A county board created as part of a state experiment to speed up the state's snail-pace of water rights transfers has been expanded to five members in an effort to cut down on missed meetings and conflicts of interest.
Taking advantage of a recent change in state law, the county commission expanded the Lewis County Water Conservancy Board from three members to five Monday, and approved a list of new members.
The expansion must be approved by the Washington Department of Ecology before the new members can officially join the board.
A third "alternate" member was approved. He will replace retiring board member Lyle Hojem.
New members are Marvin Courtney, Richard Carter and Ron Mauel. They will join current members John Moerke, Chris Cheney and the retiring Hojem.
The Water Conservancy Board decides on local water rights transfers, part of an increasingly accepted alternative to the cumbersome state system, which is often years behind requests.
The board is currently considering changes to Centralia's municipal water supply sources, but needs its new members to go to state training in April to ensure the process continues, Community Development Director Mike Zengel told commissioners shortly before they approved the change.
No new water rights are being issued in the Chehalis River basin, which includes all of the Twin Cities area, but transfers are still an option. Zengel said.
"It's a very detailed and convoluted portion of law, according to everyone I've talked to,"
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