WSR 13-14-118 PROPOSED RULES DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE [Filed July 3, 2013, 9:35 a.m.]
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 12-20-073.
Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: The title of this project is "technical WAC amendments and repeal, Round 6 (changes to WAC titles and some structural changes)" as found on the department's rule-making activity web page. The following WAC sections and chapters are involved in this project: WAC 220-47-001 Puget Sound salmon—Quick reporting; WAC 220-47-121 Treaty Indian gear identification; WAC 220-56-112 Sampling data and tag recovery; WAC 220-56-315 Personal use crab, shrimp, crawfish—Unlawful acts; WAC 232-12-082 Collection of sampling data—Unlawful acts; WAC 232-12-099 Treaty Indian fishing gear identification; chapter 220-28 WAC, Emergency regulations; and chapter 220-85 WAC, Commercial license moratorium advisory review board regulations.
Hearing Location(s): Natural Resources Building, First Floor, Room 172, 1111 Washington Street S.E., Olympia, WA 98504, on October 4-5, 2013, at 8:30 a.m.
Date of Intended Adoption: On or after November 8, 2013.
Submit Written Comments to: Joanna Eide, Enforcement Program, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501, e-mail Joanna.Eide@dfw.wa.gov, fax (360) 902-2155, by September 27, 2013.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Tami Lininger by September 25, 2013, TTY (800) 833-6388 or (360) 902-2267.
Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: This proposed rule making is to streamline, reorganize, and update rules in accordance with the WAC overhaul project currently underway. The Washington department of fish and wildlife's (WDFW) administrative code is in need of updating and consolidation. The agency's RCWs were combined and updated after the department of fisheries and the department of wildlife consolidated, but a consolidation, clean-up, and streamlining of the administrative codes was never done. These proposed changes are part of a larger effort to reorganize and update the agency's administrative code. Anticipated effects are minimal; this project involves correcting, rewording, clarifying, and reorganizing rules already in existence, as well as repealing outdated and unnecessary rules.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: WDFW needs these changes to increase efficiency, functionality, and clarity of the rules within WDFW's administrative code. The changes promote increases in conservation and the availability of resources, and they reduce redundancy. The proposal is part of WDFW's WAC overhaul project to streamline, update, and reorganize WDFW's administrative code.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Name of Proponent: WDFW, governmental.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting: Joanna Eide, 1111 Washington Street S.E., Olympia, WA 98504, (360) 902-2403; Implementation: Deputy Chief Mike Cenci, 1111 Washington Street S.E., Olympia, WA 98504, (360) 902-2938; and Enforcement: Chief Bruce Bjork, 1111 Washington Street S.E., Olympia, WA 98504, (360) 902-2373.
No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. This proposed rule making will not affect small businesses.
Small Business Economic Impact Statement
1. Description of the Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance Requirements of the Proposed Rule: This proposed rule change contains requirements for small business commercial fishers, fish processors, and small businesses engaged in commercial activity involving fish or wildlife to comply with the directions of authorized department personnel related to the collection of sampling data. Additionally, the proposal contains provisions that require any person or entity, terms that include small businesses, to relinquish upon request to the department any fish tag or any part of a salmon, steelhead, or other fish containing coded wire tags, including snouts of hatchery-raised salmon and steelhead.
Though the proposal includes the requirements listed above, the requirements are not new. The proposal amends WAC 220-56-112 Sampling data and tag recovery, to incorporate the provisions of WAC 232-12-082 Collection of sampling data—Unlawful acts, to make one general rule relating to the collection of sampling data for both fish and wildlife.
2. Kinds of Professional Services That a Small Business is Likely to Need in Order to Comply with Such Requirements: There are no professional service requirements for a small business to comply with the requirements.
3. Costs of Compliance for Businesses, Including Costs of Equipment, Supplies, Labor, and Increased Administrative Costs: The costs of compliance with the provisions within the proposal may be in employee/owner working time, but any costs will be negligible. Complying with department requests for the collection of sampling data, material, or coded wire tags from fish and wildlife will take only a small amount of time and do not require additional equipment, supplies and labor.
