AN ACT
Relating to the exclusion of site exploration as a substantial shoreline
development; and amending RCW 90.58.030.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE
OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
90.58.030 and 1987 c 474 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
As
used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following
definitions and concepts apply:
(1)
Administration:
(a)
"Department" means the department of ecology;
(b)
"Director" means the director of the department of ecology;
(c)
"Local government" means any county, incorporated city, or town which
contains within its boundaries any lands or waters subject to this chapter;
(d)
"Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation, association,
organization, cooperative, public or municipal corporation, or agency of the
state or local governmental unit however designated;
(e)
"Hearing board" means the shoreline hearings board established by
this chapter.
(2)
Geographical:
(a)
"Extreme low tide" means the lowest line on the land reached by a
receding tide;
(b)
"Ordinary high water mark" on all lakes, streams, and tidal water is
that mark that will be found by examining the bed and banks and ascertaining
where the presence and action of waters are so common and usual, and so long
continued in all ordinary years, as to mark upon the soil a character distinct
from that of the abutting upland, in respect to vegetation as that condition
exists on June 1, 1971, as it may naturally change thereafter, or as it may
change thereafter in accordance with permits issued by a local government or
the department: PROVIDED, That in any area where the ordinary high water mark
cannot be found, the ordinary high water mark adjoining salt water shall be the
line of mean higher high tide and the ordinary high water mark adjoining fresh
water shall be the line of mean high water;
(c)
"Shorelines of the state" are the total of all "shorelines"
and "shorelines of state-wide significance" within the state;
(d)
"Shorelines" means all of the water areas of the state, including
reservoirs, and their associated wetlands, together with the lands underlying
them; except (i) shorelines of state-wide significance; (ii) shorelines on
segments of streams upstream of a point where the mean annual flow is twenty
cubic feet per second or less and the wetlands associated with such upstream
segments; and (iii) shorelines on lakes less than twenty acres in size and
wetlands associated with such small lakes;
(e)
"Shorelines of state-wide significance" means the following
shorelines of the state:
(i)
The area between the ordinary high water mark and the western boundary of the
state from Cape Disappointment on the south to Cape Flattery on the north,
including harbors, bays, estuaries, and inlets;
(ii)
Those areas of Puget Sound and adjacent salt waters and the Strait of Juan de
Fuca between the ordinary high water mark and the line of extreme low tide as
follows:
(A)
Nisqually Delta‑-from DeWolf Bight to Tatsolo Point,
(B)
Birch Bay‑-from Point Whitehorn to Birch Point,
(C)
Hood Canal‑-from Tala Point to Foulweather Bluff,
(D)
Skagit Bay and adjacent area‑-from Brown Point to Yokeko Point, and
(E)
Padilla Bay‑-from March Point to William Point;
(iii)
Those areas of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca and adjacent salt
waters north to the Canadian line and lying seaward from the line of extreme
low tide;
(iv)
Those lakes, whether natural, artificial, or a combination thereof, with a
surface acreage of one thousand acres or more measured at the ordinary high
water mark;
(v)
Those natural rivers or segments thereof as follows:
(A)
Any west of the crest of the Cascade range downstream of a point where the mean
annual flow is measured at one thousand cubic feet per second or more,
(B)
Any east of the crest of the Cascade range downstream of a point where the
annual flow is measured at two hundred cubic feet per second or more, or those
portions of rivers east of the crest of the Cascade range downstream from the
first three hundred square miles of drainage area, whichever is longer;
(vi)
Those wetlands associated with (i), (ii), (iv), and (v) of this subsection
(2)(e);
(f)
"Wetlands" or "wetland areas" means those lands extending
landward for two hundred feet in all directions as measured on a horizontal
plane from the ordinary high water mark; floodways and contiguous floodplain
areas landward two hundred feet from such floodways; and all marshes, bogs,
swamps, and river deltas associated with the streams, lakes, and tidal waters
which are subject to the provisions of this chapter; the same to be designated
as to location by the department of ecology: PROVIDED, That any county or city
may determine that portion of a one-hundred-year-flood plain to be included in
its master program as long as such portion includes, as a minimum, the floodway
and the adjacent land extending landward two hundred feet therefrom;
(g)
"Floodway" means those portions of the area of a river valley lying
streamward from the outer limits of a watercourse upon which flood waters are
carried during periods of flooding that occur with reasonable regularity,
although not necessarily annually, said floodway being identified, under normal
condition, by changes in surface soil conditions or changes in types or quality
of vegetative ground cover condition. The floodway shall not include those
lands that can reasonably be expected to be protected from flood waters by
flood control devices maintained by or maintained under license from the
federal government, the state, or a political subdivision of the state.
