The new guidelines will limit development adjacent to streams, lakes and marine waters in Washington State. It will force new structures or activities not "water dependent" to occur farther back from the edge of those water bodies, partly to protect the quality and natural functions of the shoreline, but also to protect people and businesses from floods. Bulkheads, docks and other shoreline structures that harm the natural functions of shorelines will be discouraged.

State Sen. Harold Hochstatter, R-Moses Lake, and property owner Bill Pickell have filed a lawsuit against the Ecology Department with the goal of stopping the rules before they can be enforced. Sen. Hochstatter tells GlobeSt.com that the issue isn't so much what happened as how it happened. Hochstatter says that the department's creation of new guidelines without involving the legislative branch of the state government is an "onerous taking of power." In the Senator's view, the DOE's self-generation of law is tantamount to a "shadow government." Meanwhile, a source at DOE tells GlobeSt. state law requires the agency to create guidelines, and that it makes no requirement of legislative involvement, though DOE did provide a draft of the new guidelines to the legislature for comment prior to the close of the 2000 legislative session.

DOE director Tom Fitzsimmons says the revised guidelines will apply only to new development or redevelopment. They will not apply to existing homes, businesses or farming practices, or to shoreline projects that have already been approved for development by cities and counties under their existing shoreline master programs. "Our shoreline practices do need to change, but we do not expect people to tear down their houses or go out of business," says Fitzsimmons.