4. Will Compliance with the Rule Cause Businesses to Lose Sales or Revenue? No. Compliance with department requests for the collection of sampling data, material, or coded wire tags from fish and wildlife will not cause businesses to lose sales or revenue because it will not result in loss of product. Compliance with department requests only requires that the business turn over coded wire tags and other sampling data and material upon department request, which are generally small amounts of material and should not result in losses to sales or revenue. However, noncompliance results in a rule violation and is punishable as a gross misdemeanor under RCW 77.15.360 with a penalty of up to three hundred sixty-four days of jail time, up to a $5,000 penalty, or both.
5. Cost of Compliance for the Ten Percent of Businesses That are the Largest Businesses Required to Comply with the Proposed Rules, Using One or More of the Following as a Basis for Comparing Costs:
1. Cost per employee;
2. Cost per hour of labor; or
3. Cost per one hundred dollars of sales.
The costs of complying with department requests for the collection of sampling data, material, or coded wire tags may be in employee/owner time, but any costs will be negligible as it will take only a small amount of time to satisfy a request. Additionally, complying with such department requests will not result in loss of product. Small businesses engaged in commercial fish and wildlife activities may incur penalty-related costs if they fail to comply with department requests and are cited with a violation. A violation of the requirements is punishable as a gross misdemeanor under RCW 77.15.360, which carries the penalty of up to three hundred sixty-four days of jail time, up to a $5,000 penalty, or both.
6. Steps Taken by the Agency to Reduce the Costs of the Rule on Small Businesses, or Reasonable Justification for Not Doing So: As costs are negligible, the requirements already apply to small businesses, and changes to the rule are technical in nature, there is no need for the agency to take steps to reduce costs to small businesses.
7. A Description of How the Agency Will Involve Small Businesses in the Development of the Rule: The department determined that involving small businesses in developing the rule amendments was unnecessary because the proposed changes to WAC 220-56-112 simply combine existing requirements into one rule, are technical in nature, and do not add to preexisting requirements.
WDFW sends out a notice of proposed rule-making projects after the proposed rule changes are filed to people who notified the department that they are interested in the department's rule-making activities. This notice directs those people to information on how they can participate in the rule-making process and comment on proposed changes.
8. A List of Industries that Will Be Required to Comply with the Rule: Commercial fishers, commercial fish processors, and people engaged in commercial activity involving fish or wildlife must comply with requirements relating to department collection of sampling data and tags from fish and wildlife. The rule specifically exempts private sector cultured aquatic farms from the collection of sampling data and tag recovery requirements.
A cost-benefit analysis is not required under RCW 34.05.328. These proposals do not involve hydraulics.
July 3, 2013
Joanna M. Eide
Administrative Regulations Analyst
REPEALER
The following chapter of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed:
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 07-20-006, filed 9/20/07, effective 10/21/07)
WAC 220-47-001 Puget Sound salmon—Quick reporting. All Puget Sound salmon fisheries are designated as "quick reporting required" fisheries, and commercial purchasers and receivers must comply with the provisions of WAC 220-69-240(((12))) (14).
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 84-13-078, filed 6/21/84)
WAC 220-47-121 Treaty Indian gear identification. It ((shall be)) is unlawful for any person exercising his or her treaty Indian fishing rights at usual and accustomed grounds and stations within the Point No Point, Makah, Quinault, Medicine Creek, and Point Elliott treaty areas to leave any gear unattended unless there is affixed to it an identification tag of tribal affiliation and ((specific fisherman)) a valid treaty Indian identification number.
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 82-07-047, filed 3/18/82)
WAC 220-56-112 Sampling data and tag recovery. (1) It is unlawful for any person or entity to fail to comply with the directions of authorized department ((of fisheries)) personnel related to the collection of sampling data ((or material)) from ((salmon or other food)) fish and wildlife.
(2) It is ((also)) unlawful for any person or entity to fail to relinquish upon request to the department any fish tag or any part of a salmon, steelhead, or other ((food)) fish containing coded wire tags, including but not limited to((,)): (a) The snouts of ((those)) salmon ((that are)) marked by having clipped adipose fins; and (b) The snouts of steelhead marked by having clipped ventral fins. (3) This section does not apply to private sector cultured aquatic farms. (4) A violation of this section is a gross misdemeanor punishable under RCW 77.15.360, Unlawful interfering in department operations—Penalty.
