Hirst Decision Costing Billions Pt 2

Hirst Decision Costing Billions Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. We told you yesterday about the new study that shows the Supreme Court's Hirst ruling is costing the state of Washington roughly $7-billion dollars because people who can't drill new wells won't do any building.

Senator Tim Sheldon says the ruling shows a lack of education on the court's part by punishing rural property owners ...

TIM SHELDON ... "... because the rural landowners that are using exempt well provisions from laws that date back to the early 19-hundreds are still taking less than 1% of the ground water out. And, after they get it out for their homes, they're putting right back in with their drain fields and irrigation systems around their house."

Sheldon says the rural people are the ones recycling their water ...

TIM SHELDON ... "while the urban people are taking it out of the deep wells and putting it out into the salt water after it goes in their sewer systems. And, they're the ones taking the water out of the aquifers. The rural property owners are using it and putting it back in a very environmentally responsible way."

Sheldon says to put the brakes on in rural Washington is really going to hurt ...

TIM SHELDON ... "As the study shows, it's going to shift taxes to those that are already in business or have homes of higher value because no one's going to build. No one's going to build in Washington's rural economy with the restrictions put on by the Supreme Court."

Sheldon says it's hard to imagine a Supreme Court decision with a more devastating impact and without a permanent Hirst fix, Washington is looking at a collapse of rural property values the likes of which the state has never seen.

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