AN ACT Relating to salmon propagation facilities; and adding a new chapter to Title 75 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. It is the intent of this chapter to authorize the private ownership of salmon hatcheries by qualified nonprofit corporations for the purpose of contributing, by artificial means, to the rehabilitation of the state's depleted and depressed salmon fishery. The program shall be operated without adversely affecting natural stocks of fish in the state and under a policy of management which allows reasonable segregation of returning hatchery-reared salmon from naturally occurring stocks.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Unless the context requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Department" means the department of fisheries.

(2) "Director" means the director of the department of fisheries.

(3) "Hatcheries" means salmon propagation facilities including, but not limited to, all equipment, utilities, structures, real property, and interests in and improvements on real property, as well as stream bed clearing and rehabilitation and hatchbox programs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The director shall designate regions of the state for the purpose of salmon production and develop and amend as necessary a comprehensive salmon plan for each region, including provisions for both public and private nonprofit hatchery systems. Subject to plan approval by the director, the comprehensive salmon plans shall be developed by regional planning teams consisting of department personnel and representatives of the appropriate region. These planning teams shall be formed under section 4 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The director shall assist in and encourage the formation of regional planning teams for the purpose of enhancing salmon production. There shall be a planning team for each of the distinct geographic fisheries in the state: The Columbia river fishery; the Puget Sound fishery; and the coastal waters fishery. Each planning team shall include representation from the department of fisheries, the department of game, treaty Indians, commercial fishermen, sport fishermen, and members of the public concerned with the salmon resource. Each regional planning team shall produce for the review and approval of the director a regional fishery salmon enhancement plan that is acceptable to all interests in the region. The regional salmon enhancement plan shall include the total number of salmon of each species to be produced in the region, the method or methods of enhancement to be employed, the size and location of any hatcheries, and the appropriate distribution of the harvest.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The director or the director's designee may issue a permit, subject to the restrictions imposed by this chapter and the rules adopted under this chapter, to a nonprofit corporation after the permit application has been reviewed by the regional planning team, for the construction and operation of a salmon hatchery.

(1) The application for a permit under this section shall be on a form prescribed by the department and shall be accompanied by an application fee of twenty-five dollars.

(2) A hatchery permit under this chapter is nontransferable. If a permit holder sells or leases a hatchery for which a permit has been issued, the new operator shall apply for a new permit under this section.

(3) A qualified nonprofit corporation has a preference right to a permit under this section if its proposed hatchery is provided for in the comprehensive plan for that region developed under section 4 of this act and the fresh water source exceeds a minimum flow of one cubic foot per second. Any other local nonprofit hatchery corporation approved by the regional planning team has an identical preference right.

(4) No permit under this chapter may be issued for construction or operation of a hatchery on an anadromous fish stream unless the stream has been classified as suitable for enhancement purposes by the director. The director shall undertake to make such classifications in conjunction with the development of the comprehensive plan under section 4 of this act.

(5) Volunteer enhancement programs which are in existence prior to the effective date of this act, if the sponsors of the programs choose to reorganize into nonprofit corporations, shall have preference in the permit process.

(6) During the development of a comprehensive plan for a region, no permit may be issued for a hatchery unless the director determines that such an action would result in substantial public benefits and would not jeopardize natural stocks.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) At least thirty days before the issuance of a permit under section 5 of this act, a public hearing shall be held in a central location in the vicinity of the proposed hatchery.

(2) Notice of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for three consecutive weeks, with completion of the notice at least ten days prior to the hearing.

(3) The hearing shall be conducted by the department and shall include a presentation by the permit applicant of a plan for the proposed hatchery, describing its capacity and any other relevant facts which may be of interest to the department or the public. Interested members of the public shall be afforded an opportunity to be heard.

