H-1965.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 2239
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 56th Legislature 1999 Regular Session
By Representatives Buck and Wood
Read first time 02/23/1999. Referred to Committee on Transportation.
AN ACT Relating to storm water control grant programs; amending RCW 90.78.005, 90.78.010, and 90.78.020; and providing an expiration date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 90.78.005 and 1996 c 285 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
The legislature finds that the increasing population and continued development throughout the state have increased the need for storm water control. Storm water impacts have resulted in increased public health risks related to drinking water and agricultural and seafood products; increased disruption of economic activity, transportation facilities, and other public and private land and facilities due to the lack of adequate flood control measures; adverse affects on state fish populations and watershed hydrology; and contamination of sediments.
In addition, current storm water control and management efforts related to transportation projects lack necessary coordination on a watershed, regional, and state-wide basis; have inadequate funding; and fail to maximize use of available resources.
More stringent regulatory requirements have increased the costs that state and local governments must incur to deal with significant sources of pollution such as storm water. The costs estimated to properly maintain and construct storm water facilities far exceed available revenues.
Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to establish a program to develop a state-wide coordination mechanism for the funding of state, county, and city highway and roadway-related storm water management and control projects that will facilitate the completion of the state's most urgently needed storm water projects in the most cost-effective manner. Unexpended annual utility fee payments that are not collected by virtue of defaulting in preparing a plan must be used in the storm water grant program as defined in RCW 90.78.010 and 90.78.020.
Sec. 2. RCW 90.78.010 and 1996 c 285 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
The department of transportation, in cooperation with the transportation improvement board, the department of ecology, cities, towns, counties, environmental organizations, business organizations, Indian tribes, and port districts, shall develop a storm water management funding and implementation program to address state, county, and city highway and roadway-related storm water control problems. As part of the program, the department may provide grants and may rate and rank local transportation improvement projects to facilitate the construction of the highest priority state and local storm water management projects based on cost-effectiveness and contribution toward improved water quality, mitigating the impacts of altered stream hydrology, improved salmonid habitat, and reduced flooding in a watershed.
The
program shall address, but is not limited to, the following objectives: (1)
Greater state-wide coordination of the construction of storm water treatment
facilities; (2) encouraging multijurisdictional projects; (3) developing
priorities and approaches for implementing activities within watersheds; (4) methods
to enhance, preserve, and restore salmonid habitat; (5) identification and
prioritization of storm water retrofit programs; (((5))) (6)
evaluating methods to determine cost benefits of proposed projects; (((6)))
(7) identifying ways to facilitate the sharing of technical resources;
(((7))) (8) developing methods for monitoring and evaluating
activities carried out under the program; and (((8))) (9)
identifying potential funding sources for continuation of the program.
Sec. 3. RCW 90.78.020 and 1996 c 285 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
The department of transportation may provide grants and may rate and rank local transportation improvement projects to implement state, county, and city highway and roadway-related storm water control measures. Cities, towns, counties, port districts, Indian tribes, and the department of transportation are eligible to receive grants, on a matching basis. A committee consisting of two representatives each from the department of transportation, with one as chair, the department of ecology, cities, and counties, and one representative each from the department of ecology, the department of fish and wildlife, an environmental organization, and a business organization, shall oversee the grant program. The committee may add representatives of other agencies, organizations, or interest groups to serve as members of the committee or in an advisory capacity. In developing project criteria, the committee shall identify the most urgent state, county, and city highway and roadway-related storm water management and control problems; develop methods for applying priorities across watersheds; give added weight to projects based on local contribution, multijurisdictional involvement, and whether the project is a priority for a local storm water utility; and determine the benefits of, and, if appropriate, provide incentives for off-site placement of storm water facilities and out-of-kind mitigation for storm water impacts.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. This act expires July 1, 2003.
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