Clallam County Commissioners Divided over Dungeness Water Rule
Jim McEntire and Mike Chapman have both signed a letter to the state Department of Ecology, expressing their concern that property rights are being jeopardized by the Dungeness Water Rule. Mike Doherty disagreed with the other two commissioners, saying we need to be realistic about the diminishing water supply from the reduced Olympic Mountain snowpack. He said:
“Just philosophically, we know there's going to be a shortage. Personally, I just don't want to dabble in these little efficiencies of the rule to help certain people in certain areas when the bigger problem is, are we going to have water 20, 30, 40 years from now?”
“Just philosophically, we know there's going to be a shortage. Personally, I just don't want to dabble in these little efficiencies of the rule to help certain people in certain areas when the bigger problem is, are we going to have water 20, 30, 40 years from now?”
posted by Tom Harper at 8:19 PM
43 Comments:
This latest example of mindless right-wing opposition to the Dungeness Water Rule once again illustrates the opponents' ignorance about western water laws. Clallam County officials and local "leaders" who support this petition are the laughingstock of Olympia.
Mike Doherty did the right thing in voting against this nonsense.
Here we go again.
Anyone who wants to can find out that the real issue here is that, over the many years, the State has granted water rights to property owners that amount to more water than flows in the Dungeness River. Period.
The only County Commissioner being responsible to everyone involved is Mike Doherty. Yeah, Chapman and McEntire are playing to the real estate folks who want to continue to make the big bucks off selling property with no water to poor ignorant folks wanting the good life in the beautiful Dungeness watershed, but that is just a scam. They long ago assured water to folks, more than was ever there. This is well documented.
But the real estate folks want the dream to continue. You know, like long ago in Florida. Everyone got rich by selling to those stupid Northerners.
Now they want the State to step in, to "mitigate" the reality that they gave away more water rights than there is actual water to supply.
To make their lies valid, somehow.
But, the water will not be there, despite the politics. Then what?
Hey Democrats, how's that whole Mike Chapman thing working out for you?
Morons.
There is no personal property right to unrestricted free-for-the taking use of public resources. Under Washington and federal law, water resources - whether in lakes, rivers or underground aquifers - belong to the public at large. You and me.
State law allows individuals to obtain a right to use the public's water for beneficial purposes if water is available and the use will not impair the rights of others.
As Anon 10:35 PM points out, the state has already foolishly or unwittingly granted more water use permits in the Dungeness watershed than there is available water. Mike Doherty understands this, and knows that to allow newcomers to drill wells creates an unfair risk to existing well users. Older wells could dry up due to pumping from the new wells.
The Dungeness Rule allows for new wells and development if newcomers pay a reasonable mitigation fee so that the state can retire (usually by buying back) existing water permits sufficient to offset the new uses. This is really a good deal for developers, but they don't seem to want to recognize it. The only other alternative, given the confines of law, is for Ecology to declare the Dungeness watershed completely closed to all new well drilling, and hence, all new development that would be dependent upon well water.
Development could continue to occur in areas where new homes and businesses have the ability to hook into existing water systems, such as the PUD. But that would mean that newcomers would have to pay utility bills and hook-up fees. They'd apparently prefer to pay a well driller just once, and thereafter forever use the public's water for free.
Dale was cheated out of her election by a conspiracy consisting of Matthew Randazzo, Steve Tharinger, Derek Kilmer, Paul Gottleib and a variety of trolls and racists.
Period.
Yes, Chapman stole the election, and now he's doing his very best to screw the people who supported him. As a "servant of the people," Chapman is a dismal failure. Dismal.
No wonder life in Clallam County is so dismal in so many ways, with only crooks and fools in positions of authority.
Dismal.
You heard it here first: Chapman won't run for re-election next time; his hand-picked minion, Rich Sill, who is ancient, will "retire" from his position as a placeholder for Chapman, and Chapman will be the new head of Human Resources for Clallam County. Yes, the same Mike Chapman who went for the position already. And yes, the same Mike Chapman who stole an election. He will be in charge of hiring and firing at Clallam County. No ethics, but lots of authority.
This issue cracks me up, we have a hell of a lot more water here than a lot of other places have so I don't understand why some go on about a lack of water when we have to buy a turd tank cuz we have over flows of it.
