Citing financial and signature-gathering difficulties, the Washington Environmental Council (WEC) recently dropped its bid to place Referendum 54 on the November ballot. Referendum 54, which the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) advised its members last month to decline to sign, would have put Senate Bill 5028 before the voters for acceptance or rejection.

SB 5028 was a bill that clarified existing law that the Department of Ecology does not have statutory authority to limit, condition, alter, or abrogate the lawful use of an existing water right under Washington’s pollution control laws. In other words, contrary to Ecology’s position in recent litigation in the Methow Valley, the lawful use of a valid water right cannot constitute “pollution” and be the subject of administrative enforcement.

In July, BIAW lawyers represented SB 5028’s sponsor, Senator Bob Morton (R-Kettle Falls) and Senate Natural Resources Chair Jim Honeyford (R-Sunnyside), along with the Washington Water Policy Alliance and 10 other concerned parties in a challenge to the ballot title formulated for Referendum 54. The aggressive, organized opposition to its efforts may have been a factor in WEC’s decision.