State can find money for cleanup monitors

As The Olympian reported on April 8, state Republican senators, led by Sen. Doug Ericksen, eliminated $3.8 million in biennial public grants (citizen monitor grants) that funded local groups who prevent pollution and monitor toxic waste cleanup. With this funding cut, Senate Republicans have smacked down efforts of local groups statewide to protect our environment by keeping an eye on corporate and government cleanups.

Ericksen characterizes citizen monitor grants as a “slush fund.” He further implies that there’s not enough state money to pay for citizen environmental monitors.

But the money is there, stashed away in one or more outdated state tax exemptions which do not benefit the public and serve as slush funds for special interests. For example, the state grants oil companies an incentive that exempts some fuel products from tax that are used by refineries for energy.

Sen. Ericksen, who receives campaign contributions from the oil industry, fiercely protects this oil company slush fund.

Elimination of this tax loophole would release enough money to easily fund all citizen environmental monitors.

Apparently, Sen. Ericksen doesn’t want our tax money used to allow average citizens to help safeguard our rivers or monitor Hanford waste cleanup.

He would rather lavish our tax money on corporate conglomerates and have toxic waste cleanup occur without citizen oversight. Perhaps he wants us left in the dark. As a result, our world will become darker, dirtier and more dangerous.

This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 8:56 AM with the headline "State can find money for cleanup monitors."