Hirst Fix Warnick's Take
I'm Bob Larson. After nearly a year of back and forth between Republican and Democratic lawmakers, an agreement has been reached to fix the Supreme Court's Hirst ruling that made drilling water wells nearly impossible for most rural landowners.Moses Lake Senator Judy Warnick says it was a good compromise ...
JUDY WARNICK ... "I am so please that we have one that will get to the people that need to build a house, need to drill a well, in the rural areas."
Warnick says the hold out by her and other Republicans was necessary and she hopes people living in the cities will now better understand the issues facing rural communities ...
JUDY WARNICK ... "Next time you turn on your shower or your water tap, think about where that water came from. It didn't come from a tank under your house. It came from the mountains, it came from the reservoirs in the rural areas where people live that have, up until today, haven't been able to drill."
Warnick hopes her urban counterparts will now be more sensitive to what's going on in rural parts of the state ...
JUDY WARNICK ... "I certainly hope so. I have told the people in my district, it's my job to educate my urban colleagues to what it's like to live in rural areas and the decisions that we make here that affect them. So, it's up to educate my colleagues on what it's like out there."
The bill, that passed the Senate 35-to-14 and the House by a 66-30 vote, goes into effect immediately upon the governor's signature.