Bill would simplify State Supreme Court ruling on building permits

OLYMPIA — A bill aimed at detangling a complicated court ruling that put the choice of whether or not to allow well-dependent building in county government hands and potentially halting development in many rural counties has a hearing on Tuesday.

Senate Bill 5239 will allow counties to follow the Department of Ecology’s rules regarding water rights and determining the amount of water available, which is the system most local governments used before this case.

The court’s ruling may require counties to conduct their own water surveys, which is an expense Sen. Judy Warnick is worried may be passed on to homeowners. Warnick, R-Moses Lake, is chair of the Senate’s water policy committee and scheduled the bill for the hearing.

The bill was written in response to a 2016 Washington State Supreme Court decision, Whatcom County v. Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board also known as the Hirst decision, which changed the way counties approve building permits for structures that use wells as a water source.

In a press release Warnick called the court’s ruling bizarre and hopes this bill will aid rural areas who may not have the resources to comply with this new ruling. She said many in eastern Washington view the court’s decision as an assault on rural Washington communities who are dependent on well water.

The court ruled counties cannot rely on the Department of Ecology’s regulations to satisfy their responsibilities under the Growth Management Act. The GMA has been a framework for land and water use policy since the early 1990s.

Warnick is the chair of the Agriculture Water Trade and Economic Development committee but will be unable to preside over the hearing because she is having eye surgery. Senator Brad Hawkins R-Wenatchee, the vice chair of the committee, will run the hearing on Warnick’s behalf.

The bill has been signed by 11 Republicans, including the Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler R-Ritzville and one Democrat, Senator Dean Takko D-Longview.

The hearing Senate Agriculture Water Trade and Economic Development committee will begin at 8 a.m. on Tuesday in Senate hearing room 1 in the J.A. Cherberg Building on the capitol campus. Hearings can also be viewed live or archived on the TVW website and network. Find the schedule online at tvw.org.

The Columbia Basin Herald will also live tweet from @cbhpolitics during the hearing and post updates throughout the day.