Bailey aims to tie regulators’ hands

In response to Jeff Lauderdale’s letter on March 9, I offer the following from the House Local Government Committee transcript regarding HB 1082: “Voluntary cooperation is a flawed philosophical approach to environmental regulation. . . If a person is willfully dumping toxic waste into our waters, penalties need to be issued immediately. The real intent of the bill is to make enforcement of environmental regulations much more difficult. This bill will tie the hands of regulators and will lessen the effectiveness of already weak enforcement practices.”

March 16, 2011 11:00 am

In response to Jeff Lauderdale’s letter on March 9, I offer the following from the House Local Government Committee transcript regarding HB 1082: “Voluntary cooperation is a flawed philosophical approach to environmental regulation. . . If a person is willfully dumping toxic waste into our waters, penalties need to be issued immediately. The real intent of the bill is to make enforcement of environmental regulations much more difficult. This bill will tie the hands of regulators and will lessen the effectiveness of already weak enforcement practices.”

Even the minority (Rep. Bailey’s own) party recommended “Do Not Pass.”

Give it up, Jeff. People who care about Puget Sound don’t want it polluted. Hope they stay in the majority, for all our sakes.

Jim Bruner
Oak Harbor