2/1/10

Mr. Mayor, how many council members have read all hundred plus pages? Many people give our congressmen a hard time when they pass legislation they haven’t read. Let us not be hypocritical today.

Mr. Mayor, I am an advocate of individual rights, and oppose the growth of government regardless of whether it is here at City Hall or in Washington DC.

Before I begin, I wish to apologize to Trevor Evers, our Director of Public Works. The state legislature has mandated this code before us tonight, and your department is responsible for bringing Washougal in compliance with this unfunded mandate. With all of my comments tonight, I mean no disrespect to you and your position. I am impressed with your ability to do your job with efficiency and patience. Thank you for your tireless efforts to keep us legal with the state and federal departments.

For the record, I do wish to point out a very telling statement that is incorporated in the very first section. It states the purpose of the new code is in part:

“To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the municipal separate storm sewer system by stormwater discharges from any user.”

To put it into layman’s terms, this means that we are controlling anything that ever will go into groundwater, lakes, or streams by anyone. It is one thing to prosecute a polluter. It is a completely different thing to regulate and control anyone who adds anything to the water. I prefer to prosecute the bad guys rather than keep tabs on the good guys.

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Editor's note: The above statement was Michael's opening remarks to the discussion regarding the new Stormwater code that was passed February 1st.  Below are further thoughts of Michael's regarding this new code.  --ed.

With the passage of this stormwater code, the City of Washougal has officially passed on the burden of another piece of totalitarian government to its citizens.  The City is not the originator of this code, but rather a functionary of the oppressive state government.  In fact, if you wish to place the blame squarely where it belongs, it should lie with the state legislators who ignored the provisions of the 10th Amendment to the Constitution.  Under the 10th Amendment, the state legislature could have rejected the federal legislation that required this law at the state level.  Instead, they allowed Congress to bully them through unconstitutional legislation into enacting a pass-through law requiring counties and cities to oppress their citizens.

The options available to the City of Washougal are severely limited.  Instead of passing this required law, we could violate our oath of office to uphold state laws and flout the authority of the state legislature to require oppression of its citizens.  The only way in which we could uphold our oaths of office and not pass the code is if we found the law to be unconstitutional.  This begs the question of whether it is unconstitutional to prohibit washing your car in the driveway, or leaving dog waste on the lawn for more than a day, leaving grass clippings on your lawn, or fertilizing your yard.  If prohibiting these actions is unconstitutional, then the City of Washougal has the dilemma of fighting that fight at the State Supreme Court, or just putting up with it because it is cheaper.

On principle, I voted no believing that Article I, Section 32 of the Constitution of the State of Washington gives us the authority to reject abject oppression.  Article I Section 32 states: "A frequent recurrence to the fundamental principles is essential to the security of individual right and the perpetuity of free government."  Also, Article I, Section 1 states: "All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights."  I cannot justify this stormwater code as a protection of individual rights.  In contrast, it is a severe curtailing of individual rights.

The solutions to this dilemma lie with the people, ultimately.  I urge you to consider that your state legislators must be informed about their duty under the 10th Amendment to reject unconstitutional mandates by Congress.  We can turn back the tide of oppression, but only if our state legislature is willing to protect the sovereignty of the State of Washington.  Without that protection, we are nearly powerless to reverse the growth of government.

It is a sad day when a Washougal resident hears that his city government has made it illegal to leave lawn clippings on his lawn, fertilize his yard, or wash his car in his driveway.  Who is the master and who is the servant?  As Frank Herbert said, "The more control, the more that requires control.  This is the road to chaos."

A little bit of freedom died today.

Sadly,

Michael Delavar