Editor's note: This letter was addressed to state lawmakers. It is republished here by request from a reader.
I am writing to raise the alarm on a proviso within the House proposed supplemental operating budget that funds and authorizes rulemaking authority for the Department of Ecology to create and implement a statewide regulation on a dredge and fill permit and fee program. Please consider removing the proviso and ask Ecology officials to instead seek rulemaking authority by introducing legislation, where a transparent and public debate can take place.
In December, the Washington Farm Bureau received communication that Ecology officials originally intended to pursue legislative authority to create a statewide dredge and fill permit and fee program. However, the agency did not seek input from the regulated community or with the broader agriculture industry. Given the recent and unfortunate history with the riparian buffer bills and other controversial land use proposals, this lack of stakeholdering raised concerns among many agricultural groups and landowners.
Ultimately, Ecology officials decided not to introduce a bill and instead sought authority through the budget.
The budget proviso would grant Ecology broad regulatory powers and the ability to impose a fee. Since Ecology did not introduce a bill, there has been no publicly available fiscal analysis on how much the new program would cost, nor how high officials would set a fee. This creates uncertainty for property owners who have been unable to provide any input on such a program.
The potential scope of a dredge and fee permit program also creates significant uncertainty. Ecology’s original bill draft does provide some insight into their intent, but unfortunately it raises more questions and concerns, including the potential to create regulatory authority over riparian projects, which were heavily negotiated by tribes and landowners during last year’s legislative session.
Along with many other groups, Washington Farm Bureau is participating in the statewide riparian work group that was funded by the legislature. This group comprises dozens of stakeholders from across the state, including agricultural interests, tribes, and local governments, with the direction of producing a report containing recommendations that attempts to find solutions to important water and conservation issues.
Ecology’s intent to create a dredge and fill permit that establishes regulatory powers over riparian projects is the opposite of what the legislature established in the riparian proviso that was passed last year, which gave the department only technical assistance authority, but not regulatory authority over projects.
This is highly concerning to the broader agriculture community and completely undermines the riparian work group effort.
On behalf of farmers and ranchers across the state, we ask that the proviso be stricken from the proposed House supplemental operating budget. To date, there has been no broad stakeholdering on Ecology Dredge and Fill Budget Proviso Page 2 of 2 this proposed regulation and fee. Senate leaders have agreed and already removed the language from the proposed Senate supplemental operating budget.
Ecology officials should instead seek rulemaking authority by introducing a bill, where a transparent and public debate can take place, or continue this discussion through the established working groups.
Sincerely,
Rosella Mosby
President
Washington State Farm Bureau
