BELLINGHAM (AP) — Property-rights advocates say they are worried about restrictions on wells they fear could mean the end of the rural way of life in Whatcom County.
The well controversy arose after environmentalists challenged county rules that they say don’t do enough to protect water.
In response, the state Growth Management Hearings Board issued a ruling that could block property owners from drawing water from their wells if the basin they live in is closed to new water rights. The county has appealed the ruling to the state Court of Appeals.
County officials are addressing rural-growth rules that are out of compliance with state law. According to a Nov. 21 Hearings Board order, the county resolved five of the nine concerns from environmentalists, but the water resources issue remains.
The county will likely miss a Wednesday deadline imposed by the Hearings Board to come into compliance on water rules. County officials have asked the Hearings Board for an extension to February. The Planning Commission hearing has been set for Dec. 12.
The planning commissioners voted unanimously to cancel an October public hearing, because they didn’t want to undermine the county’s appeal. They also said a decision that would alter the lives of rural property owners was moving forward without enough public involvement.
“I’m on a well,” Planning Commissioner Mary Beth Teigrob said on Oct. 24 after she moved to cancel the public hearing. “I know people who have land and expect to be able to drill a well some time, and from what I can see, this is going to put an end to that.”
The state Department of Ecology has been allowing wells on rural land after water-use restrictions were put in place in 1985 to protect salmon habitat. Some basins were closed to new water rights that drew from surface water or groundwater connected to streams.
If courts determine wells should be restricted, development in rural areas could be limited. Even existing wells, because of their junior water-right status, could be challenged, said Jean Melious, an attorney representing the four residents who have petitioned against the water rules.
