Water Permits
#2309: Water Permits (2005)
Modifying water permit fees.
Supported by Sierra Club (1 point).
Signed into law.
Modestly increases the fee to apply for permits to withdraw more water from rivers or aquifers or to change or transfer water permits. The new fee, however, still does not cover the actual costs for the State Department of Ecology to administer the program. Even though this is a good bill that we supported, it requires taxpayers to subsidize increased water consumption.
Public interest groups have long sought to increase fees associated with acquiring permits. For decades now, fees have not been sufficient to cover the costs of granting new uses of water.
The general taxpaying public subsidizes the program that allows people to acquire the right to use water, most often for financial gain. Worse, many of these new uses of water have adverse impacts on river ecosystems or drawn-down precious aquifers.
The momentum for this bill really came from the Budget Committee members, who were struggling to balance the books. When they looked around, they saw this as an area where users weren't paying their fair share.
Representatives Sommers and Linville; Senator Prentice. Note: Because of revenue shortfalls, Repsresentatives Sommers and Prentice, each Budget Committee Chairs, insisted on raising the fee. Representative Linville helped guide the bill through the process.
