Public urges moratorium on ditch piping; commission asks staff for pipeline and well data

A group of public commenters urged the planning commission to halt additional piping of historic open irrigation ditches in the Dungeness and SWIM/AGU regions, saying the ditches play a key role in aquifer recharge and protect senior water rights.

Virginia Schugerin (speaker 10) told the commission she had submitted written comments supporting a policy and ordinance moratorium on further piping of the existing ditches. She cited the state prior‑appropriation system and said that, according to Department of Ecology figures she referenced, there are about 5,500 exempt domestic wells in the Dungeness region and roughly 66 miles of ditches have already been piped. "A pipeline moratorium is necessary in order to protect the senior rights of those 5,500 exempt wells," she said.

Commission response and follow‑up: Commissioners did not adopt any moratorium at the meeting but asked staff to provide more information on active pipeline projects, timelines and whether the commission has scope to act. Staff agreed to gather and present that information at a future meeting. Several commissioners also noted water‑resource constraints and longer‑term questions about groundwater, fire risk and contamination in shallow aquifers.

Related item — ag accessory and single‑RV stays: The commission also discussed agricultural accessory uses and limited RV stays (schemes similar to third‑party platforms such as Harvest Host). Staff noted existing code treats two or more RVs as an RV park and said allowing one self‑contained RV per parcel could be consistent with policy; commissioners suggested detailed rules about hookups, duration and whether the topic should be addressed in a separate RV policy update rather than the comprehensive plan text.

Next steps: Staff will compile data on pipeline projects and timelines and report back to the commission; no formal moratorium or code change was adopted at this meeting.