PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY
FISH AND WILDLIFE
Subject of Possible Rule Making: Oiled wildlife rescue and rehabilitation care standards: Procedures, methods, and certification.
Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: RCW 90.56.110.
Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: The success of oiled wildlife rescue and rehabilitation activities is dependent on the standards of care provided. Some of the key elements critical to successful rehabilitation include the availability of adequate quantities and qualities of water, space, and air; specialized supplies; and well-trained and experienced personnel. For oiled wildlife rehabilitation operations to be most successful, these critical components must be available in a timely manner and in quantities commensurate with the numbers of animals oiled. Rules reflecting the necessary thresholds of these critical components are needed. Standards developed in rules that are based on the best available science will provide the guidance necessary to ensure a significantly greater level of success when engaging in oiled wildlife rescue and rehabilitation activities.
Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: The Washington Department of Ecology (DOE) is responsible for the state's "Oil and Hazardous Substance Spill Prevention and Response Program," per chapter 90.56 RCW. That RCW does not stipulate specific requirements for wildlife rescue, but does require entities covered by the statute to meet the requirements of rules that may be adopted by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) through authority granted in RCW 90.56.110.
The USFWS has authority to issue federal permits for the rehabilitation of wildlife, and special permits for taking and rehabilitating oiled wildlife. The WDFW has included the DOE and the USFWS as stakeholders in this rule-making process.
Process for Developing New Rule: Agency study.
Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication. WDFW will solicit input by holding stakeholder workshops, a public hearing, and by use of e-mail, voicemail, or other avenues of information dissemination. WDFW will be following the standard rule-making process as required by the Administrative Procedure Act and the Regulatory Fairness Act. WDFW is actively soliciting science-based information which will refute or support proposed wildlife rescue and rehabilitation care standards and will review all information received when developing these standards.
For more information contact Eric Larsen, Oil Spill Section Manager, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Habitat Program, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501, phone (360) 902-8123, fax (360) 902-8126, larseeml@dfw.wa.gov. Contact by September 4, 2003. Expected proposal filing on or after September 5, 2003.
July 23, 2003
Evan Jacoby
Rules Coordinator