DATE: June 9, 2004

DUSEL facilitator addresses City Council
By Betsy Steele
Staff writer

The Leavenworth City Council heard from the facilitator hired to report on the community's issues and concerns associated with the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) proposal for Icicle Canyon.

Jim Reid of The Falconer Group introduced himself to the city staff and council and explained his role in the process. He plans to meet with an estimated 90 people by the end of June, 43 who had already been interviewed by June 2.

"I'm asking for guidance as I talk to people in the community and begin the process of putting this together," Reid said at the June 1 study session, emphasizing his neutral role as an independent agent and his lack of association with the project proponents from the University of Washington or the Port of Chelan County that hired him.

He also hopes to arrange for public forums during which experts and representatives from agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service can present information related to the proposed project. That will be the extent of his role in presenting technical information, however. "I am not a technical expert on this," he emphasized, admitting that he did not even know a great deal about the actual proposal. And his report will not be a pro and con presentation, as some in the community have thought. He sees himself primarily as a listener and reporter, he said.

Reid gave assurances that the report, set to be completed by late November, will be made available to the general public, "since it is a public document," he said.

This document on public sentiment will be turned in to the Port of Chelan and sent to the Cascades Collaboration at the University of Washington, headed by physics professor Wick Haxton.

"This public comment will help shape the formal proposal to be submitted to the National Science Foundation before the end of the year," Haxton said. And that formal proposal will not be readily available to the public, according to NSF policies and procedures.

The foundation will review all of the proposals - there are likely to be six - and then decide whether to provide funds for detailed site evaluation, such as core sampling of Cashmere Mountain's granite by geotechnical experts.

"This is the starting point for the people of the Leavenworth area to decide what they want the project to look like and define how it will fit into the community, if it is ultimately selected by the foundation," Haxton added.

But some in the community are questioning whether this "starting point" is fair, since Reid is querying the public before they've had an opportunity to review the draft proposal just recently issued by Haxton's team.

"Those who could be impacted by this really need to comprehend the length and extent of the construction process, the costs and what could actually take place in this massive lab over the decades, before they are interviewed and officially on the record," said Anne Nowacki of Leavenworth.

Most City Council members and Leavenworth Mayor Mel Wyles said that they had not yet looked at the extensive draft proposal. And they appeared to expect Reid to come through with a condensed version, outlining pros and cons and public issues and concerns "in a form we can look at and understand, not a massive volume," said Councilman Tibor Lak.

"It's best to have this report that says 'these are the facts. This is what will happen,' not somebody going around waving a sign or saying things that are distortions or unrelated to this area," said Councilman Bill Wells.

Other council members generally reiterated that sentiment. "Once we know the facts about the project, we can form our opinion after this factgathering is completed in November," said Councilman Larry Langston.

Councilman Rob Eaton suggested that the council consider how best to approach public input from Leavenworth citizens. But no further discussion ensued on that topic.

The DUSEL project pre-proposal is available for review at local libraries and at http://int.phys.washington.edu/ NUSEL/icicle.html.

-reprinted with permission of The Leavenworth Echo

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DATE: June 2, 2004

UW scientists issue preliminary plan for underground lab
Submitted by Vince Stricherz

A preliminary plan for the national science and engineering laboratory deep underground near Leavenworth is being unveiled this week as a starting point for a formal proposal.

The plan, or pre-proposal, will begin giving more detail to ideas that previously have been discussed in general terms. It will be available for public viewing at the Leavenworth Community Library, Cashmere Community Library, Peshastin Community Library, Wenatchee Public Library and the University of Washington Visitor Center, 4014 University Way N.E., Seattle. The proposal is also available on the Internet at http://int.phys.washington.edu/ NUSEL/icicle.html.

Public comment will help shape a formal proposal to be submitted to the National Science Foundation later this year, said Wick Haxton, a University of Washington physics professor leading the underground lab effort. The NSF then will decide whether to provide financing for detailed site evaluation and project design.

"This is a starting point for the people of the Leavenworth area to decide what they want the project to look like and define how it will fit into the community, if it is ultimately selected by NSF and the venture goes forward," he said.

