Since I restarted the VMICC Land Use and Natural Resources Committee, you have heard about financial aid for septic. I knew the deadline was July 1 and our poorest could not afford to comply so I kept trying to find them help.

I first asked King County for financial help with my septic in 1992 when all the other counties involved were helping. The county said they tried and still can’t.  Could it have anything to do with protecting their $10,000 septic permits and fees? Now our poorest are being punished and fined $25 per day until they comply. The VMICC board is helping but still there is still no money. I plan to have another meeting to keep trying.

I also want to discuss the $350,000 that is available to clean the water. Shellfish gardens qualify for this money and are successfully being used in Chesapeake Bay to clean the water, plus it has brought back lucrative commercial shellfish gardens. Looking at what is going on lately, we have become an island of beggars beholden to King County and they don’t think we deserve much. I say we use their $350,000 and part of our tidelands to clean the water, making sure when we are done with the cleaning we have also built a $1 billion-per-year family shellfish harvest that will independently support both islands forever. With a billion per year there will be no more begging.

— Bill Rowling