Dozens of citizens gathered at the Ferndale Library on Monday, April 22, 2019, to discuss the Dept. of Ecology’s proposed rule changes for new domestic groundwater wells in Whatcom County. The latest version of the proposed changes would limit withdrawals from new wells to 500 gallons per day for indoor domestic use.
Letter to Whatcom County Council Questions the Council’s Intent on Fulfillment of Hirst Fix Mandates
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 …
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 …
The Push for “Legal” Trespass
There was a significant push during the latest Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) review process to make Whatcom County Farm Plan information part of the public record. In the council review workshop on July 11, 2017, former councilman Carl Weimer proposed the following amendment regarding farm plan disclosure ITEM 13 (Originally Issue 146) (Weimer) 16.16.870 Limited Public Disclosure Amend subsection (B) to …
Feb. 8th, 2018 – Whatcom County Conservation District Regular Meeting
Meeting Summary: Doug Allen -Director of the Bellingham Office for State Department of Ecology (DOE)- introduced two new field inspectors and discussed starting to draft a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Whatcom County Conservation District (CD) and State DOE to delegate responsibility of which department is responsible for what tasks in Whatcom County when completing Agriculture field inspections. A …