Common Threads NW received a copy of the email sent to the Whatcom County Council from Perry Eskridge, of the Land Use Caucus, a member of the Planning Unit which has been tasked to complete an updated water planning report by February of 2019. The letter sent to the Council clearly questions the tactics used and failure of the Council …
Nov. 28, 2018 Planning Unit Meeting: Update for Whatcom County’s Water Planning Saga Continues
The group tasked with assuring that locals have a say over water rights in Whatcom County is refusing to change fees, daily usage and metering requirements for new rural well owners. On Nov. 28, the Planning Unit for WRIA1 – the Water Resource Inventory Area designated by state law that includes the Nooksack River basin and Lake Whatcom – passed …
Whatcom Well Owners Voice Concern Over Latest WRIA1 Plan Outline
Private well owners in Whatcom County say they are concerned over proposed fees, withdrawal caps, metering and vague definitions in the County’s WRIA 1 watershed management planning process. The Planning Unit (a citizen based group formed by state statute) is working on an update to the WRIA 1 Watershed Management Plan, as mandated by the legislature’s passage of ESSB 6091 …
Citizen Journalist – WC Council Meeting and Planning Unit Meeting for July 10, 2018
Whatcom County Council Evening Meeting, Tuesday, 7/10/2018. Whatcom County Council meeting had some ominous business, normal politics, and some enjoyable, humorous moments. The ominous is the anti-growth anti-Cherry Point crowd, directed by the leadership within RE Sources and their apparent control of five of the WC Councilpersons. They have been working on the Cherry Point Urban Growth Areas (UGA) Comprehensive …
Update on public water systems and exempt wells in Whatcom County
Update on local efforts to comply with the State Legislature’s mandates for public water systems in the “Hirst Fix” bill passed in January, 2018. Land use consultant Roger Almskaar, also President of the Whatcom Chapter of Citizens Alliance for Property Rights (CAPR), presented documents to the Whatcom County Council on June 19th asking for a change to the Drinking Water …
Citizen Journalism: Current Status of Whatcom County’s Water Resource Planning Program
Minutes and opinion piece from the Whatcom County Planning Unit work over the previous month. This information has been submitted and provided to Common Threads NW from the combined works of Skip Richards and Roger Almskaar. Current Status of Whatcom County’s Water Resource Planning Program This report is the first in a monthly series. It will summarize the background and …