Inslee directs Ecology to re-write strict clean water rules

Today, Jay Inslee directed the state Department of Ecology to write new rules that “address how clean the state’s waters should be and limit pollutants that can be released into waterways.” The need for Ecology to draft new rules comes after Inslee threw a fit and scrapped an earlier draft—a draft that took a year to develop—after failing to get his way on his extreme “green” agenda back in July.

Inslee’s killed Ecology’s original plan just days before the rules would have been adopted. Inslee’s refusal to allow the deal to move forward was nothing more than a temper tantrum. Our green governor wanted the rules to be implemented along with “legislation meant to reduce toxic chemicals,” which was a backroom deal he had cut with some of the extreme environmental groups that invested so much in getting him elected.

However, while that bill passed the state House, it did not have enough bi-partisan support to make it through the state Senate. So, Inslee threw a fit and killed the plan.

By every indication, Inslee is the only governor who attempted to link the clean water rules to his own agenda. Inslee quickly discovered that he could not get his extreme “green” plans through the state Legislature, so he decided he would take it out on Washington taxpayers and businesses.

Inslee has faced pressure from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to submit state-specific draft rules. The EPA began the process of writing rules for Washington State after Inslee scrapped Ecology’s original rules. However, the agency prefers the state do its own.

The clean water rules developed by the EPA for our state—which it released last month and would be adopted after a period of public review—would result in very strict standards. Local government officials and industries have expressed doubt that they would be able to meet the prospective standards “affordably with existing technology for treatment of sewage, stormwater runoff and effluent from plants.”

Ecology’s new set of rules, under Inslee’s guidance, would not do much to ease the burden on local governments or industries. The Washington Times,

“On Thursday, Inslee proposed dramatically raising the fish consumption rate to 175 grams a day… That’s what he proposed last year and what the EPA proposed. Some businesses such as Boeing Co. have called that level unreasonable.”

Further, Inslee also said he would not alter the cancer-risk rate—one of the EPA’s factors in a complicated formula to determine clean water standards. The EPA and environmentalists have argued for the rate to stay the same. Businesses have pushed for a more reasonable rate.

The only significant break Inslee’s proposal makes with the EPA is in regards to the time and flexibility local governments and businesses would have to meet the standards. Ecology’s proposal would eliminate any cap on the compliance schedule.

Ecology must submit a plan before the EPA finishes its process. That means Washington State has about eight to 11 months to submit a plan if it wants to write its own rule.