Tom: You actually seem to believe that Cooke has the RIGHT to use public waters in any manner it chooses for its business operations. The waters in question do not belong to Cooke, but rather to the citizens of our State. You do understand that don't you?
Now, the State in its wisdom may grant leases or permits for private use (for logging operations, tour boat terminals, fishing, dock construction, marinas, etc.) but the State absolutely gets to set the terms and conditions to protect the owners' interests. Here it was clearly demonstrated by the facts of the initial net failure investigation, by Cooke's many other lease violations (encroachments, inadequate oversight, etc) , and by their attempts to evade responsibility, that Cooke had materially violated the terms of the leases.
Do you believe in contracts? What normally happens in your business when one party flagrantly violates a contract? I personally believe it was damn generous (if not foolhardy) for the State to have granted these leases in the first place. As a longtime and current owner of many businesses I'm confident the State is now doing the right thing, and I'm encouraged that lobbying and political contributions are not preventing swift and appropriate enforcement action.
This is not a case of the government picking on a poor little company. Cooke has shown itself to be an irresponsible corporate citizen who doesn't deserve the PRIVILEGE of doing business in our state. I hope they don't let the door hit their asses on the way out!
Mike
