S-3677.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 6349

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1998 Regular Session

By Senators Anderson, Patterson and Swecker

Read first time 01/16/98.  Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Environment.

Changing membership of the committee that establishes boundaries of critical water supply service areas.

    AN ACT Relating to membership on the committee that establishes external boundaries of critical water supply service areas; and amending RCW 70.116.040.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 70.116.040 and 1977 ex.s. c 142 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) The secretary and the appropriate local planning agencies and purveyors, shall study geographical areas where water supply problems related to uncoordinated planning, inadequate water quality or unreliable service appear to exist.  If the results of the study indicate that such water supply problems do exist, the secretary or the county legislative authority shall designate the area involved as being a critical water supply service area, consult with the appropriate local planning agencies and purveyors, and appoint a committee of not less than three representatives therefrom solely for the purpose of establishing the proposed external boundaries of the critical water supply service area.  The committee shall include a representative from each purveyor ((serving more than fifty customers)), the county legislative authority, county planning agency, and health agencies.  Such proposed boundaries shall be established within six months of the appointment of the committee.

    During the six month period following the establishment of the proposed external boundaries of the critical water supply services areas, the county legislative authority shall conduct public hearings on the proposed boundaries and shall modify or ratify the proposed boundaries in accordance with the findings of the public hearings.  The boundaries shall reflect the existing land usage, and permitted densities in county plans, ordinances, and/or growth policies.  If the proposed boundaries are not modified during the six month period, the proposed boundaries shall be automatically ratified and be the critical water supply service area.

    After establishment of the external boundaries of the critical water supply service area, no new public water systems may be approved within the boundary area unless an existing water purveyor is unable  to provide water service.

    (2) At the time a critical water supply service area is established, the external boundaries for such area shall not include any fractional part of a purveyor's existing contiguous service area.

    (3) The external boundaries of the critical water supply service area may be amended in accordance with procedures prescribed in subsection (1) of this section for the establishment of the critical water supply service areas when such amendment is necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter.

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