HomeMy WebLinkAboutres1998-077WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL AGENDA BILL
NO. M8— 3g2—A
CLEARANCES
Initial
Date
Date Received in Council Office
Agenda Date
Assigned to:
.riginator. Executive
11/24
Public Works
Division Head:
11124
Consent
Dept Head
Prosecutor
Dan Gibson
Purchasing/Budget.
Executive.
tl �
SUBJECT.
Resolution for Emergency at Ritter Road
ATTACHMENTS.
Resolution & Memo
Related County Contract #:
Should Clerk schedule a hearing: NO A / YES / / Requested Date:
'UMMARYSTATEMENT.-
Resolution declaring an imminent danger and emergency situation
exists for the left bank of the Nooksack River near the end of the
Ritter Road.
Ordinance & Resolution Distribution Request
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Francine Kincaid
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RECOMMENDED ACTION.•
Approval
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COUNCIL ACTION TAKEN:
1998 - 342 A 11/24/98: Amended and Approved 7 -0, Res. #98 -077
i
Prosecutor
Public Works
Jeff Monsen
Sheriff
Superior Court
Treasurer
Other
Ordinance or Resoluti Number
(this item):
J. L4GENDA 811 doc V%%Wqa IV V. I
res/98 SPONSORED BY: CONSENT
PROPOSED BY: EXECUTIVE
INTRODUCTION DATE: 11/24/98
RESOLUTION NO. 98 -077
RESOLUTION OF THE WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL DECLARING THAT AN
IMMINENT DANGER AND EMERGENCY SITUATION EXISTS FOR THE LEFT BANK
OF THE NOOKSACK RIVER NEAR THE END OF RITTER ROAD
WHEREAS, Whatcom County has one major river, the Nooksack River, within the western
part of the county; and
WHEREAS, the Nooksack River is adjoined by a floodplain throughout its course, especially
throughout the lower reaches of the river; and
WHEREAS, the floodplain throughout the lower reaches constitutes the heart of a rich
agricultural area that serves as a significant portion of the land base for agricultural activity in
Whatcom County; and
WHEREAS, the land within the floodplain is not only composed of productive soil, but is
also naturally subirrigated, substantially reducing or eliminating the need for groundwater or surface
water withdrawals for irrigation that are necessary for commercial production on the uplands in
Whatcom County; and
WHEREAS, it is the policy of Whatcom County, adopted in its Comprehensive Plan, to
protect productive agricultural land; and
WHEREAS, in the lower reaches of the Nooksack River, there is considerably less meander
than in the upper reaches of the river, and there are sound economic and hydrologic reasons to limit
the meander in the absence of extensive study to determine the implications of greater meander; and
WHEREAS, allowing the river to broaden its meander corridor in its lower reaches entails
the destruction and isolation of rich farmland, rendering it unproductive for agricultural purposes;
and
WHEREAS, Whatcom County has developed and distributed a draft Comprehensive Flood
Hazard Management Plan which addresses the dynamics of river flooding and puts forward
recommendations for flood management of various reaches of the river; and
WHEREAS, the focus of the draft plan for the reach of the river between Ferndale an d
Lynden is to ensure that floodwaters can reach their natural overflow corridors, and not to increase
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the width of the meander corridor; and
WHEREAS, within this reach of the river a series of levees has been constructed and
maintained which in their placement and other engineering assume a particular direction of flow for
the river relative to each of those levees; and
WHEREAS, when the channel of the river is altered significantly through erosion and/or
accretion, there is a significant likelihood of downstream impacts as the stress points on banks and
levees shift with the movement of the river channel; and
WHEREAS, in the area of Ritter Road, which approaches the river from the south almost
directly across the river from the point where Bertrand Creek flows into it from the north, there has
been significant erosion of the left (south) bank of the river as the river begins to move in a
northwesterly direction for the last time before shifting sharply to the south; and
WHEREAS, in periods of high water and flooding, an immense amount of energy is brought
to bear by the river on bends such as this one with the resulting potential of a significant shift in the
flow of the river, and concomitant downstream impacts; and
WHEREAS, construction of bank protection devices optimally occurs outside of an
emergency setting; and
WHEREAS, in mid- September, 1998, Whatcom County Executive Pete Kremen sent a letter
to the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife expressing his concern and his belief that
immediate action was warranted on the bank stabilization project in the area of Ritter Road; and
WHEREAS, there is constant threat of flooding and bank erosion during the winter months,
when heavy rains and melting snow can produce flood conditions within a day, and also render
access to threatened banks and levees nearly impossible; and
WHEREAS, the current conditions of the river and the weather represent a grave threat to
the integrity of the left bank structures in the area of the Ritter Road; and
WHEREAS, the situation at that location should be addressed as quickly as weather permits
so as to avoid further major erosion of the bank and the significant likelihood of detrimental
downstream impacts, as well as the loss of high quality farmland; and
WHEREAS, the Whatcom County Flood Control Zone District Advisory Committee is
aware of the situation at this location and concurs with the importance of taking action in the form
of bank protection proposed by the flood staff within the Whatcom County Public Works
Department's Engineering Division; and
WHEREAS, further delays in the permitting process under current weather and potential
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flooding conditions are likely to produce the result that the bank protection project is designed to
avoid;
WHEREAS, Whatcom County desires a cooperative working relationship with the state
permitting agencies but is firmly convinced that this situation is not the point at which to commence
significant change in flood management policy without more exhaustive consideration and analysis
of the ramifications of such a policy shift; and
WHEREAS, breaching will directly impact one residence and potentially threaten three
others;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Whatcom County Council that the
circumstances pertaining to the left bank erosion at the Ritter Road site constitute both an immediate
danger and an emergency for purposes of RCW 75.20 and all other permitting requirements, and that
it is the desire of this Council to have the proposed project for this site proceed as quickly as possible
consistent with the contractual and funding requirements that are in place for this type of project.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Council that the process for review and adoption of
the Whatcom County Comprehensive Flood Hazard Management Plan proceed as quickly as
reasonably possible so that individual situations similar to this current one can be viewed and
responded to within the context of an approved plan for the entire river system.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the affected permitting agencies be notified immediately
of this resolution and its contents.
APPROVED this 94 day of Nov. , 1998
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
TT E OM W SHINGTON
avi , eCounhl Rob6t Imhof, Council Cha
Civil Deputy Prosecutor
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