Support Capitol Lake EIS funding

Look. I know many people rolled their eyeballs when they read the recent Olympian article about the need to fund yet another study regarding what to do with Capitol Lake. This time it’s $4 million to bankroll an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). But, here’s the thing; No matter what it is you think should be done with Capitol Lake, there is no way to get there without an EIS.

What an EIS will do is evaluate the feasibility and costs of all the alternatives for lake management presented in the recently completed report by the Department of Enterprise Services. This document was the product of an enormous amount of multi-jurisdictional effort that did extensive community outreach and exhaustive report review to identify all desired outcomes for management of Capitol Lake. Now it’s time to figure out which ones can actually work, and how much each will cost so an informed choice can be made.

So, no matter what your preferred outcome is, if you wish to see something finally get done with managing Capitol Lake, please take the time to make your voice politically heard so the funding to keep things moving towards a solution will not get stolen away. Money is tight this year in the Legislature because of the school funding issue, and millions can disappear in minutes if no wheels are squeaking.

Say you favor funding the “Phase 2 EIS for Capitol Lake proposed by the Department of Enterprise Services”. Representative Tharinger would be the best contact.

This story was originally published March 20, 2017 at 8:41 AM with the headline "Support Capitol Lake EIS funding."