WAWG
Members of the state agricultural industry that participated in the Riparian Taskforce recently submitted a letter providing an agricultural perspective in response to some of the recommendations released earlier this summer by Plauche and Carr, the Seattle law firm that led the taskforce.
The final report recommends funding and implementation of voluntary restoration efforts and acquisition of riparian areas through voluntary methods, but says if those efforts fall short, a discussion of regulatory options and requirements, including eminent domain, should be pursued.
In the letter, the ag stakeholders re-iterated their support for full and complete funding for the Voluntary Stewardship Program and pointed out that mandatory buffers are likely to jeopardize current federal funding for conservation practices.
“In multiple conversations with federal agency officials, we understand completely that federal funds that flow to farms in this state for voluntary riparian buffer efforts would be unlikely to continue if the state wants to make buffers mandatory. Put simply, the federal government offers funding to incentivize voluntary actions and not to meet regulatory mandates,” the letter says.
The letter also pushes back against using eminent domain as a “regulatory backstop,” expressing the concern that “last resort” authorities have too often become overused or even first step actions in state government.
“We, therefore, remain strongly opposed to endorsing the use of eminent domain as a regulatory backstop,” the letter says.
Besides representatives of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers, other agricultural stakeholders signing onto the letter were the Washington Farm Bureau, the Washington State Dairy Federation, the Washington State Potato Commission; the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, and the Western Washington Agriculture Association.
A copy of the letter can be found here.