To the editor:
Citizens In Support of Useless Bay Community isn’t just a few “rabble-rousers,” as critics would have you believe. We represent more than 100 dues-paying members, pledging support of all lawful matters concerning Diking District 1 and its commissioners, while working to limit environmental impacts.
Diking District 1’s pumping project was illegally implemented and resulted from a contract signed in 2004 by Island County, Useless Bay Golf Course and Diking District 1. All three supplied funding for the project which was completed on Christmas Eve, 2008. Costs far exceeded the original estimate of $75,600.
Although required by state law, Diking District 1 denied taxpayers legal notice, a public hearing and a benefit assessment.
Additionally, there was no levy undertaken to fund the project. Diking District 1 never owned a pump, yet sought permits under the guise of “maintenance” for an existing system. Other false statements were made on permit applications, omitting the area’s HOLI designation and status as a blue heron habitat.
Millions of gallons of unfiltered fresh water were diverted and pumped into Deer Lagoon, a saltwater estuary. This threatens to destroy wetlands, pollute Useless Bay and obliterate bird habitats. In a rare decision, the Department of Ecology and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers withdrew their permits and required Diking District 1 to reapply.
Litigation was a last resort, undertaken after a year spent exhausting every remedy known to CSUBC. Reluctantly, we sought legal action rather than ignore a critical deadline to protest our claim in court.
Vocal critics are large developers or live at the lowest point in the drainage basin. Our supporters, understandably, object to assessments to drain 4,300 acres outside Diking District 1 while its owners pay nothing.
On one point we should all agree. Our U.S. Constitution prohibits “taxation without representation.” The funding for this project demands correction.
Judith Winquist, Coyla Shepard, Leo Cruise
CSUBC Leadership