(4) The department shall record and consider objections and recommendations offered by the public at the hearing conducted under this section. The department shall respond in writing, within ten days after the conclusion of the hearing, to any specific objections offered by a member of the public at the hearing.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The department shall require, in a permit issued to a hatchery operator under this chapter, that:

(1) Salmon eggs procured by the hatchery must be from the department or a source approved by the department;

(2) No salmon eggs or resulting fry may be placed in waters of the state other than those specifically designated in the permit;

(3) No salmon eggs or resulting fry, sold or transferred to a permit holder by the state or by another party approved by the department, may be resold or otherwise transferred to another person;

(4) No salmon may be released by the hatchery before approval by the department, and, for purposes of pathological examination and approval, the department shall be notified of the proposed release of salmon at least fifteen days before the date of the proposed release by the hatchery;

(5) Diseased salmon shall be destroyed in a specific manner and place designated by the department;

(6) Adult salmon shall be harvested by hatchery operators only at specific locations designated by the department;

(7) Surplus eggs from salmon returning to the hatchery shall be made available for sale or transfer first to the department and then, after inspection and approval by the department, to operators of other hatcheries authorized by permit to operate under this chapter;

(8) If surplus salmon eggs are sold by a permit holder under this chapter to another permit holder, a copy of the sales transaction shall be provided to the department;

(9) The cost of inspections or examinations conducted by the department under this section before the release of salmon, or when eggs are procured from sources other than the department, or to determine the existence of disease, shall be borne by the hatchery owner for which the inspection or examination is conducted; and

(10) A hatchery shall be located in an area where a reasonable segregation from natural stocks occurs, but, if feasible, in an area where returning hatchery fish will pass through traditional salmon fisheries.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) If a permit holder fails to comply with the conditions and terms of the permit issued under this chapter within a reasonable period after notification of the noncompliance by the department, the permit may be suspended or revoked, at the discretion of the director, after the regional planning team for the area in which the hatchery is located is notified and granted an opportunity to comment upon the proposed suspension or revocation.

(2) If the director finds that the operation of the hatchery is not in the best interests of the public, the director may alter the conditions of the permit to mitigate the adverse effects of the operation, or, if the adverse effects are irreversible and cannot be mitigated sufficiently, initiate a termination of the operation under the permit over a reasonable period of time under the circumstances, not to exceed four years. During the period of time that the operation is being terminated, the permit holder may harvest salmon under the terms of the permit but may not release additional fish.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. (1) Fish released into the natural waters of the state by a hatchery operated under this chapter are available to the people for common use and are subject to regulation under applicable law in the same way as fish occurring in their natural state until the fish return to the specific location designated by the department for harvest by the hatchery operator.

(2) The department may adopt rules necessary to implement this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. (1) Before and after permit issuance under this chapter, the department shall make every effort, within the limits of time and resources, to advise and assist applicants or permit holders, as appropriate, in the planning, construction, or operation of salmon hatcheries.

(2) Nothing in this section exempts an applicant or permit holder from compliance with this chapter or from compliance with the rules adopted under this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. (1) The department shall approve the source and number of salmon eggs taken under this chapter.

(2) If feasible, salmon eggs utilized by a hatchery operator under this chapter shall first be taken from stocks native to the area in which the hatchery is located, and then, upon approval of the department, from other areas, as needed.

(3) The department shall submit to the hatchery owner, in writing, a statement detailing the genetic background, species integrity, migration timing and routing, probable catch contribution, catch competition, stock competition, total pounds available by genetic strain state-wide, landing history per proposed release site, and amount of in-transfer and out-transfer per proposed site, for brood stock.

(4) The department shall not charge for eggs provided by the department to a nonprofit facility under this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. A hatchery operator under this chapter who sells salmon returning from the natural waters of the state, or sells salmon eggs to another hatchery operating under this chapter, after utilizing the funds required for reasonable operating costs, including debt retirement, expanding the hatchery's facilities, salmon rehabilitation projects, fisheries research, or for costs of operating the regional planning teams for the area in which the hatchery is located, shall expend the remaining funds on other fisheries activities of the regional planning team. Fish returning to hatcheries and sold for human consumption shall be of comparable quality to fish harvested by commercial fisheries in the area and shall be sold at prices commensurate with the current market.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. As a condition of and in consideration for a permit to operate a hatchery under this chapter, an inspection of the hatchery facility by department inspectors shall be permitted by the permit holder at any time the hatchery is operating. The inspection shall be conducted in a reasonable manner.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. No later than December 15 of each year, a salmon hatchery operator holding a permit under this chapter shall submit an annual report, on a form provided by the department, to the department and to the regional planning team for the area in which the hatchery is located, which includes information pertaining to species; brood stock source; number, age, weight, and length of spawners; number of eggs taken and fry fingerling produced; and the number, age, weight, and length of adult returns attributable to hatchery releases.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. Sections 1 through 14 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 75 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.