S-0294.1
SENATE BILL 5145
State of Washington | 67th Legislature | 2021 Regular Session |
BySenators Van De Wege and Rolfes
Read first time 01/12/21.Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW
79.14.300 and 2003 c 334 s 401 are each amended to read as follows:
((The))(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the department may issue permits and leases for prospecting, and contracts for the mining of valuable minerals and specified materials, except rock, gravel, sand, silt, coal, or hydrocarbons, upon and from any public lands belonging to or held in trust by the state, or which have been sold and the minerals thereon reserved by the state in tracts not to exceed six hundred forty acres or an entire government-surveyed section.
(2) The department may not issue permits and leases on aquatic lands along the Washington coast from Cape Flattery south to Washington's southern boundary, nor in Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay, and the Columbia river downstream from the Longview bridge, for purposes of exploration, development, or seabed mining of hard minerals. For the purposes of this section, "hard minerals" means natural deposits of valuable minerals other than rock, gravel, sand, silt, coal, or hydrocarbons. Hard minerals include, but are not limited to, metals and placer deposits of metals, nonmetallic minerals, gemstones, ores, gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, manganese, silica, chrome, platinum, tungsten, zirconium, titanium, garnet, and phosphorus.
Sec. 2. RCW
79.140.190 and 2005 c 155 s 131 are each amended to read as follows:
((
The))
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the department may issue permits and leases for prospecting, placer mining contracts, and contracts for the mining of valuable minerals and specific materials, except rock, gravel, sand, silt, coal, or hydrocarbons, upon and from any state-owned aquatic lands, or which have been sold and the minerals reserved by the state in tracts not to exceed six hundred forty acres or an entire government-surveyed section. The procedures contained at RCW
79.14.300 through
79.14.450, inclusive, shall apply.
(2) The department may not issue permits and leases on state-owned aquatic lands along the Washington coast from Cape Flattery south to Washington's southern boundary, nor in Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay, and the Columbia river downstream from the Longview bridge, for purposes of exploration, development, or mining of hard minerals. For the purposes of this section, "hard minerals" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 79.14.300(2). Sec. 3. RCW
90.58.160 and 1971 ex.s. c 286 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:
((Surface))(1) Seabed mining for hard minerals and surface drilling for oil or gas is prohibited in the waters of Puget Sound north to the Canadian boundary and the Strait of Juan de Fuca seaward from the ordinary high water mark and on all lands within one thousand feet landward from said mark.
(2)(a) For purposes of this section, "hard minerals" means natural deposits of valuable minerals including, but not limited to, metals and placer deposits of metals, nonmetallic minerals, gemstones, ores, sediments, gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, manganese, silica, chrome, platinum, tungsten, zirconium, titanium, garnet, and phosphorus.
(b) "Hard minerals" does not include rock, gravel, sand, silt, coal, or hydrocarbons.
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