I lived in Arizona and Utah, where I had to pack all the water needed for home use. Here I can get all I need off my roof.
You fucking monkeys crack me up. Hahahaha
6:02 - Let me guess. Hitler came to power because of a weak opposition - perhaps just one person. And your grandfather, Heinrich VonDumbass, was the first to point this out. The great Heinrich VonDumbass! Everyone remembers him!
Chapman sure has been having a lot of public temper tantrums lately, that's for sure. Kind of seems to have a short fuse.
Billy, I'm guessing you're talking about the Dungeness water issues? You know that they have a different water source that Port Angeles, right? That the watersheds, creeks, streams, rivers, aquifers and stuff like that are different? I know you do know.
Interesting thing to check out is other areas in the world that get the same amount of rain per year as Port Angeles does. We get 25 inches of rain in an average year. Mexico gets almost 30.
Senegal, Zimbabwe and Spain get about 25 inches, just like Port Angeles!
Anonymous 9:57 PM, February 13, 2014 engages in a variation of a cliché political ploy.
It's become all-too-common for someone in politics to be compared to Hitler. This then allows said person to express (understandable) outrage at such a wild accusation.
But our troll here turns it around. Sure Mike Chapman is corrupt. Sure Mike Chapman stole an election. But hey, he's NOT Hitler, so what is there to be upset about?
That's setting the bar pretty low. If all we look for in elected leaders are people who aren't as bad as Hitler...Then we've got nothing but superstar humanitarians in office already.
I don't think it's petty or off-topic to be concerned that an elected official is corrupt or stealing elections. We can, and should expect more from our elected officials.
Cynical statements like this troll's do no one any good. They attempt to deflect legitimate concerns by trying to link them to nonsense. If I didn't know that he isn't smart enough to do such a thing, I might suspect it was Mike Chapman himself trying to distract from any discussion of his shortcomings.
But Mike's not that smart, or that ambitious. And that's part of the problem. So I will simply assume that the troll is one of his suck-ass minions, trying to curry favor with the hotheaded Chapman.
Anon 9:57 - I agree with the gist of your obvious disgust with one of the "haters" who so frequently post on this site. It is really sad that so many people, with so little actual information, take what little truth they do know and deliberately add so much misinformation so as to distort any message or event to fit their myopic view of the world. It must be really horrible to be them, and to have to live with themselves 24 hours a day.
Mike Chapman is lazy. Mike Chapman has a temper.
This is not a great combo to have in someone holding elected office.
You wind up with what we hear coming out of the county: A do-nothing "leader" who yells at staff for not doing things to make him look good.
@ 9:21 AM,...
True, I'm not well educated or up to date on all of it, just stating my views from my point of view. One point being that if we wasn't over populating the area it wouldn't be as much of a issue.
People move here from other areas to get rid of the problems there but it just puts those problems here.
I have plenty of water without a water bill, I guess that is mostly all I care about. :-)
Did you catch the story about the "Smart Meter" up in BC that created a $31,000 monthly bill for a homeowner?
The company said that it obviously was a mistake. The homeowner agreed, saying that if the meter had miscalculated by $15 or so, he wouldn't have caught it, and just paid the bill. He wondered how many of these meters ARE miscalculating, and people aren't aware.
Sounds like Steve Markwell was, gee, TOTALLY FULL OF SHIT when he described both the nature of the dogs he had taken, and the conditions in which those dogs were living.
Markwell was nothing more than a bullying hoarder, and it's disgusting to think of all the people (Matthew Randazzo, Steve Tharinger, Rod Fleck, etc.) who enabled him, and covered up for him.
He SHOULD be in jail, Instead, he's in hiding. I sincerely hope that Sherie Maddox gets her judgment against him, so she can move on to the next step against this sick, abusive scumbag - and his enablers.
@anon 2:13
And, you know all this because you read it in that stalwart bearer of truth and reality, the PDN???
Clearly Markwell is an abuser. I mean, no ordinary person would load up 125 court-determined vicious dogs, and drive them to a secret location so that they could be helped, out of the hue and cry of all those wonderful people who were quick to criticize the guy, but not so quick to actually DO anything constructive.
Yeah, a real sicko.
