Tuesday meetings with Ecology officials bring change
Tuesday, November 8 brought the beginnings of changes to the issues facing residents of WRIA 17. Joe Stohr, Special Assistant to the Director of the Department of Ecology was in Port Hadlock for the meeting of the WRIA 17 Planning Unit's steering committee.
During the meeting, Mr. Stohr, as Director Jay Manning's representative, apologized for the way the instream flow rule-making process has gone to this point. He stated that the Department of Ecology's position on the Kim v. Pollution Control Hearing Board, et AL case of 2003 is that it is prevailing law and that Ecology will respect its findings. He further noted that this means that small agricultural producers are allowed to use up to 5,000 gallons of water per day.
The conversation continued in the afternoon with a smaller audience in the Board of County Commissioners chamber in Port Townsend. During that meeting, Mr. Stohr agreed to publish a correction to the Capital Press article of October 21. That article incorrectly led small agricultural producers to believe that they were illegally using exempt well water if they used it to water crops destined to be sold at farmers' markets in our region.
Mr. Stohr listened carefully to concerns expressed by several county officials and others. He said that Ecology will work to establish a new process for working with community members and officials before proceeding with a renewed effort to come up with a more appropriate way to establish and support instream flows in WRIA 17.
The Department of Ecology is seeking to "clear the air", and will listen to our concerns, frustrations, and issues, and answer our many questions, during the public meeting with the 24th District's legislative team from 5:00 - 7:30 PM at the Fort Worden State Park Commons building. We all need to be there to express our opinions, and to hear what the department's officials have to say. We're hoping they are prepared to work with us toward a community-developed solution to the question of instream flows. If so, please also bring your comments and suggestions for what Ecology needs to do to make a turn-around in your eyes.
While this is good news, it does not mean that we have won the question of the day. What it does mean is that we may have an opportunity to build the instream flow policy that actually matches well with the conditions in our watershed, the needs of the people who live here today and who will live here tomorrow, and the needs of the other species of concern.
With a lot of hard work and the help of your talents, we can turn the opportunity into a reality with the depth of knowledge and skills we have among us in our region. It is not something that we can get done in a few weeks ... it's going to take a long time to do this and get it right.
So, will you please join us tomorrow evening with your family, speak up and help get this process into our hands, so that we can work with each other to build innovative solutions that will provide for our water needs for today and for tomorrow?
We're looking forward to seeing you there.
During the meeting, Mr. Stohr, as Director Jay Manning's representative, apologized for the way the instream flow rule-making process has gone to this point. He stated that the Department of Ecology's position on the Kim v. Pollution Control Hearing Board, et AL case of 2003 is that it is prevailing law and that Ecology will respect its findings. He further noted that this means that small agricultural producers are allowed to use up to 5,000 gallons of water per day.
The conversation continued in the afternoon with a smaller audience in the Board of County Commissioners chamber in Port Townsend. During that meeting, Mr. Stohr agreed to publish a correction to the Capital Press article of October 21. That article incorrectly led small agricultural producers to believe that they were illegally using exempt well water if they used it to water crops destined to be sold at farmers' markets in our region.
Mr. Stohr listened carefully to concerns expressed by several county officials and others. He said that Ecology will work to establish a new process for working with community members and officials before proceeding with a renewed effort to come up with a more appropriate way to establish and support instream flows in WRIA 17.
The Department of Ecology is seeking to "clear the air", and will listen to our concerns, frustrations, and issues, and answer our many questions, during the public meeting with the 24th District's legislative team from 5:00 - 7:30 PM at the Fort Worden State Park Commons building. We all need to be there to express our opinions, and to hear what the department's officials have to say. We're hoping they are prepared to work with us toward a community-developed solution to the question of instream flows. If so, please also bring your comments and suggestions for what Ecology needs to do to make a turn-around in your eyes.
While this is good news, it does not mean that we have won the question of the day. What it does mean is that we may have an opportunity to build the instream flow policy that actually matches well with the conditions in our watershed, the needs of the people who live here today and who will live here tomorrow, and the needs of the other species of concern.
With a lot of hard work and the help of your talents, we can turn the opportunity into a reality with the depth of knowledge and skills we have among us in our region. It is not something that we can get done in a few weeks ... it's going to take a long time to do this and get it right.
So, will you please join us tomorrow evening with your family, speak up and help get this process into our hands, so that we can work with each other to build innovative solutions that will provide for our water needs for today and for tomorrow?
We're looking forward to seeing you there.
posted by olyfarm @ 9:14 PM
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