Hirst Case in New Legislative Session
I'm Bob Larson. A big water-rights ruling that could halt home building in farming communities is getting plenty of attention in Olympia.
The decision against Whatcom County doesn't affect existing water rights, but puts new wells for farm homes in real jeopardy statewide. It was addressed by Senate Majority leader Mark Schoesler ... shortly after Governor Jay Inslee's inaugural address ...
MARK SCHOESLER ... "Let me go back to the rural area because there is one big issue that was not touched here. We could talk about business competitiveness, tax incentives. Let's talk about the Hirst decision that this Supreme Court made. Now, if you own a piece of property outside of an incorporated area or water district, you can drill a new well. You bought that home in Kittitas County, Grays Harbor County, wherever, you were going to build on? You can't build on it."
The Ritzville Republican says the decision will impact family farms and growth in rural areas ...
MARK SCHOESLER ... "Now if you want growth in counties that are actually losing population, pretty good chance you might have to drill an "exempt" well. That took affordability of that well right off the table for those property owners. If you financed that property thinking that someone was going to build one or more homes on it, good luck ... you don't have water. So if you want to help the unincorporated parts of all 39 counties, let's talk about the Hirst decision."
If no changes are made, the decision will, at the very least, make drilling wells too expensive, with estimates in the thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.
