhelming opposition to the smelter proposals. People raised all sorts of questions related to property values, air impacts, water impacts, any number of impacts,” he said.
Eichstaedt hopes Spokane residents who may not know much about the smelter attend, and get an idea why Newport area residents have concerns.
The meeting will be Wednesday from 6-8 pm in the Moot Court Room at the Gonzaga Law School.
