Subject:
Why do I have to keep going to
public meetings to protect myself and my neighbors against my own government

Excellent
comments by Richard Hild!  Thank you for
this brilliant and well stated letter below.

I
am forwarding to my friends in hopes they may read your letter and forward it
on to their friends.  Lets spread the word out
to the rest of the state and U.S. so everyone can see what is going
on behind our backs in our governments!

This
is a must read for everyone with property!

You
have to wonder how much more freedom will be stolen by the government before
people will wake up and fight.  Losing our property rights  wasn't
enough apparently and now the WA State DOE is working on stealing water
rights then of course the state and counties especially King County corrupted
the last election so bad nobody knows who rightfully won the governorship.

One
thing you can say for sure is that dyfunctionality
never improves left alone.  The rural AND urban voters need to all wake up
and see that the DOE and the DDES all end up with no jobs ASAP.

Jack
Venrick

Enumclaw,
WA

----- Original Message -----

From: Richard Hild

To: [email-masked]

Cc: [email-masked]
; [email-masked]
; [email-masked] ; [email-masked] ; [email-masked] ; [email-masked]
; [email-masked]
; [email-masked] ; [email-masked] ; [email-masked] ; [email-masked]

Sent: Monday, October 24, 2005 3:36 PM

Subject: [Capr-discussion] [wria17] WRIA17
Jefferson County Washington (Why do I have to keep going to public meetings to
protect myself and my neighbors against my own government?)

October 23, 2005

Cookson Beecher

Washington State Staff Writer

Capital Press

P.O. Box 2048

Salem, OR  97308

Re:  WRIA17 Jefferson County Washington  (Why
do I have to keep going to public meetings to protect myself and my neighbors
against my own government?)

Dear Ms. Beecher,

Thank you for your article Small-scale farmers face unexpected hurdle - water
in the Friday October 21, 2005 issue.  I and many other concerned citizens
here in Jefferson County greatly appreciate your interest and reporting.

This whole issue came to light when, as I understand it, at a local social
event, Dennis Schultz mentioned to Judi Stewart (both in the local fruit
growers club) something about Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) is
trying to institute a new rule which would limit the watering of fruit trees or
any other of the local produce gardens.

Judi sent an Email to all of the fruit club members (including my wife Nadine)
saying that we should all come to a meeting at the Chimacum,
Wa. Tri
area building a few days hence to hear a presentation by the DOE about this new
rule.  When we arrived at the meeting room it was jammed with what
is estimated by various people to be between 100 and 150 people (standing room
only).  Most of the people there had reviewed the DOE proposed rule which
seemed to say that we, the DOE and the people, need to cut down on our,
Jefferson County's, water use in order to save the
salmon.

The session began with the DOE representative trying to do a computerized slide
show.  The audience was having nothing of that and the questions began.

Citizen question:  How did you arrive at this conclusion that we need this
in-stream rule.  DOE answer:  That's a very
good question.  We have this scientific study and it cost about $745,000.
They seemed very proud that they had spent $745,000.

Citizen question:  And exactly what did this study say?  DOE
answer:  We didn't bring our hydrologist with us.  We will have to
get back to you.

Citizen question:  Who got the $745,000?  DOE answer.  Well, we
paid about $145,000 to a scientist.

Citizen question:  Who got the remaining $600,000.
DOE answer:  We will have to get back to you.  We are not prepared
for that question.

Citizen question:  Why haven't you included us, the citizens who will be
most affected by this rule, in previous meetings?  DOE answer:  We
have had a lot of notices of meetings in the local paper.

Citizen question:  How many in this room, raise your hand, have seen any
notices in the paper?  Three hands went up.  The three
people from DOE.

Citizen question:  What is this about you are going to put meters on all
the wells?  DOE answer:  No.  We are not going to do that.

Citizen question:  It says in this proposed rule that metering will be
necessary.  Does that mean you are not going to put meters on the
wells?  Or does it mean you are going to put meters on the wells?
DOE answer:  No we are not going to put meters on wells.  But how can
we  determine how much water is being used if we
don't have some sort of metering?  Besides, you have an old version of the
rule.

Citizen question:  The version we are working from is the version we got
from your web site today.  What version should we be working from?
DOE answer:  You have the wrong version.  We will get back to you.

Citizen question:  Why are you making this rule and putting it on the very
people who are so absolutely conscientious about conserving water?  DOE
answer:  Look, we are just doing what we have been tasked to do by the
legislature.  Don't blame us.  If you have a problem with this, call
the legislature.

