Department of Ecology v. Campbell & Gwinn, L.L.C.

— RCW 90.44.050 provides an exemption from groundwater permit requirements for withdrawal of groundwater for domestic uses of 5,000 gallons or less per day. The Department of Ecology challenges the trial court’s determination that the exemption applies where a developer of a residential subdivision proposes multiple wells that will individually serve each lot in the development. Each well is proposed to withdraw less than 5,000 gallons per day (gpd), but together the wells will withdraw more than 5,000 gpd. Because the statute limits the exemption to one 5,000 gpd withdrawal whether the water…