PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County may have lost one battle over its development regulations, but commissioners aren’t ready to surrender just yet.
Jefferson County is asking the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board to reconsider its Jan. 10 decision concerning the county’s responsibility to monitor wells in areas susceptible to saltwater intrusion.
Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Alvarez filed a motion to reconsider Friday in Jefferson County Superior Court.
The action is the first step in appealing the hearings board decision.
The hearings board sided with litigants Olympic Environmental Council and Shine Community Action Council in its complaint. They claimed that Jefferson County had violated state law by not including a provision in the Unified Development Code for monitoring saltwater intrusion in wells.
When fresh water is pumped out of a well close to a shoreline faster than it can be replenished by rainfall or other means, saltwater intrusion can occur and contaminate a well.
