Testimony before the House Committee on Local Government
regarding Substitute House Bill 2797
Olympia, Washington
January 25, 2008
TVW Video: fast forward to 1:49:50.
-As Prepared-
Good afternoon. My name is Ryan Walters. I’m a special deputy prosecuting attorney for Skagit County and I’m here to speak on behalf of Skagit County to let you know that we need tools and assistance to help us prepare for the effects of climate change.
Skagit County has two major islands, miles and miles of coast and shoreline. We are concerned about sealevel rise. We have mountains, lakes, dams, and the third largest river system on the west coast of the United States. We are concerned about increased winter rainfall and flooding and decreased snowpack.
We have declining salmon populations. We have a declining agricultural base. We have had fights over water rights, even in one of the most undersubscribed rivers in the state. We are concerned that climate change will exacerbate all of these problems. That’s why Skagit County government is currently developing a plan to both do our part to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as an organization and to plan and prepare for those effects of climate change that are now already inevitable.
But how do we get there?
We need the state to help provide us with tools and assistance to implement plans and policies. We’d of course also appreciate appropriate funding, such as the grant program contained in the substitute bill, to help us plan for mitigation and adaptation and to hopefully demonstrate how local jurisdictions can successfully handle this challenge. It is simply beyond our capability to do this ourselves.
Communities that start planning for climate change now will serve their citizens well. Communities that start reducing their organizational greenhouse gas emissions will serve our planet well. We're asking for your help in doing both.