CONNOR CREEK EROSION CONTROL

JOINT AQUATIC RESOURCES PERMIT APPLICATION FORM (JARPA)

Executive Summary
Connor Creek is a small stream that drains a rural area in western Grays Harbor County. The mouth of the creek, which empties directly into the Pacific Ocean between Copalis Beach and Ocean City, has historically migrated north and south depending on the time of year and weather conditions. Since the 1940s, local residents have used various means to keep the creek mouth in a meander zone between what is now Surfcrest Condominiums and Seaview Estates. In the late 1980s, Connor Creek turned southward, threatening buildings at Surfcrest. In 1988, a Department of the Army permit was issued for construction of a rock revetment and channeling of the creek to protect developed areas at Surfcrest.

Construction of the rock revetment prevented the stream from meandering in a southerly direction, and may have triggered a steady migration to the north. Whatever the cause, the mouth of the creek began to move rapidly northward in the mid-1990s. As of November 2002, the creek mouth had migrated some 8,000 feet north of its circa-1987 location. The creek mouth is still moving northward toward the Copalis River. Migration of the creek has resulted in dramatic erosion of property and both private and public access to the beach has been severed.

The local community requested assistance from the County. In response, a Flood Control Zone District was formed and in 1996, the County commissioned studies to evaluate potential solutions. The County contracted with Pacific International Engineering to develop baseline information, analyze physical processes, and develop alternatives to address the problem. Permit applications for a creek relocation and containment plan were submitted. Despite efforts of the community that included numerous meetings, letter writing campaigns, and extensive media coverage, little progress was made with agencies skeptical of the proposal and the project was essentially put on hold in late 1997. Because of the ongoing erosion and impacts to the community, a public meeting was held in September 2001 to review potential short-term and long-term solutions. A majority of the local stakeholders at that meeting supported an alternative that involves relocating the creek mouth to a meander zone near its historic (1987) location, and asked the County to pursue environmental review and permitting for this alternative.

Because of meetings among County representatives, its engineering contractor, and State and Federal agency representatives, additional information on environmental conditions was developed. This additional information includes wetland delineation, a wetlands functional assessment, and a survey of stream habitats in lower Connor Creek.

This materials packet contains a draft SEPA checklist, draft Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Application (JARPA), Preliminary Engineering Report, Natural Resources Assessment, and Wetland Functional Assessment for the proposed project. This material is being provided to agency representatives for review and comment. As the environmental review and permitting for the proposal moves forward, additional information, including a Biological Evaluation and Habitat Mitigation Plan, will be developed.