Jefferson commissioners balk at state watershed plan

2005-11-08
by JEFF CHEW
Peninsula Daily News

PORT TOWNSEND, WA -- Jefferson County commissioners on Monday unanimously approved a formal watershed plan policy statement critical of the state Department of Ecology's efforts to push an in-stream flow rule

``The county has grave concern that the Department of Ecology may be exceeding its legal authority with several of the rule's provisions,'' reads a sentence added to a policy that asks for a comprehensive water management strategy that protects local food production as much as salmon and public water supply.

County Commissioner Pat Rodgers, R-Brinnon, thanked the policy's editor, Commissioner David Sullivan, D-Cape George, saying: ``That was nice to push the pin into Ecology.''

``It was a lot of discussion and a lot of agreement,'' Sullivan said of the wording of the document that he thought was necessary to make the county's position clear to state leaders and Ecology.

Forum on Thursday

The commissioners' action came three days before a Thursday public forum involving the North Olympic Peninsula's three lawmakers to discuss the controversial in-stream flow rule.

The forum is scheduled for 5 p.m. in the Fort Worden State Park Commons, and Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, is expected to attend along with Reps. Jim Buck, R-Joyce, and Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam.

Ecology officials are also expected to attend.

Buck and Kessler recently said they recognize that it is only through an act of legislation that the in-stream flow rule can be recast.

Buck said last week that such legislation would be up to the public to get under way.

The commissioners' policy statement comes as a time when Ecology, through the Water Resource Inventory Area 17 planning unit, enters the implementation phase of the plan intended to protect water for humans and fish.

Lower household usage

Ecology policymakers, who wanted more study on how best to protect streamflows, came up with the proposed in-stream flow rule, allowing access to 3.87 million gallons of water a day areawide.

That sets an average single household usage benchmark of 350 gallons a day, based on the assumption that the average person uses 70 gallons daily, officials said.

Currently, residents can use up to 5,000 gallons per day per home.

The rule in question also calls for the closure of the Big Quilcene River from March 1 to Nov. 15 and Chimacum Creek from March 1 to Nov. 30 to new water appropriations.

It closes other water courses in the area year-round to future water rights.

Existing water rights would not be affected under the proposal, but new applications would.

That leaves county leaders wary, and they make their case in the water policy statement approved Monday.

Appropriated water

The commissioners state that about 4 percent of the county's groundwater recharge is used annually, and that represents a use of about 14 percent of WRIA 17's appropriated water.

While the commissioners' policy statement recognizes the need to work on water quantity challenges, "the premature adoption of a controversial and poorly thought out in-stream flow rule, supported by questionable assumptions, would be a serious mistake and would cause significant harm to the WRIA 17 Planning Unit's efforts.

The commissioners agree that public information and education regarding the WRIA 17 process has been inadequate.

The watershed plan the commissioners adopted in January includes 43 planning unit recommendations to improve water resource management and protect and restore fish and wildlife habitat in WRIA 17, which includes all of East Jefferson County.