READ FIRST TIME 03/10/03.   

     AN ACT Relating to drainage infrastructure; amending RCW 77.55.060 and 77.55.100; adding new sections to chapter 77.55 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 77.85 RCW; creating a new section; and declaring an emergency.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 77.55.060 and 1998 c 190 s 86 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, a dam or other obstruction across or in a stream shall be provided with a durable and efficient fishway approved by the director. Plans and specifications shall be provided to the department prior to the director's approval. The fishway shall be maintained in an effective condition and continuously supplied with sufficient water to freely pass fish.
     (2) If a person fails to construct and maintain a fishway or to remove the dam or obstruction in a manner satisfactory to the director, then within thirty days after written notice to comply has been served upon the owner, his or her agent, or the person in charge, the director may construct a fishway or remove the dam or obstruction. Expenses incurred by the department constitute the value of a lien upon the dam and upon the personal property of the person owning the dam. Notice of the lien shall be filed and recorded in the office of the county auditor of the county in which the dam or obstruction is situated. The lien may be foreclosed in an action brought in the name of the state.
     If, within thirty days after notice to construct a fishway or remove a dam or obstruction, the owner, his or her agent, or the person in charge fails to do so, the dam or obstruction is a public nuisance and the director may take possession of the dam or obstruction and destroy it. No liability shall attach for the destruction.
     (3) For the purposes of this section, "other obstruction" does not include tide gates, flood gates, and associated man-made agricultural drainage facilities that were originally installed as part of an agricultural drainage system on or before the effective date of this section or the repair, replacement, or improvement of such tide gates or flood gates.

Sec. 2   RCW 77.55.100 and 2002 c 368 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) In the event that any person or government agency desires to construct any form of hydraulic project or perform other work that will use, divert, obstruct, or change the natural flow or bed of any of the salt or fresh waters of the state, such person or government agency shall, before commencing construction or work thereon and to ensure the proper protection of fish life, secure the approval of the department as to the adequacy of the means proposed for the protection of fish life. This approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or unreasonably conditioned.
     (2)(a) The department shall grant or deny approval of a standard permit within forty-five calendar days of the receipt of a complete application and notice of compliance with any applicable requirements of the state environmental policy act, made in the manner prescribed in this section. The permit must contain provisions allowing for minor modifications to the plans and specifications without requiring reissuance of the permit.
     (b) The applicant may document receipt of application by filing in person or by registered mail. A complete application for approval shall contain general plans for the overall project, complete plans and specifications of the proposed construction or work within the mean higher high water line in salt water or within the ordinary high water line in fresh water, and complete plans and specifications for the proper protection of fish life.
     (c) The forty-five day requirement shall be suspended if:
     (i) After ten working days of receipt of the application, the applicant remains unavailable or unable to arrange for a timely field evaluation of the proposed project;
     (ii) The site is physically inaccessible for inspection; or
     (iii) The applicant requests delay. Immediately upon determination that the forty-five day period is suspended, the department shall notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for the delay.
     (d) For purposes of this section, "standard permit" means a written permit issued by the department when the conditions under subsections (3) and (5)(b) of this section are not met.
     (3)(a) The department may issue an expedited written permit in those instances where normal permit processing would result in significant hardship for the applicant or unacceptable damage to the environment. In cases of imminent danger, the department shall issue an expedited written permit, upon request, for work to repair existing structures, move obstructions, restore banks, protect property, or protect fish resources. Expedited permit requests require a complete written application as provided in subsection (2)(b) of this section and shall be issued within fifteen calendar days of the receipt of a complete written application. Approval of an expedited permit is valid for up to sixty days from the date of issuance.
     (b) For the purposes of this subsection, "imminent danger" means a threat by weather, water flow, or other natural conditions that is likely to occur within sixty days of a request for a permit application.
     (c) The department may not require the provisions of the state environmental policy act, chapter 43.21C RCW, to be met as a condition of issuing a permit under this subsection.