Haxton and John F. Wilkerson, also a UW physics professor, are co-leaders of a collaboration proposing construction of a national science and engineering lab beneath Cashmere Mountain, 8 miles west of Leavenworth in the Washington Cascades. In their plan, the laboratory would be carved deep in the 8,501-foot granite mountain, with access through two 3-mile-long access tunnels.

The project is being referred to as the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory/Cascades.

The National Science Foundation last month established a framework under which it will accept proposals to begin the process of picking a location and building a lab by the end of the decade. The NSF, which will underwrite the project, is expected to accept formal proposals for financing feasibility studies later this year.

Besides the Cascades proposal, bids are expected to come from groups in California, Colorado, Minnesota, South Dakota and Virginia. NSF could select any or all of the proposals for further study and could decide in 2008 whether to finance actual construction.

The Cascades collaboration is requesting that public comments be received by Aug. 1, though comments received after that can be incorporated as appropriate. It also is likely that feedback from a process initiated by the Port of Chelan County will produce comments throughout the summer.

Written comments may be submitted to Wick Haxton Box 351550 University of Washington Seattle WA 98195. Comments also may be submitted by email to icicle@phys.washingt on.edu.

The finalized proposal will be submitted to the National Science Foundation this fall.

-reprinted with permission of The Leavenworth Echo

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DATE: May 19, 2004

Public input on DUSEL shunted to facilitator
By Betsy Steele
Staff writer

Very shortly, a "pre-proposal" for what is now called the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Lab Cascades will be published, allowing citizens a glimpse of what the final proposal to the National Science Foundation might look like.

And, just a year after the acronym NUSEL was first heard around the valley, a report reflecting public sentiment is set to be delivered to city and county entities this November.

By 2005 the foundation will decide whether the Cashmere Mountain site or some other locale is worthy of its endorsement.

So the project proposal is well on its way from eliciting "well, just wait and see" to "Gosh, I'd better make up my mind" because the community's reaction is being polled - now.

Petition to City Council

One group of citizens, the Icicle Valley Protection Alliance, submitted a petition with more than 240 signatures to Leavenworth City Council at its May 11 meeting.

"The signatures represent only a portion of those people in our community as well as those who visit Leavenworth and recreate in our valley who are opposed to the [once "National" but now "Deep"] Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory proposal for the Icicle Valley. The signers all realize that this project is not suitable for many reasons for this particular site….We all believe that the negative impacts of such a massive project far outweigh any possible benefits," states a cover letter from Cot Rice, president of the alliance.

Earlier in the month, Rice, manager of the Cascade Irrigation District, had been scheduled to give a 20-minute presentation to the council at its May study session. "Since water was the major topic being discussed at the study session, I felt it was important to provide input on the Icicle Creek watershed, to point out the possible impacts and make sure the city is fully aware of its role in maintaining the quality of that site, a major consideration when looking at [DUSEL]," he said. But, upon returning from a weeklong trip, Rice found a message on his answering machine informing him that his presentation had been cancelled. And it was not going to be rescheduled, because the city had decided that public input on the federal project needed to go through the project facilitator. The facilitator is James Reid of The Falconer Group, recently hired through a committee headed by the Port of Chelan County to "assess, convene, negotiate and present a report by mid-November," according to Reid's proposal. The report - funded in part by the state at a cost of some $80,000 - is intended to outline the recommendations of the citizens of the community, more than 80 of whom Reid plans to interview. And, said council members, the city is likely to be under some pressure to take a stand on the project based on that report. But the alliance is questioning whether handing over such local considerations to the facilitator is appropriate. Although acknowledging that the project is "bigger than Leavenworth," its most direct impact would be on the environment just up the road from town, they say. And water is one of the most critical issues for which the city has responsibility. Water considerations The pre-proposal available at the project's Web site projects water needs at 8,000 gallons per day during the estimated 16 months of tunnel boring, tapering off to about 5,000 per day once the excavation is done. Furthermore, neutrino detectors, if installed, could require more than 12 million gallons of water every several years. Gasoline-like hydrocarbons and a variety of other compounds would also be used in the detectors.

