AN ACT Relating to
seafood safety enhancement; amending RCW 69.30.010, 69.30.030, 69.30.050,
69.30.110, 69.30.120, and 69.30.140; adding a new section to chapter 43.70 RCW;
and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 69.30.010 and 1991 c
3 s 303 are each amended to read as follows:
When used in this
chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(1)
"Shellfish" means all varieties of fresh and frozen oysters, mussels,
((and)) clams, and scallops, either shucked or in the shell, and
any fresh or frozen edible products thereof.
(2) "Sale"
means to sell, offer for sale, barter, trade, deliver, consign, hold for sale,
consignment, barter, trade, or delivery, and/or possess with intent to sell or
dispose of in any commercial manner.
(3) "Shellfish
growing areas" means the lands and waters in and upon which shellfish are
grown for harvesting in commercial quantity or for sale for human consumption.
(4)
"Establishment" means the buildings, together with the necessary
equipment and appurtenances, used for the storage, culling, shucking, packing
and/or shipping of shellfish in commercial quantity or for sale for human
consumption.
(5) "Person"
means any individual, partnership, firm, company, corporation, association, or
the authorized agents of any such entities.
(6)
"Department" means the state department of health.
(7)
"Secretary" means the secretary of health or his or her authorized
representatives.
(8) "Commercial
quantity" means any quantity exceeding: (a) Forty pounds of mussels; (b)
one hundred oysters; (c) fourteen ((horseclams)) horse clams; (d)
six geoducks; ((or)) (e) fifty pounds of hard or soft shell clams; or
(f) fifty pounds of scallops. The poundage in this subsection (8) constitutes
weight with the shell.
(9) "Fish and
wildlife enforcement officer" means a fisheries patrol officer or an ex
officio fisheries patrol officer as defined in RCW 75.08.011 (4) and (5) or a
wildlife agent or an ex officio wildlife agent as defined in RCW 77.08.010 (5)
and (6).
Sec. 2. RCW 69.30.030 and 1955 c
144 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
The state board of
health shall cause such investigations to be made as are necessary to determine
reasonable requirements governing the sanitation of shellfish, shellfish
growing areas, and shellfish plant facilities and operations, in order
to protect public health and carry out the provisions of this chapter; and
shall adopt such requirements as rules and regulations of the state board of
health. Such rules and regulations may include reasonable sanitary
requirements relative to the quality of shellfish growing waters and areas,
boat and barge sanitation, building construction, water supply, sewage and
waste water disposal, lighting and ventilation, insect and rodent control,
shell disposal, garbage and waste disposal, cleanliness of establishment, the
handling, storage, construction and maintenance of equipment, the handling,
storage and refrigeration of shellfish ((and)), the
identification of containers, and the handling, maintenance, and storage of
permits, certificates, and records regarding shellfish taken under this chapter.
Sec. 3. RCW 69.30.050 and 1985 c
51 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
Shellfish growing
areas, from which shellfish are removed in a commercial quantity or for sale
for human consumption shall ((be in a safe and sanitary condition, meeting))
meet the requirements of this chapter and the state board of
health; and such shellfish growing areas shall be so certified by the
department. Any person desiring to remove shellfish in a commercial quantity
or for sale for human consumption from a growing area in the state of
Washington shall first apply to the department for a certificate of approval of
the growing area. The department shall cause the shellfish growing area to be
inspected and if the area meets the ((sanitary)) requirements of this
chapter and the state board of health, the department shall issue a
certificate of approval for that area. Such certificates shall be issued for a
period not to exceed twelve months and may be revoked at any time the area is
found not to be in compliance with the ((sanitary)) requirements of this
chapter and the state board of health.
Shellfish growing
areas from which shellfish are removed in a commercial quantity for purposes
other than human consumption including but not limited to bait or seed, shall
be readily subject to monitoring and inspections, and shall otherwise be of a
character ensuring that shellfish harvested from such areas are not diverted
for use as food. A certificate of approval issued by the department for
shellfish growing areas from which shellfish are to be removed for purposes
other than human consumption shall specify the date or dates and time of
harvest and all applicable conditions of harvest, identification by tagging,
dying, or other means, transportation, processing, sale, and other factors to
ensure that shellfish harvested from such areas are not diverted for use as
food.
Sec. 4. RCW 69.30.110 and 1985 c
51 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
It is unlawful for
any person to possess a commercial quantity of shellfish or to sell or
offer to sell ((for human consumption)) shellfish in the state which
have not been grown, shucked, packed, or shipped in accordance with the
provisions of this chapter. Failure of a shellfish grower to display
immediately a certificate of approval issued under RCW 69.30.050 to an
authorized representative of the department, a ((fisheries patrol officer,
or an ex officio fisheries patrol officer)) fish and wildlife
enforcement officer, or an ex officio fish and wildlife enforcement officer
subjects the grower to the penalty provisions of this chapter, as well as
immediate seizure of the shellfish by the representative or officer.
