Last December, the Washington State Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the vesting rights doctrine does not apply to stormwater NPDES regulations. What this means is that a project like Frognal, which is over a decade old would not be able to vest to old stormwater regulations. Regulations that have been changed and updated due to new science and recognition of safety issues with previous codes. In other words Frognal would not be able to build, however, in true Snohomish County fashion they (along with other counties) have appealed the decision and are asking the Court to eliminate this requirement from the decision that was already made. Additionally Senators Wilson, Angel, Honeyford, and Schoesler have introduced legislation SB-5212 to essentially gut this order by exempting stormwater projects.
This seemingly minor change will basically gut the Pollution Control Hearings Board and Supreme Court’s rulings, and allow building to go on as usual, despite the Supreme Court ruling and updated codes intended to prevent unsafe stormwater management.
Please take a moment to contact your State legislators, Picnic Point is represented by Sen Marko Liias, Rep. Strom Peterson and Rep Lillian Ortiz-Self, and ask them to oppose SB-5212 and support strong legislation to protect safety and the environment and stop unsafe vesting.
Here are their emails:
Marko Liias: [email protected]
Strom Peterson: (legislative assistant) [email protected]
Lillian Ortiz-Self: (legislative assistant) [email protected]
Thank-you,
Picnic Point Preservation Committee