Lawmakers address exempt well moratorium

KITTITAS COUNTY — Rep. Bill Hinkle, R-Cle Elum, Sen. Janéa Holmquist, R-Moses Lake, and Rep. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, met with realtors and home builders affected by the 120 day moratorium on extracting water from exempt wells in Kittitas County Monday.

The realtors and home builders are concerned with the future of economic growth, the legislators reported.

“Two weeks ago the Department of Ecology (DOE) imposed a 120 day emergency moratorium on withdraws of groundwater from exempt wells in the upper Yakima basin near Cle Elum,” according to the lawmakers. “The agency repealed part of the moratorium to exclude those who had already invested financially in the drilling of wells that were previously approved.”

Kittitas County Association of Realtors report $74 million worth of active land listings are affected by the moratorium.

“There’s a fear out there that the water level’s going to go away,” said Warnick at a Wednesday Big Bend Economic Development Council meeting. “It’s not.”

She said contractors are ready to build homes in that area and are now on hold.

“They’ve got a short window of building up there.”

During the meeting, they determined the DOE did not have a scientific basis to implement the moratorium and believe it will result in job loss.

“This issue isn’t simply another anti-development decision being made by the Department of Ecology,” Hinkle stated. “Nor is it a battle between an agency and a county. This issue is about an agency stripping away the dreams of hardworking citizens. We heard from people who have saved for years to build their dream home and now are being told their dreams are on hold or may never be realized because of this moratorium.”

Holmquist stated the decision is bankrupting the building industry for the area.

“I’m not satisfied that Ecology has done due diligence to prove the need for this moratorium, or that it has a plan to fully mitigate the enormous impacts on our local economy and the people the ban directly affects,” Warnick stated.

The lawmakers plan to continue to find solutions to the moratorium.