This budget, if enacted, would significantly weaken our ability to protect the state's quality of life. Riveland said the supplemental budget would chop the state's water quality protection efforts by 25 percent. If the state doesn't have a reasonable number of people who oversee industry, it's an invitation for the more unscrupulous among them to begin dumping. In fact, having fewer water quality inspectors would reward companies that pollute and economically punish businesses who want to do the right thing for the environment. We need clean water.
Industry needs clean water.
People and industries have chosen our state because of its outstanding environmental record. An innovative state program that has motivated industry to voluntarily cut air emissions in exchange for reduced regulatory requirements would be scrapped. Cutting one-third of the air operating permit staff would severely limit Ecology's ability to assure industry compliance with air quality standards. Federal intervention would be likely. Under the guise of a budget, the House leadership has overturned the State Shoreline Management Act that was passed by a citizen initiative 25 years ago.