State orders mine to stop operations at Nile landslide

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Warning that any renewed operations could trigger additional landslides, the state on Thursday imposed an emergency order suspending mining at a gravel pit at the site of last month's massive landslide near Nile.

The order stops Simmons and Son Hauling from attempting to resume mining in the wake of the 80-acre landslide of Oct. 11 that partially covered the pit, located along State Route 410.

The state Department of Natural Resources said the order was prompted after representatives of the pit's owners indicated they would resume mining.

According to the order, renewal of mining on the 50-acre site would threaten additional slides that could bury additional homes.

"Mining companies normally do not propose mining on active landslides," the order said. "Mining in these areas are inherently dangerous and pose a tremendous challenge to re-establish a stable slope upon final reclamation."

State geologist Dave Norman says additional mining is not authorized by the company's existing reclamation permit, which was not based on the site's current conditions.

Also Thursday, a report went to Gov. Chris Gregoire on economic losses to businesses along State Route 410 as a result of the slide.

Gregoire is being asked to sign a letter that would seek federal Small Business Administration assistance in the form of low-interest loans.

Rob Harper, spokesman for the state military department's Office of Emergency Management, said loss figures were provided by five businesses.

"That gets us to a threshold we can make a request to SBA," he said.

Geologists have not determined the cause of the slide that buried a portion of the highway and dammed the Naches River.

However, some have speculated whether the pit played a role in triggering the slide.

The pit is near the western edge of a massive 6-mile-wide landslide that occurred as much as 1 million years ago. It was mostly buried by the Oct. 11 slide, one of the biggest to ever hit a state roadway.

The federal Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) also issued an order that prohibits anyone from entering the mine site. MSHA earlier said the mine could resume work but changed its mind.

The landscape around the pit is deformed and shot through with cracks and fissures, all indicative of instability, the DNR order says. Several homes, a section of Highway 410 and the Naches River could be hit if the ground gives way again.

Representatives of the Simmons gravel pit did not return phone messages Thursday.

DNR's authority over mines extends mainly to reclamation: the process of filling in pits and replanting vegetation after mining stops. It's rare for DNR to shut down a mine, but Norman said the agency has the power to act because the landslide so altered the gravel mine that its previous reclamation plan is no longer valid.

"You have to have stable slopes for good reclamation," Norman said.

The gravel mine produces aggregate for road-building.

Yakima County records show that before the Oct. 11 slide, the quarry was producing some of the material for a project to resurface Nile Loop Road.

As DNR was taking action, the state Department of Transportation and contractors began building rough trails to access the landslide that covered SR 410 with millions of cubic yards of debris.

The trails are intended to allow geotechnical experts to bring in off-road drill rigs early next week. The rigs will help geologists collect rock and soil samples and install instruments to monitor movement and water accumulation in the landslide.

"We have been monitoring the landslide with a radar unit from across the valley for two weeks to see if there has been any movement," Todd Trepanier, DOT assistant regional administrator of maintenance and operations said in a news release.

"Based on the information we have received from the radar and visual observations, there hasn't been any movement, and we feel it's safe for our crews to start taking samples from the slide area," he said.

With crews working to build the access trails for next week's drilling, DOT will be monitoring the slide to ensure safe working conditions.

County officials, meanwhile, are gathering information on losses suffered by homeowners. One home is covered by the slide, and others have suffered significant damage and have been labeled uninhabitable.

Jim Hall, director of the county Office of Emergency Management, said he has calculated residential damages of about $944,000.

Damage at that level may not be enough to obtain help, Hall said.

"We have asked the state to tell us we are eligible. We are waiting for word on that," Hall said.

Estimates of damage to public roads and other public facilities is being put together, but likely will not meet the $7.6 million threshold to trigger assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

* Material from The Seattle Times was used in this report.

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