"It s certainly a victory for the citizens of Washington. It s a victory because it reinforces the rule of law here. Our system is built upon elected representatives making policy that comes up from the people not from unelected bureaucrats dictating policy down to the people," said Buck, R-Joyce.

"I look forward to hearing them explain this to the Legislature," added Buck. "There are serious questions raised by this costly and time-consuming rule-making that has now been deemed unlawful. The citizens deserve real answers about this failed five-year process."

Buck, member and former chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, has studied the state s Shorelines Management Act extensively for several years, even publishing a paper on the issue. He said it was clear from the beginning when the Department of Ecology (DOE) first began re-writing the rules that the agency had overstepped its bounds.

"The new rules were flagrantly beyond what the Legislature had given the agency the authority to do," said Buck. "We told them to review the Shorelines Management Act. We didn t give them the authority to make the changes without our approval."

In one instance, Buck said DOE tried to redefine the high water-mark, a standard measurement used by surveyors and developers which is clearly written in statute.

"By arbitrarily changing this measurement, it gives bureaucrats the ability to determine ordinary high water-marks are anyplace they want to make them. That s an obvious violation of the law and goes beyond legislative intent," noted Buck.

"The Legislature clearly stated there would be no links between the Shorelines Management Act and other legislation like the Growth Management Act or the Endangered Species Act without absolute legislative authorization. DOE went ahead and did it anyway," said Buck. "It was a sweeping victory for the people when the Shorelines Hearings Board said a rule that is made without being authorized by law is null and void."

Buck, House Republican Caucus chairman, said DOE was mistaken when it thought it could "pull a fast one" over the Legislature. The agency s tactic backfired, said Buck, causing bipartisan opposition to the new rules.

"DOE created rules it wanted and then expected the Legislature to give approval after the fact. It knew it was on thin ice. These bureaucrats tried to pull the wool over our eyes so we would give them the approval to do something they knew they didn t have the authority to do," said Buck. "This was a seriously flawed proposal, and we didn t give them that approval. These guys knew for a long time that they were wrong, and that s why they were pushing us so hard through the last two sessions to act on this."

The 24th District state representative said this case points out in particular that the citizens of Washington will not sit quietly by and allow powerful bureaucrats to dictate policy without a fight.

"I knew I had a battle on my hands when I was elected in 1994. We ve taken every opportunity to try to rein in these bureaucratic agencies that are assuming authority way beyond what the Legislature and the citizens said they could. This is a big win for the people," said Buck.

Although the rules are on hold, Buck said DOE could go back and re-write them, work with the Legislature, or challenge the Shorelines Hearings Board decision in court.

"The cases that are cited in this decision are pretty cut and dried. I welcome them to take it to court. I d like to see them try to explain their way out of this in front of a judge," concluded Buck.