Failure of a shellfish
processor to display a certificate of approval issued under RCW 69.30.060 to an
authorized representative of the department, a ((fisheries patrol)) fish
and wildlife enforcement officer, or an ex officio ((fisheries patrol))
fish and wildlife enforcement officer subjects the processor to the
penalty provisions of this chapter, as well as immediate seizure of the
shellfish by the representative or officer.
Shellfish seized under
this section shall be subject to prompt disposal by the representative or
officer and may not be used for human consumption. The state board of health
shall develop by rule procedures for the disposal of the seized shellfish.
Sec. 5. RCW 69.30.120 and 1985 c
51 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
The department may
enter and inspect any shellfish growing area or establishment for the purposes
of determining compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under this
chapter. The department may inspect all shellfish, all permits, all
certificates of approval and all ((shellfish, and take for inspection such
samples of shellfish as may reasonably be necessary to carry out the provisions
of this chapter)) records.
During such
inspections the department shall have free and unimpeded access to all
buildings, yards, warehouses, storage and transportation facilities, vehicles,
and other places reasonably considered to be or to have been part of the
regulated business or entity, to all ledgers, books, accounts, memorandums, or
records required to be compiled or maintained under this chapter or under rules
adopted pursuant to this chapter, and to any products, components, or other
materials reasonably believed to be or to have been used, processed, or
produced by or in connection with the regulated business or activity. In
connection with such inspections the department may take such samples or specimens
as may be reasonably necessary to determine whether there exists a violation of
this chapter or rules adopted under this chapter.
Inspection of
establishments may be conducted between eight a.m. and five p.m. on any weekday
that is not a legal holiday, during any time the regulated business or entity
has established as its usual business hours, at any time the regulated business
or entity is open for business or is otherwise in operation, and at any other
time with the consent of the owner or authorized agent of the regulated
business or entity.
The department may
apply for an administrative inspection warrant to a court of competent
jurisdiction and an administrative inspection warrant may issue where:
(1) The department
has attempted an inspection under this chapter and access to all or part of the
regulated business or entity has been actually or constructively denied; or
(2) There is
reasonable cause to believe that a violation of this chapter or of rules
adopted under this chapter is occurring or has occurred.
((For purposes of
this chapter, fisheries patrol officers or ex officio fisheries patrol officers
are limited to entry, inspection, and destruction of shellfish to achieve
compliance with RCW 69.30.110 and to taking for inspection samples of shellfish
as may reasonably be necessary to carry out this chapter.))
Sec. 6. RCW 69.30.140 and 1985 c
51 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
Any person ((found))
convicted of violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be
guilty of a gross misdemeanor((, and upon conviction thereof shall be
subject to a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than one
thousand dollars, or imprisonment in the county jail of the county in which the
offense was committed for not less than thirty days nor more than one year, or
to both fine and imprisonment)). A conviction is an unvacated forfeiture
of bail or collateral deposited to secure the defendant's appearance in court,
the payment of a fine, a plea of guilty, or a finding of guilt on a violation
of this chapter, regardless of whether imposition of sentence is deferred or
the penalty is suspended, and shall be treated as a violation conviction for
purposes of license forfeiture under RCW 75.10.120.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
7. A new section is added
to chapter 43.70 RCW to read as follows:
(1) The department may
enter and inspect any property, lands, or waters, of this state in or on which
any marine species are located or from which such species are harvested,
whether recreationally or for sale or barter, and any land or water of this
state which may cause or contribute to the pollution of areas in or on which
such species are harvested or processed. The department may take any
reasonably necessary samples to determine whether such species or any lot,
batch, or quantity of such species is safe for human consumption.
(2) If the department
determines that any species or any lot, batch, or other quantity of such
species is unsafe for human consumption because consumption is likely to cause
actual harm or because consumption presents a potential risk of substantial
harm, the department may, by order under chapter 34.05 RCW, prohibit or
restrict the commercial or recreational harvest or landing of any marine
species except the recreational harvest of shellfish as defined in chapter
69.30 RCW if taken from privately owned tidelands.
(3) It is unlawful to
harvest any marine species in violation of a departmental order prohibiting or
restricting such harvest under this section or to possess or sell any marine
species so harvested.
(4) Any person who
sells any marine species taken in violation of this section is subject to the
penalties provided in RCW 69.30.140 and 69.30.150. Any person who harvests or
possesses marine species taken in violation of this section is guilty of a
civil infraction and is subject to the penalties provided in RCW 69.30.150.
Notwithstanding this section, any person who harvests, possesses, sells, offers
to sell, culls, shucks, or packs shellfish is subject to the penalty provisions
of chapter 69.30 RCW. Charges shall not be brought against a person under both
chapter 69.30 RCW and this section in connection with this same action,
incident, or event.
(5) The criminal
provisions of this section are subject to enforcement by fish and wildlife
enforcement officers or ex officio fish and wildlife enforcement patrol
officers as defined in RCW 75.08.011.
(6) As used in this
section, marine species include all fish, invertebrate or plant species which
are found during any portion of the life cycle of those species in the marine
environment.