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 12-23-016, filed 11/9/12, effective 12/10/12)
WAC 220-56-315 Personal use crab, shrimp, crawfish—Unlawful acts. (1) It is unlawful to take and possess crab, shrimp, and crawfish taken for personal use except by hand or with hand dip nets, ring nets, shellfish pots, or any hand-operated instrument that will not penetrate the shell. A violation of this subsection is a misdemeanor, punishable under RCW 77.15.380 or 77.15.382 depending on the circumstances of the violation.
(2) It is unlawful to set, fish, or pull more than 2 units of gear at any one time ((except:)), unless otherwise provided in this subsection. A violation of this subsection is punishable under RCW 77.15.160, Infractions, or RCW 77.15.380, Unlawful recreational fishing in the second degree—Penalty, depending on the circumstances of the violation. (a) In Puget Sound waters, it is unlawful to set, fish, or pull at any one time more than 2 units of crab gear and 2 additional units of shrimp gear. (b) In Catch Record Card Areas 4 through 13, it is unlawful for the operator of any boat from which shrimp pots are set, fished, or pulled ((in Catch Record Card Areas 4 through 13)) to have on board or to fish more than 4 shrimp pots. (c) In the Columbia River, it is unlawful to set, fish, or pull more than 3 units of crab gear ((in the Columbia River)). (d) In fresh water, it is permissible to use up to 5 units of gear to fish for crawfish ((in fresh water)). (3) It is unlawful for any person to operate a shellfish pot not attached to a buoy bearing that person's name, except that a second person may assist the pot owner in operation of the gear. A violation of this subsection is a misdemeanor, punishable under RCW 77.15.382, Unlawful use of shellfish gear for personal use purposes—Penalty. (4) It is unlawful to salvage or attempt to salvage shellfish pot gear from Hood Canal that has been lost ((without)), unless the person first ((obtaining)) obtains a permit((,)) issued by the director, authorizing that activity. A violation is punishable under RCW 77.15.180, Unlawful interference with fishing or hunting gear—Penalty. It is unlawful to fail to comply with all provisions of ((the)) a permit authorizing the salvage of gear from Hood Canal. A violation of this subsection is ((a misdemeanor, punishable under RCW 77.15.382 Unlawful use of shellfish gear for personal use purposes—Penalty)) RCW 77.15.750, Unlawful use of a department permit—Penalty. (5) It is unlawful to dig for or possess ghost or mud shrimp taken for personal use by any method except hand operated suction devices or dug by hand. A violation of this subsection is ((a misdemeanor, punishable under RCW 77.15.382 Unlawful use of shellfish gear for personal use purposes—Penalty)) punishable under RCW 77.15.160, Infractions, or RCW 77.15.380, Unlawful recreational fishing in the second degree—Penalty, depending on the circumstances of the violation. (6) It is unlawful to have more than one unit of unattended gear attached to a buoy line or to fail to have a separate buoy for each unit of gear. "One unit of gear" means one ring net or one shellfish pot. A violation of this subsection is a misdemeanor, punishable under RCW 77.15.382, Unlawful use of shellfish gear for personal use purposes—Penalty. (7) In waters open only on certain days or certain hours during the day, except for those waters affected by the night closure set out in subsection (((9))) (8) of this section, it is unlawful to fail to remove gear from the water ((when)) if fishing for shellfish is not allowed. It is also unlawful to fail to remove gear from the water ((by)) within one hour after sunset if fishing is not allowed on the next calendar day. In waters that are open continuously, except for those waters affected by the night closure set out in subsection (((9))) (8) of this section, gear may be left in the water during ((the)) a night closure. A violation of this subsection is ((a misdemeanor,)) punishable under RCW 77.15.160, Infractions, or RCW 77.15.380, Unlawful recreational fishing in the second degree—Penalty, depending on the circumstances of the violation. (8) It is unlawful to set or pull shellfish pots, ring nets or star traps from a vessel in Catch Record Card Areas 1-13 from one hour after official sunset to one hour before official sunrise. A violation of this subsection is ((a misdemeanor,)) punishable under RCW 77.15.160, Infractions, or RCW 77.15.380, Unlawful recreational fishing in the second degree—Penalty, depending on the circumstances of the violation.
REPEALER
The following chapter of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed:
REPEALER
The following sections of the Washington Administrative Code are repealed:
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