S-3894.1          _______________________________________________

                            SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 8031

                  _______________________________________________

State of Washington              52nd Legislature             1992 Regular Session

By Senators Snyder and Conner

Read first time 02/07/92.  Referred to Committee on Environment & Natural Resources.Requesting that sites in this state be left out of the Coastal Barriers Resource System.

     TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:

     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

     WHEREAS, The state of Washington has a strong tradition of environmental concern and a commitment to sound planning and management of our coastal area as evidenced by the passage by its citizens of the Shoreline Management Act in 1971; and

     WHEREAS, The state's Coastal Zone Management program was the first in the nation to be approved by the United States Department of Commerce as a further commitment to the partnership of local, state, and federal governments in managing our coastal areas; and

     WHEREAS, The 1982 Coastal Barrier Resources Act prohibits federal expenditures on designated undeveloped low-lying shoreline features such as sand spits and beaches that protect a bay, lagoon, or marsh from the open ocean.  The Act originally applied to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts for the purposes of:

     (1) Reducing losses of lives and property due to storms and flooding;

     (2) Protecting the natural environment; and

     (3) Reducing wasteful federal expenditures; and

     WHEREAS, The Act was amended by Congress in 1990 to include Pacific coast sites, including Washington state; and

     WHEREAS, The Department of the Interior, through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, now has identified one hundred three potential sites on Washington's ocean coast and in Puget Sound for inclusion in the program; and

     WHEREAS, The Senate and the House of Representatives of the state of Washington oppose the inclusion of these sites for the following reasons:

     (1) The conditions that exist on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts do not exist here;

     (2) The sites are poorly identified and in many cases are too small or already developed;

     (3) There has been little opportunity for public education, comment or review on the proposed sites;

     (4) Many of the proposed sites are already protected as state parks and wildlife refuges;

     (5) The state Shorelines Management Act provides protection and wise use of these areas under an effective local and state program;

     (6) Major financial impacts will occur on those projects already planned but not yet developed and where removal of federal funds would make them uneconomical;

     (7) There has been little consultation with Indian tribes or nations and local and state officials in identifying the potential sites; and

     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that Congress neither accept recommendations from the Department of the Interior for sites in this state nor enact legislation to bring them into the Coastal Barriers Resources System.

     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George Bush, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.