In addition, the pre-proposal notes that water draining into the facility due to tunneling would need to be collected, possibly treated and pumped - somewhere - throughout the facility's duration.

A water service agreement would be needed from the city; plus a new water right or existing one would need to be obtained for the project's water needs.

And that, says Rice, has direct bearing on the city and should involve local discussion.

Address directly or through facilitator

Leavenworth's current policy, though, is to let Reid handle all public input and then, "have items brought to the agenda for consideration once the report is out," said City Administrator Scott Hugill.

Rice had asked for time before the council more than six weeks ago, but in the interim the facilitator was hired and a long list of other items came up for study session, Hugill explained. So about a week before the meeting, the mayor and staff decided to take Rice off the agenda.

"It often happens that higher priority items get placed on the agenda," Hugill said. He encouraged Rice and other citizens to make their voices heard at any of the bimonthly council meetings on Tuesday evenings and by writing to their elected officials.

But at least two council members, Rob Eaton and Keith Tower, said they had no idea Rice had been nixed from the agenda or that public comment on DUSEL was to go through the facilitator.

Eaton, who is on a citizens advisory group looking into the DUSEL issue, said he was surprised to hear that Rice had been left out.

"That decision was made at the administrative level so council members weren't aware that had happened," he said. "It's clear to me that the role of the city needs to be discussed. Do we want to depend on a countywide assessment or do we want to have informational meetings ourselves? If one of our citizens wants to address this issue they should be able to," Eaton said adding that the city is "an active participant in this process. We're not just sitting and waiting…We do have an opportunity to shape the project though…and we have to keep in mind that a project of this type could allow for economic diversity that could insulate us from ebbs and flows of tourism…This particular project may not be right for us, but we have an obligation to take an objective look at it to see if it might be a good fit and to develop a process for looking at this or other proposals that might come down the road."

That appears to be one way the city is viewing DUSEL - as a test case for other major ventures that prompt a well thought out community response, a method for grappling with all the complex issues raised.

NSF decision by 2005?

But at what point does it stop being a hypothetical situation, labeled "too preliminary," a "pre-proposal," as the science group is labeling it now, and start being a serious plan of action? The National Science Foundation, according to reports, plans to narrow its choice of locations for the lab down to one or two as early as 2005.

In the meantime, community input is being labeled a consensusbuilding process by The Falconer Group. Some scoff at that. "Consensus? I think they're dreaming," said one City Council member.

"There's no way they can mitigate for what is essentially industrialization of the Icicle Valley, with who knows what happening after 30 or 40 years when this particular set of experiments have run their course," said an alliance member.

Yet the project proponents, led by Institute for Nuclear Theory director Wick Haxton, are confident they can "identify potential conflicts so they can be resolved in this initial pre-proposal. Those that cannot be resolved can be addressed through mitigation."

And proponents may be offering what could be seen as enticing mitigation for the county, city and Port of Chelan County. In the pre-proposal, for example, mention is made of "a bridge over the Wenatchee River that would shorten the distance from one of the potential Port sites [for the lab's administrative or education center] to the lab. Construction of this bridge might be eligible for federal funding as might a parking structure to alleviate traffic congestion in Leavenworth….The project proponents are well aware of the potential such financial support holds for enhancing project goals and competitiveness."

And they see the "central task, obtaining a special use permit for scientific activities on U.S. Forest Service lands, as one that's been successfully concluded before by National Science Foundation project proponents…."

Leavenworth/Lake Wenatchee District Ranger Glenn Hoffman, the land manager for Cashmere Mountain, said the Forest Service has had very little communication with the DUSEL proponents to date. "Our position is, we will act on a proposal once we get one."

And one of the first criteria will be to "determine the need to use national forest lands at all; whether this is an appropriate use of these lands or whether such a project could be located somewhere else," Hoffman said.

