Washington Farm Bureau's take on Hirst Pt 2

I'm Bob Larson. The state Supreme Court's Hirst ruling, that effectively bars new wells on farm land, puts farmers and rural landowners in serious jeopardy of never being able to build a home on their property

Washington Farm Bureau's Evan Sheffels says if not reversed, it would be a serious setback for farmers and the farming industry ...

EVAN SHEFFELS ... "It's a serious problem for farmers mainly because you need housing for your employees, you need housing for kids or grandkids that going to come home to farm and they don't really want to live in mom and dad's basement. And, one of the major problems we have is transition from the generation that's been farming to the generation that needs to keep producing our food in the future. And so, the average age of the farmer in our state is about 60 and we just need ways for people to be able to locate a home in a rural area."

Sheffels says Hirst expands rules already in place, and working ...

EVAN SHEFFELS ... "And so, that's what the Supreme Court said, it said the counties have to go even further than what Ecology's own in-stream flow rules had already done to protect water resources. And so, this would just take it back to where we were. And where we were is a place where most people in the state, not everywhere, will be able to move forward and get their homes built according to the existing rules on the books."

Sheffels says there is a bill in the Senate that would do that, but there's likely to be a lot of back and forth before it's resolved.