Lack of union participation on project angers local carpenters

Environmental complaints filed; no violations found

MICHAEL BURNHAM, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Sunday, February 3, 2002

OLYMPIA -- Members of a Northwest carpenters union are alleging that the demolition of the Fourth Avenue bridge has violated key state environmental permits, but three state regulatory agencies disagree.

Representatives of the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters say that at least one permit was violated when bridge debris and sediment-retention fences became submerged in Budd Inlet's high tides last November.

Construction crews from the Hamilton Construction Co. of Springfield, Ore., began demolishing the 81-year-old Fourth Avenue bridge Nov. 19.

Local carpenters, who want a share of the job, subsequently photographed bridge demolition and mailed photos of the debris and silt fences to the state departments of Fish and Wildlife, Ecology and Natural Resources.

According to a hydraulic permit that was issued by Fish and Wildlife to the city of Olympia on Aug. 15, "removal of the existing (bridge) shall be accomplished so the structure and associated material does not enter the water."

A second provision of the hydraulic permit requires that "water within the cofferdams shall be pumped to stormwater retention ponds for treatment before being discharged to the waters of the state, unless water quality standards set by ... Ecology are met for discharging water into Budd Inlet."

"It appears to me that the hydraulic permit is not being complied with," Carpenters union organizer Chuck Gotcher wrote in a Dec. 4 letter to Fish and Wildlife.

"A couple of key areas of concern are the demolition debris allowed to enter the water and the insufficient use of silt fences. ... We are surprised there were no steps taken to keep the demolition debris out of the water up to the high tide line."

Beneath the surface, however, the allegations of permit violations appear to be tied to a union versus nonunion dispute.

Silt fencing

Hamilton Construction workers installed silt fences to control erosion into Budd Inlet during demolition.

The silt fences consisted of permeable, black plastic fencing fortified with straw bales. The fences are designed to allow water to pass through and retain sediment.

Carpenters union officials provided the state agencies photos taken Nov. 28 that show the silt fence submerged in water and what appears to be silt streaming into Budd Inlet.

Frare attributed the high water to snow and heavy rains.

In response to the Carpenters union photos, Ecology officials visited the construction site several times in early December, Ecology water quality program manager Megan White wrote in a Dec. 21 letter to the union.

While Ecology does not have the authority to determine compliance with the hydraulic permit, the agency does have the responsibility to assure compliance with stormwater and general construction permits it issued for the project.

"We did an unofficial inspection of the site to see if there were any (stormwater) permit violations," said Kerry Carroll, an Ecology water quality specialist. "We didn't find any."

Ecology spokeswoman Sandy Howard said the bridge demolition did not appear to violate its general construction permit, also called a water quality permit.

"In this case, there is an allowance for them to stir up some turbidity for a limited amount of time," Howard said.

Bridge debris

Hamilton Construction workers allowed debris to enter Budd Inlet, but project manager Tom Frare contends that the demolition methods did not violate the Fish and Wildlife hydraulic permit.

"In the course of work, debris fell into the water during low tide," Frare said. "In high tide, the water came in and touched the debris; that's not a violation of the permit."

The area of concern stretches from the former bridge's westernmost abutment to the West Bay shoreline.

As required by permit, construction workers laid wood mats atop exposed intertidal vegetation, Frare said.

Workers allowed debris to fall on the mats as well as exposed intertidal areas during low tide. The debris was intermittently submerged by high tides for about one week and was ultimately removed by barge, Frare said.

In a Jan. 17 letter to the Carpenters union, Fish and Wildlife habitat program manager Sue Patnude explained that the bridge debris did not enter Budd Inlet during high tide.

Fish and Wildlife's Margie Schirato, a habitat biologist for Thurston and Mason counties, has visited the site several time a month since demolition began.

"Everything that I've seen has been in compliance with the permits," Schirato said.

Still, Carpenters union officials said the demolition procedure warranted state investigations.

"To me, reading the conditions of the hydraulic permit, the water isn't supposed to go around the debris," Gotcher said. "When it says no debris, it means no debris."

The state Department of Natural Resources, which manages the aquatic lands, issued a lease for the bridge work rather than a permit.

Upon receiving the Carpenters union photos, Gary Cooper, a DNR regional aquatics manager, consulted with Ecology and Fish and Wildlife officials who had monitored the work site and found no permit violations.

"I was satisfied by what I heard from them," Cooper said.

Union concerns

All parties agree that the Carpenters union doesn't have a purely environmental interest in the permits.

There are now 52 people working on the bridge; 20 are Oregon residents and 32 are Washington residents, Frare said. Of Hamilton Construction's 14 subcontractors, 10 are union outfits.

"Really, when we hire, I don't pay a lot of attention to union affiliation," said Hamilton project manager Brad Sullivan, who has not hired directly from the Carpenters union.

Carpenters union officials have met several times with Hamilton Construction officials to try to secure future jobs with the project. About 40 union carpenters and pile-drivers have applied for bridge work, said Lonnie Wangen, a Carpenters union field representative.

In the event that Hamilton needs to expand its work force, Hamilton proposed in December to hire union carpenters to work alongside existing nonunion workers. But Carpenters union and Hamilton officials failed to reach an agreement Wednesday.

"If there were a union contractor doing this, we wouldn't have been out there watching," Gotcher said.

In October, Hamilton received the job after submitting a total construction bid for about $20.93 million -- about $3.59 million less than the city's estimate.

Of the five Northwest companies vying for the project, Hamilton's bid was the lowest by about $1 million.

"If they're not abiding by permits, that's a way to save money," Gotcher said.

Frare dismissed the union's allegations of permit violations as retribution.

"Their whole issue here is that Hamilton is a nonunion contractor," Frare said. "In my mind, what they're trying to do is cause some trouble.

"It's up to Hamilton to decide how to run their business," he said.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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