When asked what distinguishes this type of land use from a private mining project, Hoffman said "This is research-oriented, so therefore it falls under special use guidelines. But in many ways, as far as the actual construction part of the project, it certainly involves drilling and extracting… That does remain a key question, and I'm not sure I have the answer at this time."

That's also true for how to interpret scientific research in and below wilderness areas, Hoffman said. "How far under the surface does wilderness go? And what type of research was intended when the [Federal Wilderness Act] was written? Wick Haxton seems confident of his interpretation, but other groups see it differently."

Ultimately, the decisions about the project could be "way beyond my authority," Hoffman said. "Because we manage it, that doesn't necessarily mean we have much say."

-reprinted with permission of The Leavenworth Echo

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DATE: April 7, 2004

Chamber takes pro-NUSEL position
Board believes it has enough information to make the call now Others feel hasty checkoff is unfair to larger community
By Betsy Steele
Staff writer

The Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce let it be known formally that it has taken a "very pro position" on the National Underground Science and Engineering Lab proposed for the Icicle Valley. A letter from chamber Executive Director Bill Taylor, dated March 25, states that the chamber "will be providing balanced and factual information to the membership and the community as the process moves forward."

In supporting the NUSEL project, under the "Advance Icicle" heading, the chamber notes that the large federal facility offers "new directions, clean development and global impact for the Upper Wenatchee Valley." The Advance Icicle group is a community alliance "supporting options for the future of the Wenatchee Valley," its letterhead states and the chamber is its chief affiliate, Taylor said.

"Early rumors have triggered speculation about what NUSEL might mean to our area," the letter states. And the answer, according to Taylor, is "good jobs, economic diversity, educational opportunities, new kinds of tourism, community improvements, powerful new state and federal partners and an unprecedented worldwide presence."

The chamber is convinced that the lab could enhance new angles on tourism while not diminishing Leavenworth's Bavarian/outdoor emphasis. "A chance to look at the research NUSEL conducts can become a valued tie-in with current tourist attractions. [It] might even give us a new 'science' festival!"

The letter then directs further inquiries to the lab proponents at the University of Washington Physics Department, who have also posted an "answers to frequently asked questions" site.

This "blithe acceptance based on incomplete answers to questions that we brought forth by the way," is troubling to Cot Rice, a member of the Icicle Valley Protection Alliance, a group that has formed to probe "objectively" beyond the information provided by the NUSEL champions from the university, they say.

This is dismissed by Taylor and some others in the community as the work of "overly emotional NIMBYs (an acronym for Not in My Back Yarders).

"This proposal is being put forth by physicists at the university, and as far as I'm concerned at this point they're the ones who have the credibility. The NIMBYs can do what they will. And we're free to listen to who we want. And we believe we can't afford to miss this opportunity."

But the "we" is the vote of the 14 chamber board members, taken at a board meeting in November when the NUSEL proposal for Cashmere Mountain was first aired, Taylor said. The rest of the 436 Leavenworth Chamber members were never polled. A meeting was never held to address the NUSEL issue, and that is rankling to a number of members.

"This board reached a conclusion without really substantiating the way their members feel about this very important development in our community, probably the most significant proposal since the Bavarian theme. And yet it was never brought up at a general membership meeting, no surveys were sent out. Chambers don't normally take stands on issues of this magnitude and controversy this early on," said one former chamber president and current member.

Another member said, "I was shocked when I got that letter without having a meeting. My opinion is they should have consulted their membership. I know for sure that not all of us believe that the long-term good of the community is best served by tunneling into the mountainside, the lengthy major construction involved and resulting facility."

Other business owners also spoke out. But it is telling that all of them wished to remain anonymous. "Please don't use my name," asked one. "I don't want to alienate any of my customers who may not agree."

Taylor, however, is unapologetic about what some perceive as a rush to judgment. "We had a board meeting [in November]; we distributed the information about NUSEL we'd received. We discussed it and we took a vote on it. And this letter is because we thought it was time that we sent notice out to our members with where they could find more information. The next time we have our quarterly general membership meeting we'll certainly talk about it. But typically people show up for these meetings when there are issues they're against. We've had absolutely no negative feedback from our members on the NUSEL proposal, so more than likely there won't be many people at the meeting."