Sigh.
People who complain about "haters" here miss the point. This blog is all about hate. Hate and rumors. There's no other reason for it to exist. As such, it's absolutely perfect for Port Angeles, a place full of hateful liars.
Like, yes, Mike Chapman. And yes, like Steve Markwell.
Get with the program. Hate thy neighbor.
Anon 2:35 PM, re: the dogs:
Add your name to the enablers listed by Anon 2:13 PM, if your name isn't already there.
Will Sherie Maddox have to move further down the financial tree to Matthew Randazzo and other board members, now that Markwell is on the run? Be interesting to see what happens next.
And for the record, it's great that the dogs - many of whom clearly WERE malnourished and abused - find homes. And for the record, lots of other media outlets have covered this story, and provided more details, than the PDN. But they all agree: Overall, the dogs were not at all what Markwell had painted them to be.
2:35 Yes, but even Hitler knew that a little good PR goes a long way!
Anon 6:38 says:
"Overall, the dogs were not at all what Markwell had painted them to be."
Okay. So, how did Markwell end up with the dogs? Kidnap them off the streets? From what I've read, all the dogs were condemned to be euthanized by the courts after attacking people or other animals. That he was given the dogs as an alternative to them being killed. Please do show me anything concrete to the contrary.
This blog about hate? I don't agree. Sure, a lot of the discussions point out the lies foisted upon people in Port Angeles by the City and the small crew of good ole boys and gals, but overall, it is one of the most interesting and informative places concerning Port Angeles.
Now, if you really want to experience the Hate Zone, go read the comments on the on-line version of the PDN. Whew!
I hate the PDN, so I come here for my hate.
Don't forget to stock up on half price chocolate today.
Gimme a break. ALL the coverage of Markwell's dogs has included assessments by professionals that many, many of the dogs were nowhere near being "vicious." And most were, in fact, closer to having been abused - by Markwell.
So yeah, Steve Markwell sounds like a creep and a crook. And those who aided and abetted him (Randazzo, Tharinger, etc.) SHOULD be held accountable too.
Or are you in favor of torturing dogs?
Has anyone noticed that a common thread through many recent bad news stories is the role of inept (or worse) government attorneys? The Forks City Attorney appears to ignore and enable animal neglect. The Port of PA attorney enables Port Commissioners to violate open government laws and develop secret sweetheart deals with favored insiders. The City of PA attorney fails for years to recommend legal action against a meter supplier who clearly is in contract default.
Sadly there might be some truth in the old joke/saying: "99 percent of attorneys give the rest a bad name."
Any young person deciding to be an attorney in our judicial system has already sold their soul, or have the misguided belief they can change the system from within.
Any system that states it is just alleged someone did something when many see them do it is seriously flawed.
Anon 11:02 Says:
"Gimme a break. ALL the coverage of Markwell's dogs has included assessments by professionals that many, many of the dogs were nowhere near being "vicious." And most were, in fact, closer to having been abused - by Markwell."
Well, the question was HOW did Markwell get the dogs, in the first place. Not what happened AFTER he got them, or any assessments AFTER Markwell had been taking care of them.
If, as has been reported, the dogs were given to Markwell because of court action after these dogs had attacked people and other animals, then it seems he didn't steal them off the streets. Presumably, there was a paper trail leading to Markwell getting each of those dogs. Court proceedings are like that.
Now, it seems from what you're saying, that AFTER spending time with Markwell, in " assessments by professionals that many, many of the dogs were nowhere near being "vicious." One could conclude Markwell turned court determined vicious dogs into nicer dogs.
Mob rule!!!!! YEEEEAHHH!!! Iz gots da rope!!!!
Bad dogs or no, Markwell conned a woman out of $50,000 - with help from his friends - and now has done a runner. That sounds like a crook to me...Bad dogs or no bad dogs...
Remember, save the fishies! Best to take a shit on a few sheets of the PDN for the next few days, roll it up and toss it in the garbage. And run extra water, flush just for the heck of it, to dilute everyone else's shit.
" Bad dogs or no, Markwell conned a woman out of $50,000 - with help from his friends."
Again, you know this, exactly, how?