Citizen question:  You have said a number of times, "we will get back
to you."  I don't see any body taking
minutes or notes.  How will you know what questions we asked later if you
don't record what we are asking?  DOE answer:  Don't worry.  We
are taking notes.  (Note:  There were 3 DOE people there,
none of them had a pencil/pen/paper in hand.  One of them at that point
picked up a lap top computer and pecked at it a bit but that didn't
last.)

There were a lot more questions.  I can't, at this time, remember them
all.  I do remember that they, the representatives from DOE, did not
answer a single question to the satisfaction of the citizens at that first
meeting.  So, the DOE representatives promised to have another meeting
with answers to all of our questions and to bring the DOE hydrologist to the
second meeting to explain the "science" which is the basis for the
rule.

The second meeting was held at the USO Building at Fort Worden and had by some
estimates 250 people, again standing room only.  Many of the same
questions were asked and still no real answers.

It is my opinion that the DOE has decided that they are the best stewards of my and my neighbors' water and that they, the DOE, will
take over all control of all water above, on and under my property.  They
have told me and my neighbors at the two meetings described above that the
legislature has told them to do this.  They have been very clear about
that particular point at all of the public meetings I have attended.  They
seem to be saying, "we are just following
orders".  That sort of thinking has an interesting ring to it.

DOE has said at these meetings that their rule is based on science which shows
something called "continuity" which, if I understand them correctly,
means that if a gallon of water is taken out of my well in the Port Townsend
area, the Quilcene River flow will be reduced by one
gallon.  I am not a scientist just an ordinary citizen.  However,
among my many neighbors here in the Jefferson County area there are a number of
retired scientists/engineers.  Some of those folks have also been at these
public meetings.  At the second standing room only public meeting which
was held at the USO building at Fort Worden the DOE hydrologist was challenged
by these retired engineer type folks and the DOE hydrologist admitted several
times that they, the DOE, doesn't really know if what they, the DOE, is
presenting as fact/science is actually true.

It is becoming very apparent that the DOE is trying to ram through a
"rule" which they, the DOE, know is based on fictitious or perhaps
even manufactured findings.  It is also becoming very apparent that the
DOE is engaged in some grandiose scheme of empire building.  The first time
I read the proposed rule my initial impression was that this, the rule, is
nothing more than a job description for yet another huge enforcement
bureaucracy.  My second reading confirmed that suspicion.

After the meeting at the USO building at Fort Worden the group from DOE, headed
by a Ms. Hadia Adelsman,
assembled at the foot of the stage where they had been speaking and, in front
of at least one witness, congratulated themselves for having allowed the
"locals" to "vent".  Is that what the legislature
wants from public hearings, "allowing the locals to vent"?

I personally believe that the DOE has shown that they can
not be trusted by the general population or more specifically, the
legislature.  I believe I share this opinion with many others.  I
personally believe that the DOE should be disbanded, its employees fired and
not laterally transferred to another agency (in order to expunge our state
government of such an arrogant corporate attitude) and that their budget,
reportedly $165,000,000, be portioned out to the various counties and PUDs who
are much more aware of the local water conditions.  Their beautiful new,
massive building complex and grounds could be put to use as a new school for
those in need of such a facility.

There is a lot more to this Ms. Beecher.   The following web sites
have a lot more information:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wria17/
,   http://wria17.blogspot.com/
.

I have sent a letter to Rep Lynn Kessler, Rep Jim Buck and Senator Jim Hargrove
with this information.

Thank you for covering this story.  I have just scratched the surface with
this letter.  Every day brings yet another story of the DOE trying to insinuate
itself into the lives of the good citizens of Jefferson County (and other
counties we are coming to find out).  The latest is DOE trying to get the
Jefferson County Commissioners to accept a $110,000 grant to start a local
water-police force., I guess they consider our local
commissioners as their own personal sort of collaborative Vichi
government.

William O. Douglas is quoted as saying once, "the right to be let alone is
indeed the beginning of all freedoms."   Please help us to be
just let alone to live our lives and husband our land as we see fit and to
continue our fledgling market farming program.

Sincerely,

Richard Hild

1571 Cape George Rd.

Port Townsend, Wa.
98368

Phone:  360-385-7371

Email:  [email-masked]

Cc:    Rep. Lynn Kessler, Rep. Jim Buck, Senator Jim Hargrove,
Port Townsend Leader, Peninsula Daily News, Katherine Baril
- WSU, David Sullivan - Phil Johnson - Pat Rogers - Jefferson County
Commissioners,

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wria17/
,   http://wria17.blogspot.com/

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