(3)
Procedural terms:
(a)
"Guidelines" means those standards adopted to implement the policy of
this chapter for regulation of use of the shorelines of the state prior to
adoption of master programs. Such standards shall also provide criteria to
local governments and the department in developing master programs;
(b)
"Master program" shall mean the comprehensive use plan for a
described area, and the use regulations together with maps, diagrams, charts,
or other descriptive material and text, a statement of desired goals, and
standards developed in accordance with the policies enunciated in RCW
90.58.020;
(c)
"State master program" is the cumulative total of all master programs
approved or adopted by the department of ecology;
(d)
"Development" means a use consisting of the construction or exterior
alteration of structures; dredging; drilling; dumping; filling; removal of any
sand, gravel, or minerals; bulkheading; driving of piling; placing of obstructions;
or any project of a permanent or temporary nature which interferes with the
normal public use of the surface of the waters overlying lands subject to this
chapter at any state of water level;
(e)
"Substantial development" shall mean any development of which the
total cost or fair market value exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars, or
any development which materially interferes with the normal public use of the
water or shorelines of the state; except that the following shall not be considered
substantial developments for the purpose of this chapter:
(i)
Normal maintenance or repair of existing structures or developments, including
damage by accident, fire, or elements;
(ii)
Construction of the normal protective bulkhead common to single family
residences;
(iii)
Emergency construction necessary to protect property from damage by the
elements;
(iv)
Construction and practices normal or necessary for farming, irrigation, and
ranching activities, including agricultural service roads and utilities on
wetlands, and the construction and maintenance of irrigation structures
including but not limited to head gates, pumping facilities, and irrigation
channels: PROVIDED, That a feedlot of any size, all processing plants, other
activities of a commercial nature, alteration of the contour of the wetlands by
leveling or filling other than that which results from normal cultivation,
shall not be considered normal or necessary farming or ranching activities. A
feedlot shall be an enclosure or facility used or capable of being used for
feeding livestock hay, grain, silage, or other livestock feed, but shall not
include land for growing crops or vegetation for livestock feeding and/or grazing,
nor shall it include normal livestock wintering operations;
(v)
Construction or modification of navigational aids such as channel markers and
anchor buoys;
(vi)
Construction on wetlands by an owner, lessee, or contract purchaser of a single
family residence for his own use or for the use of his family, which residence
does not exceed a height of thirty-five feet above average grade level and
which meets all requirements of the state agency or local government having
jurisdiction thereof, other than requirements imposed pursuant to this chapter;
(vii)
Construction of a dock, including a community dock, designed for pleasure craft
only, for the private noncommercial use of the owner, lessee, or contract
purchaser of single and multiple family residences, the cost of which does not
exceed two thousand five hundred dollars;
(viii)
Operation, maintenance, or construction of canals, waterways, drains,
reservoirs, or other facilities that now exist or are hereafter created or
developed as a part of an irrigation system for the primary purpose of making
use of system waters, including return flow and artificially stored ground
water for the irrigation of lands;
(ix)
The marking of property lines or corners on state owned lands, when such
marking does not significantly interfere with normal public use of the surface
of the water;
(x)
Operation and maintenance of any system of dikes, ditches, drains, or other
facilities existing on September 8, 1975, which were created, developed, or
utilized primarily as a part of an agricultural drainage or diking system;
(xi)
Any action commenced prior to December 31, 1982, pertaining to (A) the
restoration of interim transportation services as may be necessary as a
consequence of the destruction of the Hood Canal bridge, including, but not
limited to, improvements to highways, development of park and ride facilities,
and development of ferry terminal facilities until a new or reconstructed Hood
Canal bridge is open to traffic; and (B) the reconstruction of a permanent bridge
at the site of the original Hood Canal bridge;
(xii)
Site exploration and investigation activities that are prerequisite to
preparation of an application for development authorization under this chapter,
if:
(A)
The activity does not interfere with the normal public use of the surface
waters;
(B)
The activity will have no significant adverse impact on the environment
including, but not limited to, fish, wildlife, fish or wildlife habitat, water
quality, and aesthetic values;
(C)
The activity does not involve the installation of a structure, and upon
completion of the activity the vegetation and land configuration of the site
are restored to conditions existing before the activity;
(D)
A private entity seeking development authorization under this section first
posts a performance bond or provides other evidence of financial responsibility
to the local jurisdiction to ensure that the site is restored to preexisting
conditions; and
(E)
The activity is not subject to the permit requirements of RCW 90.58.550.
