Sequim: More than 200 taunt, cheer during hearing on proposed Clallam watershed management plan

2004-10-07

by JAN RODAK
Peninsula Daily News

SEQUIM, WA -- Round 2 of public hearings over the proposed adoption of a watershed management plan in Clallam County drew more than 200 people Wednesday night.

County Commissioners Steve Tharinger, D-Dungeness, Mike Chapman, R-Port Angeles and Mike Doherty, D-Port Angeles, heard more than two hours of input from citizens who packed the Guy Cole Convention Center in Carrie Blake Park.

At issue was a 500-page document entitled Elwha-Dungeness Watershed Plan -- the product of five years of scientific study of how groundwater volume and quality are affected by commercial, residential and agricultural usage.

An animated crowd sometimes taunted commissioners, county planning staffers and supporters of the plan as they delivered information.

They also applauded dozens of speakers who expressed objections to the proposal as crafted and asked commissioners to send it back to county planning staffers before formally adopting it.

Only a handful of speakers voiced support for the plan as written.

Affects private wells

The proposal would reduce the amount of water available for use by owners of private, or ``exempt,'' wells.

But speaker after speaker cited what they called flaws in the plan -- ranging from faulty science to a lack of representation by local water users; and from excessive taxpayer costs in implementing the plan to an unfair impact on residential water users who comprise a small percentage of the amount of water used.

Even some who found very little to criticize in the plan said they felt the amount of public outcry over it is enough of a reason for the commissioners to delay passage.
“Listening to this tonight has made me think a bit,” said Dennis Yakovich, who represents homeowners and landowners on the Elwha-Morse management planning
team. Yakovich was one of several non-governmental caucus members who put hundreds of hours into drafting the plan. He said its strengths may be outweighed by public doubt and a need for further review by all parties. “When I came in tonight I kind of felt that way,” he said. “Now I think we have no choice.”

Rushing the plan?

Many accused county staffers and commissioners of rushing the plan in order to secure state grant funding. Cynthia Nelson, a state Department of Ecology employee and a member of the Dungeness River Management Team, agreed that funding was tied to timing---and that five counties which already adopted similar plans have received grants from the state Legislature to defray costs of implementation. Representative from the building and real estate trades said they fear the plan will place unnecessary burdens on home-builders and would dissuade people from buying real estate in Clallam County’s targeted conservation areas.

Realtor and Sequim Dungeness Chamber of Commerce board president, Mike McAleer objected to the regulatory controls put into place by the proposed plan. “Reducing the withdrawal rate allowed from exempt wells could be extremely Draconian unless adequate consideration is given to private property owners,” McAleer told commissioners.

Nothing's Perfect

But the meeting’s final speaker seemed to pitch for a final adoption. “No plan is perfect but this is a nearly perfect plan,” said Sequim sheep rancher Dick Stumbaugh. Stumbaugh and his family depend on an exempt well for their residence and business.
Even so, he said, the time is right to begin thinking toward the future.. “If I have to put a meter on (my well) to monitor the water quality and make sure my daughter’s grand children have good drinking water,” he said, “I will.”

Members of the public can continue to submit written comments to county commissioners. Those are due by the next commissioners meeting, another hearing scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in Room 160 of the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth Street, Port Angeles.

An electronic version of the Watershed Resource Inventory Area 18 Plan, is , outlined at www.clallam.net. A CD is available from Julie Triggs at 360-417-2321. Paper copies are available for public review at public libraries in Sequim and Port Angeles and the offices of the Clallam County commissioners and the Department of Community Development in the county courthouse.