Why does it take a year to get a permit to replace a dock piling? What happens to safety in that year? What happens when someone can't afford $5K replacement pilings?
I don't want to speak to all the anti-environmental protection sentiment. But it takes a long time to get permits because in WA there are a number of entities that have to approve it. It depends on where it is, but in my marina for example, we have to deal with the Army Corp of Engineers, the WA State Dept of Natural Resources, the county, the city, and because of our marinas location in relation to a wetland, the EPA. Our marina is a home owners association. Part of the marina is on tidal lands that we own but part is on marine lands leased from the WA state DNR.
Because there are so many agencies involved, it took about 10 years to get permission to dredge the portion of the marina that was silting up. It took any number of hearings, studies, reviews, and then more hearings, studies and reviews. Solutions that were acceptable to one agency, weren't OK with another. Solve one problem, and we then had to renegotiate a different solution with another.
In the end, we came up with a solution that would allow us to create an underwater berm that would help restore a wetland, keep our marina from silting up in the future (hopefully). The process was long, expensive, and frustrating. The solution was expensive and time consuming.
I certainly didn't enjoy paying for the process and the final construction. However, when all is said and done, it should result is an improved wetland, improved fish run, and a marina that won't silt up.
If you are a land owner on Puget Sound that can't afford to maintain your dock, then your dock falls apart. If you are a land owner on Puget Sound that can't afford your property tax, then you have liens placed on your property. If the roof on your house has to be replaced you better be able to afford to replace that roof with a roof system that complies with the local building codes. If you can't, then you can't afford that house. The same is true with a dock.
Seems to me you likely could have come up with the answer to that question all on your own.