Taylor believes that as the proposal moves forward, a very thorough analysis will uncover all possible problems. "You've got to have faith in the process. It's very thorough," he said.

The process could eventually involve an Environmental Impact Statement after a daunting number of other hurdles are crossed. A proposal from the UW physics team is likely to be submitted to the National Science Foundation later this spring. The foundation will then embark on a two-to-three year review of all NUSEL site options, including ones from South Dakota, Minnesota and California. After the foundation chooses a site, funding must be requested from Congress, which may or may not allocate funds; and from a president who could approve or veto them. Then, a construction process that could last anywhere from 2 1/2 to 7 years (depending on many variables), with a preliminary estimate of 44 or so trucks a day, a football field sized drilling platform and major construction activity on Icicle Road, where the portals to the lab would open from the face of Cashmere Mountain.

Large administrative and science center campuses are also planned. And the point of it all is to facilitate research in astro-particles in the first United States' deep underground laboratory, 7,000 feet under Cashmere Mountain, which is capped by a wilderness and sits amid a worldrenowned hiking and camping region along Icicle Creek, the chief water source for the city of Leavenworth, the Icicle Irrigation District, Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery and other water users.

Once the massive facility has served its purpose, after an estimated 40 years, it would, according to the Q&A site from the university, either be mothballed by removing all materials from underground, closing off the tunnels and returning the site to as natural a condition as possible. Or another entity could apply for a permit to "change the purpose of use."

In the meantime, currently, a self-described "neutral" committee of local agencies and governments, including a representative from the city of Leavenworth, led by the Port of Chelan County, plans to "put the project through its paces and ensure that all issues get a hard fair look," according to the Advance Icicle notice.

-reprinted with permission of The Leavenworth Echo

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DATE: March 24, 2004

Icicle Creek proposal submission delayed
Submitted by Mark Urdahl
Port of Chelan County

The submittal of a proposal for the creation of a National Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (NUSEL) at Icicle Creek has been slightly delayed, according to University of Washington physicist and project leader Dr. Wick Haxton.

On Feb. 6 the National Science Foundation announced that it was restarting the lab evaluation process and returned all earlier submitted proposals. Project proponents were asked to refrain from submitting any new proposal while the NSF formulates its new process.

"The NSF has invited us, as well as, the proponents of all other sites to a meeting on March 29 at the NSF offices in Washington, D.C.," said Haxton. "We expect the NSF to describe its new roadmap for NUSEL, including instructions for proceeding with the NUSEL-Icicle Creek proposal. There may be new requirements, for example, length or content. But we hope the instructions will allow us to release a draft conceptual proposal to the public soon thereafter."

The NSF could announce a timetable for formal submission of proposals at the March 29 meeting. "We want our draft conceptual proposal to be reviewed by both the public and our scientific colleagues well before formal submission to the NSF. Such review always leads to ideas for improvements," Haxton said.

The Port of Chelan County is acting as the local agency that will convene a series of facilitated local meetings to provide the public with information about the project and its projected impacts. The port is in the process of selecting a professional facilitator with experience in dealing with highly complex projects such as the proposed NUSEL-Icicle Creek project.

The port has not yet taken a position in support or in opposition to NUSEL-Icicle Creek.

"We recognize that this has the potential for significant and positive economic impact," said Port Commissioner John Stoltenberg. "At the same time, we are mindful of other impacts such as construction and traffic and need to review the actual proposal before taking a position," Stoltenberg added. "We urge the public to take the time to study the proposal when it becomes available before making up their minds."

For additional information contact Mark Urdahl, Port of Chelan County, mark@ccpd.com, 663-5159.

-reprinted with permission of The Leavenworth Echo

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DATE: March 3, 2004

Alliance seeks to inform community about NUSEL impact
Presentation by water and geology expert highlights industrial potential
By Betsy Steele
Staff writer

A recent presentation in Leavenworth emphasized once again the stunning complexity and extent of the NUSEL proposal for the Cashmere Mountain site.

