State water quality initiative fizzles

JOHN DODGE, THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- Organizers pulled the plug Friday on a citizens initiative to raise the state sales tax to finance $1 billion in statewide water quality projects.

Initiative 769 lacked enough volunteers to gather the 240,000 voter signatures it needed to qualify for the November ballot, initiative author Dan Silver of Olympia said.

Silver, a former state Department of Ecology deputy director, said the volunteer petition drive netted less than 10,000 signatures since the campaign kicked off March 17.

"We didn't take enough time to build up the organization or awareness of the initiative," Silver noted.

The goal was to boost the sales tax 0.1 percent to pay for state general obligation bonds to finance projects over a 10-year period, largely in rural areas of the state.

Projects included buying water rights and habitat from farmers to better protect fish and wildlife and financing sewer and storm water projects in financially strapped communities.

"It was a good government issue," Silver said.

The measure had bipartisan political support -- but not funding support from several key state lawmakers.

"Transportation is clearly their biggest issue right now," he said.

John Dodge covers the environment and energy for The Olympian. He can be reached at 754-5444.

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