Candidates Respond to SPEECH Questionnaire: Thurston County Commissioner District 1
Thurston County Commissioner District 1: Cathy Wolfe vs. Mike Pettit What is the top environmental issue facing Thurston County and how will you approach addressing it as a county commissioner? Cathy Wolfe It is always difficult to choose the top issue, however, clean water has got to be at the top of every local community's list. Clean drinking water and clean water for salmon habitat and our shellfish industry, among other things, is an absolute must! We have twice the pollution in groundwater than we had ten years ago. Contamination from human activities has made groundwater unfit to drink in many areas - 15 areas have been identified with nitrate exceeding warning levels. The county should increase monitoring of groundwater quality and utilize the Growth Management Act to encourage large developments to locate near existing water systems. Existing laws and regulations must be enforced. The county can, and should, also designate "Areas of Special Concern" where water contamination problems exist. Mike Pettit The top environmental issue facing Thurston County is the same that it has always been since the beginning of history, the need for clean usable water. As county commissioner, I will provide for enforcement of environmental laws holding those responsible for pollution, accountable. This includes trained enforcement officers and prosecution lawyers. I believe if there is an environmental standard, you must back it up with proper enforcement. In light of the Endangered Species Act listing of certain species of salmon, steelhead and bull trout and demands made by humans on groundwater and surface water resources, what role should the county have in determining the carrying capacity of our water resources and then not exceeding it? Cathy Wolfe In Thurston County, all governmental entities including Tribes have formed interjurisdictional work groups to determine how to respond to the recent ruling of the National Marine Fisheries Service prohibiting the taking of fourteen groups of salmon and steelhead. Activities such as construction in or near waterways, pollution discharges, grazing, fishing, and timber harvesting will be affected. The county must play a very active role in assuring the success of these efforts and must continue to finetune and monitor these activities. Mike Pettit I am a member of the Deschutes Water Resource Inventory Area 13 Watershed Planning Committee and I reside on the Deschutes River. Clean water is very important to me because it is part of my backyard. Local proper assessment of the amount of water available is necessary to allow for the proper use of this valuable resource. Once that assessment is made, reasonable regulations must be adopted and enforced to make sure there is clean water for all that need it. What is your opinion on the current state of groundwater and stormwater management in the county? Do you plan on proposing any changes? Cathy Wolfe While many steps have been taken to move us in the right direction, we still have tremendous problems with pollution and water contamination. We need to be vigilant about monitoring for groundwater quality and we need to enforce the rules and regulations that we already have on the books. Where problems exist, we should designate "Areas of Special Concern" so that further steps can be taken to ensure clean water. Mike Pettit Current groundwater management is under the authority of the Department of Ecology. Property owners need a quicker response to applications for water rights. The six year or longer waiting period is unreasonable for citizens to get a yes or no answer. The process of local assessment to determine the amount of water available should provide DOE with the information necessary to speed up the process. Stormwater management lacks enforcement of current regulations. All the best regulations in the world are useless without enforcement. I would place the enforcement of stormwater regulation outside of the Storm and Surface Water Utility, possibly the Department of Health. The Storm and Surface Water Utility should not be policing itself when I have found several county owned stormwater facilities are not being properly maintained. In light of the constraints imposed by the passage of I-695, how do you propose to finance environmental program education, outreach and implementation? How will you manage to fund environmental regulation, compliance and enforcement activities? Cathy Wolfe It is meaningless to have strong environmental regulations if we lack the staff and other resources necessary to enforce them. I will work with staff and other knowledgeable persons to develop a staffing plan for this program. Where are the gaps? It may be that, if we coordinate resources with other jurisdictions, we can reduce duplication and spread these resources further. We will certainly look for any federal or state grant funds that may be available. Mike Pettit Environmental program education, outreach and implementation would have a lower priority than compliance and enforcement activities. Money will only go so far, proper enforcement is a very sound method of educating the public that environmental standards must be met or suffer the consequences.
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