If the National Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory were to be built along Icicle Road, this is what the drilling equipment would probably look like. And this is a general idea of water issues that need to be examined. That was the basic information provided by hydrogeologist Anne Udaloy on Feb. 24. Udaloy, a professional consultant from Seattle, was invited to town by a community- based group, the Icicle Valley Protection Alliance.

Beginning her program by emphasizing that she is "neither for nor against," Udaloy went on to explain "generalities from what we know now" - the big picture at the prospective NUSEL site, including basic water cycle concepts and the features of granite.

"What could be more solid than granite?" she asked rhetorically. But granite typically has fractures. And puncturing and cross-connecting those, with the massive tunneling that would be required, could potentially alter the seasonal volume of water that feeds into Icicle Creek and the Alpine Lakes and recharges aquifers farther down the valley. That prospect is a possibility, as is contamination from spills during construction and afterward during experiments in the lab chambers.

But an absolute, she said, would be industrialization of what's currently backcountry and a cul de sac forest road. The same type of tunnel boring machinery (TBM) that was used to create the Chunnel, under the English Channel, would be applied under Cashmere Mountain. With current technology, it requires a football field-sized staging area at the site for unloading, assembling and maintaining the diesel and electric powered TBM. In advance of the actual tunneling, a concrete casing must be trucked in and fitted inside, as the site is excavated. As the TBM works its way along, rubble is conveyed on a belt to the outside. The machine must be lubricated and also cooled. And then the heated water must be allowed to cool down before being discharged.

Udaloy did not address the specifics, such as how long the six miles of tunneling is estimated to take, because at this point they are not clearly known.

In addition to helping audience members comprehend the dynamics of geology and tunnel boring machinery, Udaloy also helped convey the enormity of the proposal.

In a quiet, precise voice, she stated, "This project is not trivial in any way, shape or form. It's huge…and if it is built here, a highly involved community that follows the process carefully… can get a better product." And that is because any extra measures to mitigate against damage end up costing [the developers] more. Many of them won't happen "unless they are insisted upon," Udaloy said.

Although unwilling to speculate on specific mitigation possibilities, Udaloy did point out that water issues would likely be significant, requiring thorough analysis of the area's hydrogeology in a way that has not been done before.

The consultant also pointed out that once a federal project reaches the point where an Environmental Impact Statement is required, "I have never seen them choose the 'no action' alternative." Under the National Environmental Policy Act, the proponent agency is required to develop different scenarios, including its preferred alternative and the status quo.

Then, once the construction phase is over and the lab is ready to operate, "the community loses control" over what types of experiments and materials move in, Udaloy said - especially when projects such as a National Security Underground Defense System come into play. And that is one of the possible lab uses that has been regularly mentioned, along with whether it's possible to "simulate the origin of elements in stellar evolution and whether or not neutrinos are their own antiparticles" - two theories, ripe for testing, noted by physicists in recent publications.

Although well attended, the meeting did not appear to engage any public officials, in part because it coincided with Leavenworth City Council's meeting.

Council member Rob Eaton, however, was able to attend only the tail end after the council dismissed.

Eaton is working closely with a regional coordinating committee, represented by the Chamber of Commerce, city, county, PUD, Port of Chelan County and U.S. Forest Service.

He emphasized that "no agency besides the chamber has formed an opinion yet. We are in the fact-finding stage. But we are pro-process," with a stance he terms 'helpful neutrality' toward the project.

"At this point, we want to get information from all sides and come up with an opinion that is best for our community. We're collecting accurate, reliable information and giving it out to the public…we are looking at this from all points of view…."

But Eaton does want to dispel "myths" that have stemmed from concerns touched on by others. They range from parking lots at the lab to asphyxiating gases.

"If ventilation fails, what will happen to the gases," people have asked - concerned that some compounds that have been used at similar labs - odorless, colorless and heavier than air - could sink down to ground level and seep into the canyon.

