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13th District lawmakers urge Department of Ecology to continue exempt
well allowances in Kittitas County
Sen. Janéa Holmquist, R-Moses Lake, and
Rep. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, lawmakers for the 13th
Legislative District, attended two Department of Ecology community
meetings in Cle Elum and Ellensburg on a petition against additional
exempt wells.
The lawmakers spoke
against the proposal and maintain that the rule would set a precedent
for the state. If Ecology proceeds and adopts a moratorium, they
fear that any interest group could prevent landowners from using water
on their own property in any county of the state.
The legislators took issue at the meetings
that planned studies have not been completed to determine if the exempt
wells are in fact affecting the groundwater sources.
“The Department of
Ecology, and therefore, Governor Gregoire, should not adopt this petition
based on assumptions that will take away Kittitas County citizens’
property rights,” Holmquist said. “If the governor and Ecology need to
gather facts, that’s great; but the state can do that without taking
people’s property rights.”
“Good policy comes
from good information,” explains
Rep.
Bill Hinkle, R-Cle Elum. “I am working to secure funds to
conduct a more thorough analysis in upper Kittitas County, but to
initiate a moratorium would be ill-advised and have potentially
devastating economic consequences.”
Hinkle could not
attend the events as he was representing the district at a caucus
meeting to set the agenda for the 2008 session.
At the hearing,
Warnick explained that better solutions have been proposed at the state
level.
“There are other ways
to share and conserve water. Many landowners are taking part in this
already, but the current laws encourage them to ‘use it or lose it,’”
Warnick said. “I don't want to make a decision based on fear.”
All three lawmakers
supported legislation in the 2007 session encouraging water
conservation. They supported House Bill 1938 and Senate
Bill 5877 which would have extended continuances for water rights use if
the water is used partially for the established purpose. Other
legislation supported by the three lawmakers and prime-sponsored by Warnick would amend current law to encourage long-term crop rotation
without the fear of losing water rights. Each renewed their commitment
to continue their push to long-term solutions such as water storage and
relinquishment reforms.
Ecology has until
Nov. 9 to decide whether to accept or reject the
petition. If accepted, Ecology would begin the rule-making process. If
rejected, the petitioners can appeal to the governor.
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For more information, contact:
Brian Zylstra, Public
Information Officer- (360) 786-7399 for Sen. Holmquist
Mike Deising, Public
Information Officer- (360) 786-7698 for Rep. Hinkle
Sarah Lamb, Public Information
Officer - (360) 786-7720 for Rep. Warnick
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