ŠJeffrey S. Juel 2013
JUEL
27 of 39
After the property upstream was flooded on multiple occasions, the owner went on the war path. His crusade culminated in House Bill 1418, which exempted agricultural drainage in Washington State from certain environmental requirements:
This bill passed easily and was signed into law by then Governor Gary Locke in 2003. Governor Locke and the majority of the state’s legislators are Democrats. So much for the party of clean air and clean water; the party of protecting endangered species; and the party of Saving the Planet. I passionately believe that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Good intentions cannot overcome poor design. Edison Slough is a classic example. Edison Slough is just one of a number of disastrous fish-friendly tide gate projects that have been attempted in the past two decades in Washington State. There were actually two unsuccessful attempts to replace the tide gate at Edison Slough with a tide gate that allows some tidal exchange. The first was in 2003, and the second was in 2006. To be fair, designing a viable fish-friendly tide gate is one of the most challenging things I have ever done as an engineer.