I don't pretend to know the real deal, other than what has been reported in a newspaper I DO know to be a questionable source of objective truths. But, I don't think Markwell stole the money from that woman, anymore than he was able to kidnap 125 dogs off the streets.
It sure looks like she donated the money to support the cause of keeping all those dogs fed and housed. I'll bet she was motivated to try to help these dogs, knowing the alternative was them being euthanized. And, it seems she was happy with what was going on, up until the on-line campaign against Markwell started to gain momentum.
If you can point out where the reports in the papers say something different than this, please do show me where.
Did Markwell get in over his head? It sure looks like it. Did he do the right thing? It sure looks like it. Only he made the arrangements for all these other people and organizations to take over these dogs care.
They sure know how to have fun in Fremont...
UNDIE RUN....
Anon 9:57 PM, February 13, 2014, 2:35 PM, February 14, 2014, 10:55 PM, February 14, 2014, 2:11 PM, February 15, 2014, 8:17 PM, February 15, 2014...With more to come, no doubt. Nice to see Matthew Randazzo is trying to make Steve Markwell into a hero, and keep the heat off of himself.
But Markwell's story doesn't jibe with the story as told by EVERYBODY ELSE. I'll believe the multiple sources, not the one, self-interested source - especially since, in my personal dealings with Markwell, he seemed every bit the thug. Good luck to Sherie Maddox - go get 'em.
Nice already-run-down waterfront wreck our so-called leaders shelled out millions for. Brand new and it already looks 20+ years old. That's Primo quality work for ya, thanks to the geniuses on the city council. As I recall, the late, great Max Mania was the only one who voted against spending millions on this unnecessary and wasteful mess...No more dissenting votes now, though. Sissi might point it out, but she'll vote to spend more - just watch.
Anon 6:52
Seriously? This is your response to valid, logical questions about assertions YOU make? To NOT produce a single shred of actual anything that supports your accusations? You think this is in any way credible?
You really think that anybody that asks logical questions, that question anything you say, MUST be Matthew Randazzo? Seriously?
Takes all kinds, as they say.
Shut up, Diane. Your naïve crush is showing.
Just as I thought. Nothing but empty hot air.
Good luck, Sherie Maddox!
"Senegal, Zimbabwe and Spain get about 25 inches, just like Port Angeles!"
Yes, but that mainly falls on the plain...
It amazes me how none of you REALLY know what your talking about when it comes to the water resources in the Dungeness Water Shed.
The Anderson Glacier in 2009, which is located just beyond the headwaters of the Dungeness River. The glacier once covered the entire lower flanks of the mountain. https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/publications/1011018.pdf Page 12. As you can see it no longer does.
With decreasing snow packs and 16 inches annual precipitation only means things will get worse for our water supply.
The USGS has warned for years that to continue to develop the the Dungeness Valley Region would increase the demand for water and deplete the aquifers.
Yet with great hubris and greed the County continues to up zone the areas like Carlsborg from one home per 5 or 10 acres to one home per 2.4 acres to one home per 3/4 acre to one or home MORE per acre or 12 to 24 unit multifamily dwellings per acre.
After repeated warnings from the USGS and people like me they continue to over populate an already stressed region that results in OVER CAPITALIZATION OF RESOURCES (water) and OVER CARRYING CAPACITY OF THE LAND (pollution) of the water.
These increases in population and industry along with their imperviuos surfaces (paving, sidewalks, etc) lead to less percolation of surface water (PRECIPITATION) and a more rapid depletion of the aquifers.
The county is responsible for all of this and now they want to "mitigate" water. This is nothing more than PAPER WATER.
These mitigations do nothing more than to transfer rights to water from our hands to theirs, it DOES NOT CREATE MORE WATER, only GOD can do that.
It does however put more money in the county and state coffers at our expense. "WATER IS WEALTH" after all.
The only real solution to all of this is to DOWN ZONE the areas and stop pushing over population, but greed and hubris just won't let that happen.
By the way PA dwellers, there is talk at the county seat floating around about the possibility of pumping PA water through Carlsborg to Sequim for the new Carlsborg sewer system. How about that? Seeing as PA apparently has the same amount of water rights as Tacoma.
http://www.clallam.net/PublicWorks/documents/12_12_13Minutes.pdf Page 5 paragraphs 20,21.
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