HB 2815 - DIGEST

     Declares that the department shall not grant a waiver of the state water quality standards for total dissolved gas without providing at least thirty days prior notice and conducting an adjudicative proceeding under chapter 34.05 RCW.

     Requires the department of ecology to prepare a report to the legislature, within thirty days after the effective date of this act:  (1) Reviewing the best evidence concerning downstream passage of juvenile salmon in the Columbia and Snake rivers, and addressing whether waivers of the state water quality standards for dissolved gas in order to promote passage by spill over dams will improve salmon survival more than transportation; and

     (2) addressing whether granting the waivers to promote spill represents a cost-effective means of assisting salmon in light of alternatives such as transportation, harvest reform, and hatchery reform.