Small Town News

The city of Shelton picks up biomass banner

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Not to be outdone by the missteps of Mason County and Port of Shelton officials, the City of Shelton has picked up the biomass banner.

I speak, of course, of the Mitigated Determination of Non-significance the City recently assigned to the Simpson/Solomon SEPA application, all but giving full blessing to the siting of a 31MW cogeneration plant in downtown Shelton.

Despite a yearlong battle waged by Concerned Citizens to steer our community to more constructive economic reforms, some of our officials seem intent on beating this dead horse back to life.

So it is little wonder that those charged with leading the parade are the last to notice their following has headed off in another direction, and is now marching to a different drumbeat.

The dismal failure of Adage to fulfill its promise of jobs and stimulate the local economy has left a few folks with enough egg on their face to make a pretty embarrassing omelet. So what does it say of those leaders who refuse to learn, even from experience? Is it possible they still don't understand the pitfalls of siting an environmentally destructive, unhealthy and esthetically intrusive incinerator in the most densely populated area of Mason County?

Historically, wood products have been synonymous with domestic growth and jobs; harvested trees were milled into dimensional lumber and used in the construction of homes and businesses; the economic trickledown was enormous. But a prolonged recession left big timber looking for new customers and ways to turn trees into profits. And the timely emergence of globalization offered up just such opportunities. Now most of the trees harvested in Washington are being exported to South Korea, China and, of course, Japan. For reasons of economy, some of these countries prefer to do their own milling, which means fewer jobs at local sawmills, stagnant domestic growth and little economic trickle-down.

But not everyone is hurting: In an effort to meet global demand, Simpson is aggressively harvesting trees, and the Port of Olympia is now the second largest exporter of logs in the State. At first glance this would seem to be a good thing, but large-scale exportation of our natural resources does little to spur growth or create jobs; and smacks of third world economics.

To make matters worse, Simpson/Solomon wants to build a co-generation plant on the Shelton waterfront and sell the electricity to the highest bidder. And what does Mason County get from this new source of revenue? About what Adage was trying to sell us: bad air, bad water and poor health, all of which begs the question, is anyone trying to attract business that does not involve using our environment as an industrial toilet?

However you shake it, reliance on a single industry is a sure-fire recipe for economic failure; diversity is the only means by which a community can hope to protect itself against the inevitable challenges of the future. That is why every financial planner advises his or her clients to diversify their investment portfolio.

If it is the goal of our community to create a stable economy based on proven principals of economics, we must reconsider proposals that impede business diversity. Toward that end, it is time to declare a moratorium on biomass-fueled plants or, failing that, replace the leaders of our parade.



Copyright 2011 Shelton-Mason County Journal, Shelton, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2011 Shelton-Mason County Journal Shelton, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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