Can mine within original footprint
The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has sent formal notice to Lloyd Logging, requiring the company to rectify the reclamation permit for mining at its gravel pit about 1 1/2 miles west of Winthrop.
Lloyd Logging has a permit from 1986 that hasn’t been updated to comply with Washington’s Surface Mining Act.
DNR officials met with Lloyd Logging and Lloyd has agreed to contain operations to their currently disturbed area while they update and secure the reclamation permit and any necessary Okanogan County permits, according to DNR Communications Manager Joe Smillie. The company can mine deeper within that area, but will not expand horizontally, he said.
Lloyd Logging’s original permit allowed excavation on 6.8 acres, but the disturbed area has grown to more than 11 acres over the years, according to Okanogan County Planning Director Pete Palmer.
The company recently began excavating on the steep hillside above Highway 20 that had blocked much of the pit from view, raising concern among neighbors and others who travel the highway, an officially designated scenic route.
Investigations by DNR and Okanogan County found that Lloyd Logging had not updated its permits since the 1980s and had expanded without authorization.
In addition to the reclamation permit, Lloyd Logging needs a current conditional-use permit from Okanogan County, Palmer said.
