Dungeness water rule workshop slated today
Published 12:01 am Thursday, January 17, 2013
SEQUIM — An open house and workshop for property owners seeking building permits under the new Dungeness River water management rule will begin at 4 p.m. today.
The event, co-hosted by Clallam County and the state Department of Ecology, will run until 7 p.m. at the John Wayne Marina meeting room at 2577 West Sequim Bay Road.
It originally had been set the Sequim Transit Center, 190 W. Cedar St.
A one-hour open house will be followed by a two-hour workshop on mitigation water credits and the building permit process.
It is expected to provide new information on procedures for obtaining water mitigation credits.
The state Department of Ecology’s Dungeness Water Rule for the eastern half of Water Resource Inventory 18, or WRIA 18, sets minimum in-stream flows, which is the amount of water needed to provide for downstream use, to protect present and future water supplies for marine habitat and human usage and consumption.
The rule requires that new groundwater withdrawals be offset with mitigation credits — water rights or portions of water rights — before permits can be issued.
When the rule came into effect Jan. 2, the process had not been completed for purchasing the required water credits, but that is expected to be remedied by today, said Dan Partridge, Ecology spokesman.
The Washington Water Trust is in charge of selling the water mitigation credits from a “water bank” it will manage through June 30.
