Environmental: Environmental rules stifling

The shoes keep dropping! Now farming is in jeopardy per your article in the April 23, Whidbey News-Times.

First, we lost our timber industry to environmental “rules;” next we lost the fishing industry to environmental “rules;” and next the state’s aluminum industry was lost to environmental “rules.”

Environmental “rules” prevented the expansion of hydroelectric energy. We import food today due to environmental “rules,” such as apples from new Zealand and garlic from China. Next it will be milk and eggs from Canada, due to environmental “rules” against dairy farms right here on Whidbey Island. The aircraft industry is moving from the state partially due to environmental “rules.” It takes several years of environmental “rules” studies to build a road, a pier or a seawall.

British Columbia if struggling with its overseas fright traffic (both ways) that now bypasses the Puget Sound due to environmental “rules.”

The main north-south railroad from Portland, Oregon to Vancouver, British Columbia wants to lay more rail to carry more truck trailers and relieve congestion on I-5 but is prevented from doing so by environmental “rules.” We can’t build another oil refinery here due to environmental “rules,” so most Alaskan oil goes to Japan for refining. One can’t drill for water or camp here in most places due to environmental “rules.”

Why should environmental “rules” make our lives less pleasant and more difficult? I feel that the state and myself are being cheated by environmental “rules.” Soon environmental studies, environmental “rules” enforcement and environmental litigation will be the state’s biggest industry with its tax funded environmental grants, tax funded “rules” enforcement and tax funded frivolous law suits.

I am a neighbor of dairy farmer Ron Muzzall and a resident of Penn Cove.

John O. (Jack) Guyer

Oak Harbo

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