Eaton, however, after researching the topic and talking with lab proponents, feels confident that innocuous helium would be the primary gas released. If there are others, "formulas for cubic yards involved and how quickly they dissipate" could be examined.

Another concern is that taxpayers would carry the burden of getting additional power and other infrastructure to the facility. But the developers would be responsible for that, Eaton said.

And labeling the Department of Defense the bad guy is not really fair, Eaton said. "They are into quite a range of projects that are of general benefit, like breast cancer research…They're just one of the conduits for dividing up the federal scientific research pie."

Essentially, Eaton feels no one should rush to judgment on the project, especially since a formal proposal has not yet been sent to the National Science Foundation from a team at the University of Washington, led by physics professor, Dr. Wick Haxton. When it is, a copy will be available for review at City Hall and plans will be made for public meetings and "ample opportunity for comment," Eaton said.

Early last month, the NSF decided to start afresh, returning to sender all unsolicited proposals for the lab site it had already received. One, for the Homestake Mine in South Dakota, appeared to be the top pick until recently. NSF, in the letter, also referred to "lab or laboratories…location or locations," leading some to speculate that more than one location could be chosen. But "even if [we] determined that a compelling case could be made for an underground lab, that does not assure its inclusion in the president's budget request or congressional appropriation of funds," the letter stated.

A decision could be years from now. In the meantime, "just the idea of it, hovering over us, has created this polarization in our little community, with some seeing great benefit and others seeing great harm," said a resident at the meeting. "Just not knowing is worrisome."

Others, however, feel they know enough already to direct the NUSEL scientists elsewhere, preferably back toward South Dakota. Leavenworth resident and civil engineer Bill Schmidt put it this way at the meeting: "Let's picture Leavenworth as a small but elegant canoe and NUSEL as an 800-pound gorilla. The gorilla tries to step in the canoe and it's a disaster. He destroys the balance and grossly exceeds the host capacity…the moral is, the gorilla should go somewhere else, where a great big barge and willing crew are already waiting for him to come aboard."

-reprinted with permission of The Leavenworth Echo

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DATE: February 4, 2004

Community group digging for information on underground lab
Preliminary estimates from NUSEL team may have been misleading
By Betsy Steele
Staff writer

Plans for the United States' deep underground research lab and just where it will ultimately be located seem as amorphous as the astro-particles that could be studied there.

South Dakota is aggressively easing the way for the Homestake Mine to become what is referred to as the NUSEL site, and a team of physicists is working with the state.

But one of them, formerly a team member himself, has abandoned the Homestake proposal and has set his sights on Cashmere Mountain, up the Icicle Road from Leavenworth.

"We've literally been working past midnight nearly every night because we want to get this information out as quickly as possible," said Wick Haxton, a physics professor at the University of Washington. His new team consists of a number of experts from the university, in the fields of engineering, architecture, geology, hydrology and other academic fields pertinent to the lab project.

At a public meeting held in November of last year, Haxton presented an overview of lab plans.

Since then, residents here have been methodically researching the topic, trying to find out as much as possible about this massive federal project proposal. What are similar facilities in other parts of the world like? What is this science that includes perplexing phrases such as: "charge parity in the lepton sector," "dark matter beta decay" and ideas about firing a beam of neutrinos from Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York to a "deep neutrino detector" on the other side of the country? Where did the two and one-half years estimate for construction of the tunnels and lab space come from? What about the water source - Icicle Creek?

"Numerous inquiries are naturally bound to happen. This was dropped on the community like a bombshell and, of course, people are going to have a wide variety of reactions," said Leavenworth resident Cot Rice, a member of the local group, which is strictly local - not affiliated with any outside organization, he emphasizes.

Rice and others have been getting together on Wednesday evenings to share information. They have on board a civil engineer and a hydrogeologist and have come to the conclusion that NUSEL has the potential to severely impact the peace and quiet of the Icicle Road area, the federal wilderness 7,000 feet above it, air quality from diesel trucking fumes, and dust and noise as excavated rubble is moved out, water quantity, quality and treatment requirements and, ultimately, that the science itself - the aims and intent - may include more than dark matter, neutrinos and "extremophile" microorganisms.

