S-4287.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 6443

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      54th Legislature     1996 Regular Session

By Senators Fairley, Oke, Fraser, Quigley, Snyder, Kohl, Owen, Rinehart, Pelz, Franklin, Wood, Spanel, Prentice, Thibaudeau, Drew and McAuliffe

Read first time 01/15/96.  Referred to Committee on Ecology & Parks.

Prohibiting the lease of certain tidal or submerged lands for oil or gas exploration.

    AN ACT Relating to leasing of seabeds for oil and gas exploration; and amending RCW 43.143.010.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 43.143.010 and 1995 c 339 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) The purpose of this chapter is to articulate policies and establish guidelines for the exercise of state and local management authority over Washington's coastal waters, seabed, and shorelines.

    (2) There shall be no leasing of Washington's tidal or submerged lands extending from mean high tide seaward three miles along the Washington coast from Cape Flattery south to Cape Disappointment, nor in Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay, and the Columbia river downstream from the Longview bridge, for purposes of oil or gas exploration, development, or production ((until at least July 1, 2000.  During the 2000 legislative session, the legislature shall determine whether the moratorium on leasing should be extended past July 1, 2000.  This determination shall be based on the information available at that time, including the analysis described in RCW 43.143.040.  If the legislature does not extend the moratorium on leasing, the moratorium will end on July 1, 2000.  At any time that oil or gas leasing, exploration, and development are allowed to occur, these activities shall be required to meet or exceed the standards and criteria contained in RCW 43.143.030)).

    (3) When conflicts arise among uses and activities, priority shall be given to resource uses and activities that will not adversely impact renewable resources over uses which are likely to have an adverse impact on renewable resources.

    (4) It is the policy of the state of Washington to actively encourage the conservation of liquid fossil fuels, and to explore available methods of encouraging such conservation.

    (5) It is not currently the intent of the legislature to include recreational uses or currently existing commercial uses involving fishing or other renewable marine or ocean resources within the uses and activities which must meet the planning and review criteria set forth in RCW 43.143.030.  It is not the intent of the legislature, however, to permanently exclude these uses from the requirements of RCW 43.143.030.  If information becomes available which indicates that such uses should reasonably be covered by the requirements of RCW 43.143.030, the permitting government or agency may require compliance with those requirements, and appeals of that decision shall be handled through the established appeals procedure for that permit or approval.

    (6) The state shall participate in federal ocean and marine resource decisions to the fullest extent possible to ensure that the decisions are consistent with the state's policy concerning the use of those resources.

                            --- END ---