[atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to environmental permit streamlining for transportation projects; adding a new section to chapter 43.21A RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 47 RCW; creating new sections; providing an expiration date; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. LEGISLATIVE INTENT AND FINDINGS. The legislature finds that the public health and safety of its citizens, natural resources, and the environment are vital interests of the state that need to be protected and preserved. The legislature further finds that the safety of the traveling public and the state's economic well-being are vital interests that depend upon the development of cost-effective transportation systems that are planned, designed, constructed, and maintained in an efficient manner.

It is the intent of the legislature to demonstrate that state environmental objectives can be achieved while improving the decision making and delivery processes of transportation projects. This can be achieved by improving the working relationship between those charged with transportation project delivery and those working in resource agencies charged with environmental protection. It is further the intent of the legislature to both achieve transportation permit reform to expedite the delivery of transportation projects of statewide significance and to strive to increase environmental benefits through a watershed-based approach to aquatic and natural resource management. In order to optimize the limited resources available for transportation system improvements and environmental protection, state regulatory and natural resource agencies, public and private sector interests, Indian tribes, and the department of transportation must work cooperatively and with greater trust to establish common goals, minimize project delays, develop agreed upon standards, and maximize environmental benefits through coordinated investment strategies, increased certainty and consistency of actions through the development of agreed upon environmental standards, and the elimination of duplicative processes.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Best available information" means the existing sources of data, including limiting factors analyses required under chapter 77.85 RCW that can be used to make informed decisions regarding environmental conditions within a watershed.

(2) "Best management practices" means currently available and generally accepted techniques, including new technologies or strategies that seek to reduce the negative impacts of transportation facilities, projects, and services on communities and the environment, and promote more efficient and effective use of transportation facilities. Examples include transportation demand management, transportation systems management, and compensatory mitigation.

(3) "Department" means the state department of transportation.

(4) "Least cost environmental planning" means the efficient gathering and use of best available information within a watershed basin applied to transportation decision making in the planning, permitting, and mitigation phases of a project.

(5) "Low-impact development standards" means techniques, technologies, or strategies that seek to reduce the negative impact of transportation facilities, projects, and services on communities and the environment, and promote more efficient and effective use of transportation facilities. Examples include transportation demand management, transportation system management, and smart growth.

(6) "One-stop permitting" means a coordinated permitting process that streamlines environmental review and decision making for transportation projects by providing concurrent, consolidated review by each agency required to review and approve the project.

(7) "Programmatic agreement" or "general permit" means a regulatory instrument that outlines permit conditions and obligations for a variety of similar project activities spanning a watershed ecosystem or geographically defined boundary that, once entered into by parties, delineates an applicant's proposed actions over a specific period of time, and that may be conducted without the necessity of obtaining individually developed permits for the types of projects identified. The instruments must comply with all relevant local, state, and federal standards.

(8) "Transportation permit coordination task force" or "task force" means the task force created in section 3 of this act.

(9) "Transportation project of statewide significance" means a project or combination of projects that transverse multiple city or county jurisdictional boundaries and are so designated by the legislature.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. TRANSPORTATION PERMIT COORDINATION TASK FORCE‑-CREATED. The transportation permit coordination task force is created.

(1) The task force will consist of one representative appointed by the secretary of transportation, one member appointed by the director of ecology, one member appointed by the director of fish and wildlife, and one member appointed by the governor who will also serve as the chair of the task force.

(2) The task force may seek advice from other persons and may appoint subcommittees, on an ad hoc basis, to assist with its work. These appointments may include, but are not limited to, representatives from interest groups, local governments, tribes, federal regulatory and transportation agencies, and other governmental entities.

(3) The department shall provide administrative and clerical assistance to the task force. Department of ecology staff costs associated with the task force are reimbursable under RCW 43.21A.690 and 90.03.265. Department of fish and wildlife staff costs are reimbursable under RCW 43.300.080.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. TASK FORCE‑-RESPONSIBILITIES. The task force shall:

(1) Develop concise programmatic environmental standards and best management practices for low-impact transportation projects that can be applied with certainty, consistency, and assurance of swift permit action, while taking into account the varying climate, geomorphologic, and hydrologic conditions throughout the state and protecting environmental quality. To achieve this goal, the task force shall:

(a) Identify categories of low-impact projects appropriate for general permits;

(b) By March 1, 2002, develop general permits and programmatic consultation processes for the list of projects developed in (a) of this subsection;

(c) Evaluate the use of planning and permitting standards that encourage low-impact alternatives and reduce the permit process for projects that use low-impact development standards;

(d) Develop preliminary models and strategies to test how best to maximize the environmental investment of transportation funds within the framework of this chapter;

(2) Develop and prioritize a list of permit streamlining opportunities, specifically identifying substantive and procedural duplications and suggestions for resolving those duplications, and standard development needs such as developing agreement on state transportation storm water standards;

(3) Assess models to collate and access watershed data to support early agency involvement and improve environmental protection in transportation planning and National Environmental Policy Act and State Environmental Policy Act reviews. At a minimum, this model should use existing best available information from watershed planning efforts, lead entities, and regional fisheries enhancement groups to determine potential mitigation site requirements for project actions within a watershed. Priority consideration should be given to the use of the state's alternative mitigation strategy to best link transportation mitigation needs with local watershed and lead entity project lists;

(4) Develop least cost methodology for analyzing environmental impacts and applying compensatory mitigation consistent with a watershed-based approach before final design;

(5) Review the department's construction project list to determine which projects can be included in programmatic or general permit agreements. The task force will develop a template for an agreement to cover those projects;

(6) Provide reports to the transportation and environment committees of the senate and house of representatives by December 1, 2001, and for the next two years.