There has been open discussion among scientists involved in the facility's planning of also using it for Department of Energy and Defense Department projects, including "weapons detection," analyzing samples for evidence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Even without the WMD element, the NUSEL would still likely demand intense national security oversight, at least with lighting and guards.

"I understand the ability of people to think of the worst and let their imaginations run wild," Haxton said. "The problem is that folks haven't been willing to listen to us carefully. We've made a point that our numbers have very large airbars on them and are to be taken with a large grain of salt. Our critics can't be willing to take it both ways - wanting facts and figures and then using them to point out errors and inconsistencies when we've said that they are just preliminary estimates."

Haxton would be pleased if everyone would back off until "Good engineering studies have been finished and we're confident that all of our calculations are accurate… They should also try to remember that the state has a wonderful process it has to go through once the proposal moves forward. At many steps the public has an opportunity to comment to their officials."

"If Mr. Haxton is concerned about misinformation, he needs to be more careful about what he provides the community then," said Rice, "What does he expect? His work may have been preliminary; and we're doing our preliminary work, as well. What we're trying to avoid is being blindsided, and as a result we're researching carefully so that when NUSEL does become a concrete proposal we'll have a better idea of how to deal with it. Then we will - as a group of concerned, well-informed citizens - be ready with educated opinions."

Rice, who is the manager of the Cascade Orchards Irrigation Company and has been a member of the Wenatchee Basin Watershed Study Committee for 20 years, is particularly concerned about implications for Icicle Creek and its users, which include wildlife, the city, the hatchery and orchardist/ farmers.

"We've been very fortunate that the four entities get along together. It works well and we want it to continue working well," he said. "So I have a big concern when they talk about needing significant amounts of water, because 'there ain't no more.'"

Water has been a problem at two of the four major underground physics lab sites around the world. One, in Gran Sasso in Italy, was temporarily shut down, after "scintillator fluid" used in a huge neutrino detector, was found to be leaking and made its way into an outside stream. The U.S. Geologic Society also confirmed that lake drainage in the surrounding mountains appears to have been affected by tunneling and excavating for the highway and laboratory. The lab in Japan has been shut down after the main detector there collapsed as it was being refilled with millions of gallons of specially treated water.

Haxton, however, said that drainage is "not likely to be an important issue….If there is water, most of it would come out during the initial construction phase." And he also does not think the NUSEL he envisions would be as massive as ones elsewhere in the world. Much depends, however, on other scientists and "what portions of their programs they would site at Icicle Creek."

The apparent dismissal of concerns raised is disturbing, said Leavenworth resident Anne Nowacki, a member of the research group. "Nothing we have said seems to have any bearing or weight to him."

The group does not hide the fact that they are hoping the National Science Foundation will settle on the South Dakota site.

But Haxton discounts that prospect. "My sympathies go out to Homestake," he said, since the state is making an earnest effort to lure NUSEL back to its original home. (The first neutrino experiments, leading to a Nobel Prize, were done there.)

Big hurdles are still ahead during the NSF review period. Plus, "they have discovered that water is pouring into the mine at 700 gallons per minute, about twice as much as we had hoped. It's past the 7,400 foot level where they had hoped to put the main labs," he added.

According to a recent article in the Rapid City Journal, Barrick Gold Corporation, which owns the mine, agreed to donate it to the state to be used as the NUSEL, in exchange for protection from environmental/trespass liability. In the meantime, however, no one is assuming responsibility for costly pumping to bail out the deep mine. As a result, groundwater is pouring in, while the state, company, scientists, federal agencies and, eventually, Congress, deliberate.

Haxton isn't waiting. He's "intrigued" at the process of designing a brand new facility with a "minimal footprint." Engineers, architects and others from the university are working on parts of the design puzzle and coming up with some "clever and elegant" plans, he said, that will attract scientists from around the world to set up their deep underground experiments in a new environment.

The Cashmere Mountain proposal is expected to be on its way the National Science Foundation later this month.

-reprinted with permission of The Leavenworth Echo

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