We reported on the historic success by Standing for Washington of Everett Initiative 24-03 which gave legally enforceable rights to the Snohomish River Watershed in our December 2024 issue. It comes as no surprise that such a landmark change would lead to a legal challenge.
Sure enough, the Master Builders Association and others have filed a lawsuit contesting the new law.
Standing for Washington is gearing up to defend the initiative in court and is confident it will be able to do so. Passed by a strong showing of 57% of the vote, it creates the ability for the community to bring actions if there is harm to the watershed without creating any new regulations, interference with city administrative functions or conflicts with state law.
Because Standing for Washington will be focusing on defending the Everett Initiative, work on a similar measure for the Deschutes Watershed will be deferred, with lessons learned from the Everett campaign to be applied.
If you want to support the work of Standing for Washington in this “watershed” campaign, you can donate to their efforts.
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