April 2018 Bar Bulletin
By Kate Hambley
In January, the Legislature passed a long-awaited “Hirst-fix” bill, which addresses the Supreme Court’s controversial Growth Management Act (GMA) decision regarding water availability and development in Whatcom County v. Hirst.1
The bill comes after well over a year of legislative wrangling that ended with a stalemate in the prior session when the Legislature could not agree on the role of tribes in water mitigation planning. The compromise bill rolls back the decision’s holding while requiring stricter water conservation measures in watersheds with older instream flow rules.
Background: The Hirst Decision and Initial Legislative Response
In Hirst, Futurewise sued Whatcom County over the County’s building and...