This has to do with a whole lot more than money. The leftists in WA state abandoned global warming as their main excuse for environmental regulation, year ago. Instead they have settled on water regulation. He who controls the water, controls the people. You might wonder how a state with such a constant rainfall could be concerned about water. Well, the Indian treaties are the key. The treaties give the tribes as much water as they need. They now claim that they need it ALL to preserve the precious salmon. They are now claiming that unless a property owner, outside of the cities have a written deed to water rights from the state that predates the Indian treaties, you have no rights. Furthermore, you don’t even have a right to the rainwater, because if that water was allowed to run off of your property, it would not be yours.
The leftists in my county have gone so far as to down zone existing businesses in unincorporated areas, claiming that they are preserving the rural atmosphere, even though the property lies between an international freeway and the railroad tracks. It turns out that the local tribe wants to develop a similar project closer to the city.