KETCHIKAN -- The parties interested in operating the Ketchikan Gateway Borough's veneer plant are awaiting a state log storage permit for Ward Cove before proceeding with lease plans, according to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority.

Executive director Jim McMillan told the Ketchikan Daily News that AIDEA has voiced interest in purchasing the veneer mill from the borough and leasing it to Sealaska and a Medford, Ore.-based company, Timber Products.

McMillan said AIDEA is awaiting a proposal from the two companies. That proposal likely would not be presented unless the companies are able to obtain a permit to take logs out of Wards Cove, he said.

Steve Corporon, assistant borough manager, said the borough is seeking a permit from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to store and take logs from the water of Ward Cove. While the Ketchikan Pulp Co. had a permit to store the logs in Ward Cove when it operated a pulp mill there, Corporon said, the borough does not have a permit in place.