You may have recently caught the Methow Valley News articles about unpermitted, obvious tree cutting and land clearing in the Twisp River shoreline along Twisp River Road (pictured above). After many complaints from residents, Okanogan County finally issued a stop work order for the property. The order arrived months too late–much of the damage to the riparian zone appears to have already occurred. Unfortunately, slow or non-existent responses by the county on violations to its own laws and regulations are quite common. MVCC gets calls all the time with the refrain, “I tried to call the county, but nobody called me back.” MVCC’s role is to make sure your voices are heard, and we do our best to pressure the county or appropriate agencies to listen to and act on complaints. But the process is slow. Damage occurs in the meantime. There has to be a better way…

Introducing ERTS, a new way to report damage

We know this sounds like a late-night infomercial but ERTS (Environmental Tracking Report System) might actually be the trick to getting a quicker response and preventing damage in the meantime. A report through this portal goes out to all applicable agencies including the state Department of Ecology, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Okanogan County (based on the location of the complaint) and creates a “paper trail” that forces the agencies and county to follow up on the complaint.

I don’t like the idea of complaining about my neighbors

We don’t either. Unfortunately, until something changes, land use violations in Okanogan County are responded to on a “complaint-based system.” Okanogan County is too big and doesn’t have the tax base to send officials on patrol to look for violations. This means that we, the citizens who would like to see our land and water cared for, have a vital reporting role to play.  If you notice your neighbor damaging their land or polluting their water (activities to report are listed below), we encourage beginning with a respectful dialogue as they may be unaware of regulations. If dialogue breaks down or does not seem to change behavior and the damage continues, report it on ERTS. This can be done anonymously by clicking “yes” when prompted in the form about confidentiality. Although it can be intimidating to report on a neighbor, especially when we don’t have all the information, it is important–without this information, there can’t be a resolution!

What Sort of Damage Should I Report?

Toxic spills? Yes Riparian clearing? Yes Planting trees that block my view? Creating dust clouds from driving too fast? Not so much. 
While it might initially appear that ERTS is just for toxic spills, we have confirmed with the agencies that this is the preferred notification for a whole range of environmental concerns, that you, the concerned citizen, can keep an eye out for.  This includes:

• Cutting or clearing riparian vegetation (trees, brush, earth-moving) within the shoreline environment of rivers and lakes (within 200 ft. of the high water mark). Any vegetation clearing or excavation within 25 feet of the high water line is a likely violation of the Shoreline Master Program and should be reported promptly. Since there are different Shoreline designations that allow some variation within the 200-foot zone, contacting MVCC or the county with the parcel number can help identify the specific requirements for the site and determine next steps.
• Road building or clearing and grading activities that create the potential for runoff to enter wetlands or water bodies.
• Excavation or clearing taking place in Critical Areas. In general these are wetlands, frequently flooded areas or key fish and wildlife habitats.  Because there are no maps of critical areas and clearing and grading can occur before a building permit is secured this is a trickier one to enforce (and exactly why we need a clearing and grading ordinance!).  MVCC is here to help to clarify if it is a critical area and call county officials and alert them.