The task force is dissolved and this section expires June 30, 2004.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. REGULATION LIMITS. The departments of transportation, ecology, and fish and wildlife shall implement standards of the task force through rules or policy guidance as appropriate, under existing regulatory authorities. The purpose of this section is not to increase regulatory requirements or to expand the jurisdiction of the departments.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 43.21A RCW to read as follows:

ONE-STOP PERMITS PROCESS. (1) By January 1, 2002, the permit assistance center at the department of ecology, working with the task force established in section 3 of this act, shall develop and coordinate a one-stop permitting process for transportation projects. The process must use interdisciplinary review of transportation projects to streamline and expedite decision making concerning required permits. The process must allow sufficient flexibility to be consistent with the consolidated project permit process required of local governments under RCW 36.70B.060. The permit assistance center shall consult with local governments in developing the process that will address subsections (2), (3), and (4) of this section. Federal permits identified in this section must be incorporated into the one-stop process to the maximum extent possible.

(2) The one-stop process must include guidelines that address permit timelines, coordination of environmental analyses under chapter 43.21C RCW (SEPA), coordination of local government reviews and permits with state and federal requirements, and other measures significant for expediting and coordinating review of transportation projects of statewide significance. The process must maximize the flexibility under current statutes to expedite reviews, eliminate duplicative processes, integrate concurrent permit reviews, and must address:

(a) Developing a uniform methodology for plan submittal that details project elements that impact environmental resources and proposed mitigation measures for use during the preliminary specifications and engineering phase of project development;

(b) Coordinating public notice and comment procedures with the objective of providing a single notice and a consolidated public hearing on all applicable state permits and right-of-way agreements;

(c) Specified time frames, including time limits for screening the application for completeness and for other critical milestones;

(d) Providing for concurrent rather than sequential review of permits and agreements; and

(e) Funding or other assistance to the permitting agencies to avoid increasing permitting delays for other applicants.

(3) At a minimum, the one-stop permitting process for transportation projects must address permits or leases issued under the following: Permit or certifications under the Federal Clean Water Act, sections 401, 402, and 404; section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act; substantial development permits under chapter 90.58 RCW; water quality permits under chapter 90.48 RCW; hydraulic project approvals under chapter 77.55 RCW; applicable permits issued under the Growth Management Act, chapter 36.70A RCW; and aquatic leases issued under chapter 79.94 RCW.

(4) The permit assistance center shall develop a dispute resolution process to resolve conflicts in interpretation of environmental standards and best management practices, mitigation requirements, permit requirements, and other related issues. Every effort to include federal agencies in the dispute resolution process must be made. A list of ongoing disputed issues must be included in the task force's report to the legislature.

(5) If a project is designated by the legislature as a transportation project of statewide significance, all local governments and state agencies with regulatory or leasing authority must participate in the one-stop permitting process for that project. Local governments participating in the one-stop permitting process are eligible for cost reimbursement.

(6) The department of transportation or other sponsor of a major transportation project shall be given a high priority when the sponsor seeks to enter a cost-reimbursement agreement to accomplish permit or lease coordination and expedited review by the following state agencies:

(a) The department of ecology, under the cost-reimbursement authority of RCW 43.21A.690 and 90.03.265;

(b) The department of natural resources, under the cost-reimbursement authority of RCW 43.30.420; and

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. PILOT PROJECTS. The legislature finds that comprehensive environmental permitting between agencies, tribes, and other interested parties that focuses on concise design standards and a commitment to expedited permit decisions will minimize duplicative and time-consuming permit processes while achieving enhanced environmental benefit. To this end, the permit assistance center at the department of ecology shall coordinate teams to conduct three permit reform pilot projects. The pilot projects must:

(1) Include a mix of projects and areas to encompass:

(a) A significant project in a congested urbanized area that is nearly fully built upon;

(b) Projects that can be grouped for geographic permitting related to a watershed or watersheds and salmon recovery area in an area located west of the Cascade range;

(c) Projects that can be grouped for geographic permitting related to eastern Washington watersheds and salmon recovery area in an area located east of the Cascade range;

(2) Implement and monitor the one-stop permit process to:

(a) Link expedited permit decision making to best available information in a basin;

(b) Link the investment strategy and priorities of the department with the mitigation needs of the watersheds in the pilot areas;

(3) Give consideration to flexible approaches that maximize the benefits of transportation and environmental investments;

(4) Provide a preliminary report to the legislature by December 1, 2001, a second report by December 1, 2002, and a final report by December 1, 2003, on the policies developed and actions taken under this section and section 6 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. DELEGATION OF FEDERAL PERMITTING AUTHORITY. (1) The governor shall seek federal delegation to the state of the following authority: Section 404 permit authority under the federal Clean Water Act; nonfederal lead agency status under the Federal Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1535; and other appropriate authority.

(2) The governor shall provide a report to the transportation and environment committees of the senate and house of representatives by December 1, 2001, regarding the requirements and implications of the state receipt of delegated authority to administer the wetlands discharge permit program under section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. Sec. 1344. The report must address:

(a) What authorities for a state-administered wetlands regulatory permit program are required for approval of the delegation, and legislation needed to implement the authority;

(b) The fiscal and staff resources necessary to administer such a program, including permit fees or other funding sources;

(d) Alternatives to full delegation that may accomplish the primary objective of coordinating expediting concurrent state and federal regulatory approvals of transportation projects affecting waters of the state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. Sections 1 through 5 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 47 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. The department of transportation shall use funds appropriated in the 2001-2003 biennial transportation budget to implement this act to fund or provide other assistance for permitting agencies, both state and local, for activities to carry out the purposes of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Section captions used in this act are not any part of the law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.