Dear CAPR members, friends,supporters!
Washington Water War The 8th Day of the Special Session will begin on Monday May 1. This will leave 22 days of the special session to fight for water rights for every citizen in the state. Senator Jim Honeyford (Jim.Honeyford@leg.wa.gov) rightly stated no budget will pass until after a Hirst fix bill has passed! The prior session ended with no bill passing but the legislature is still looking at SSB 5239 to provide a solution for the thousands of families who have had their water rights taken. Senator Honeyford's open and strong support of families damaged by the Hirst Decision is appreciated! The damaging amendments from Democrats Stanford and Springer must not again prevent the passage of a bill to fix the Hirst Decision.
CAPR has held the position from January 1, and will steadfastly hold the position that Exempt Wells are exempt from permitting and should remain so, free of mitigation, especially mitigation in the form of water banking, a costly and over-restrictive method of control over water use and growth in the rural areas of our state. Water Banking is NOT a free market solution and we oppose mitigation in the form of water banking. CAPR will fight in Olympia to support water rights solutions that do not burden well owners' right to use their wells for their needs on their properties. We vigorously fight against mitigation that requires well owners to pay for water availability while restricting uses of water. Mitigation on the backs of all well owners in the state is not a fix for Hirst and will in fact damage the water rights of every citizen in the state. CAPR opposes mitigation through water banking.
CAPR has held the position that the Separation of Powers Doctrine should always be of the highest importance in a representative republic, it is the legislature that is tasked with law making, not the judiciary and not the executive branches. We are depending on, and will support the work of our legislators to regain control of law making. We are also counting on members and supporters of CAPR to call and email legislators so they know how important this water war is for Washington Citizens, encourage them to fight for the traditional status of all exempt wells!
The Problems with how counties are responding to Hirst, with the direction of Ecology: Growth of Government and the blanket over-regulation of the Growth Management Act. What is the cost of growing government for mitigation? What is the cost to individual property owners in this state? Is Water Banking as mitigation a legal solution, and who is watching the watchdog? What would limit the cost of water bank mitigation and how would it be metered or accounted for? How would the important functions of good government happen, fairness, equity in availability, and transparency if Water Banking is done? Would Ecology be responsible for complete and honest cost/benefit analysis of all water banks, and how would that be monitored? There are too many unanswered questions and too many loopholes that can be taken advantage of in Water Bank Mitigation. CAPR Opposes this!
For more information on CAPR's position on Water Rights and the "Hirst Heist" please see these CAPR blog posts:
http://proprights.org/blog/water-rights-where-do-we-stand-hirst-0
http://proprights.org/blog/response-hirst-ruling
Please continue to support CAPR as we work to support your property rights! Your calls, emails, visits to Olympia, and contributions will fuel this water war, and help restore and retain property rights for you and your families!
CAPR has planned many events for networking and socializing with an eye to protecting property rights! Please see this blog post for a list of events you can attend! http://proprights.org/blog/upcoming-capr-events
Support CAPR Today to Preserve Freedom Tomorrow!
CAPR Thanks YOU!
With Best Regards, In Liberty, Cindy Alia Citizens' Alliance for Property Rights
CAPR Members, Friends! CALL TO ACTION! Please be sure to join CAPR we owe our success to our members!
http://proprights.org/donate/membership
Action Alert Quote
We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the Courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution. ---Abraham Lincoln
May 1, 2017