     (d) The department or the county legislative authority may determine if an imminent danger exists. The county legislative authority shall notify the department, in writing, if it determines that an imminent danger exists.
     (4) Approval of a standard permit is valid for a period of up to five years from date of issuance. The permittee must demonstrate substantial progress on construction of that portion of the project relating to the approval within two years of the date of issuance. If the department denies approval, the department shall provide the applicant, in writing, a statement of the specific reasons why and how the proposed project would adversely affect fish life. Protection of fish life shall be the only ground upon which approval may be denied or conditioned. Chapter 34.05 RCW applies to any denial of project approval, conditional approval, or requirements for project modification upon which approval may be contingent.
     (5)(a) In case of an emergency arising from weather or stream flow conditions or other natural conditions, the department, through its authorized representatives, shall issue immediately, upon request, oral approval for removing any obstructions, repairing existing structures, restoring stream banks, or to protect property threatened by the stream or a change in the stream flow without the necessity of obtaining a written approval prior to commencing work. Conditions of an oral approval to protect fish life shall be established by the department and reduced to writing within thirty days and complied with as provided for in this section. Oral approval shall be granted immediately, upon request, for a stream crossing during an emergency situation.
     (b) For purposes of this section and RCW 77.55.110, "emergency" means an immediate threat to life, the public, property, or of environmental degradation.
     (c) The department or the county legislative authority may declare and continue an emergency when one or more of the criteria under (b) of this subsection are met. The county legislative authority shall immediately notify the department if it declares an emergency under this subsection.
     (6) The department shall, at the request of a county, develop five-year maintenance approval agreements, consistent with comprehensive flood control management plans adopted under the authority of RCW 86.12.200, or other watershed plan approved by a county legislative authority, to allow for work on public and private property for bank stabilization, bridge repair, removal of sand bars and debris, channel maintenance, and other flood damage repair and reduction activity under agreed-upon conditions and times without obtaining permits for specific projects.
     (7) This section shall not apply to the construction of any form of hydraulic project or other work which diverts water for agricultural irrigation or stock watering purposes authorized under or recognized as being valid by the state's water codes, or when such hydraulic project or other work is associated with streambank stabilization to protect farm and agricultural land as defined in RCW 84.34.020. These irrigation or stock watering diversion and streambank stabilization projects shall be governed by RCW 77.55.110.
     A landscape management plan approved by the department and the department of natural resources under RCW 76.09.350(2), shall serve as a hydraulic project approval for the life of the plan if fish are selected as one of the public resources for coverage under such a plan.
     (8) For the purposes of this section and RCW 77.55.110, "bed" means the land below the ordinary high water lines of state waters. This definition does not include irrigation ditches, canals, storm water run-off devices, or other artificial watercourses except where they exist in a natural watercourse that has been altered by man.
     (9) The phrase "to construct any form of hydraulic project or perform other work" does not include the act of driving across an established ford. Driving across streams or on wetted stream beds at areas other than established fords requires approval. Work within the ordinary high water line of state waters to construct or repair a ford or crossing requires approval.
     (10) The department shall not require a fishway on a tide gate, flood gate, or other associated man-made agricultural drainage facilities as a condition of a hydraulic project approval if such fishway was not originally installed as part of an agricultural drainage system existing on or before the effective date of this section.
     (11) Any condition requiring a self-regulating tide gate to achieve fish passage in an existing hydraulic project approval under this section may not be enforced.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 77.55 RCW to read as follows:
     Upon written request of adversely affected landowners of land designated as agricultural lands of long-term commercial significance according to chapter 36.70A RCW or the associated special districts under RCW 85.38.180, the department shall authorize the removal of the self-regulating function of any self-regulating tide gate installed because of a condition imposed by the department in an approval issued according to RCW 77.55.100 or during implementation of fish passage requirements pursuant to RCW 77.55.060. The department shall make authorizing the removal of the self-regulating function of any self-regulating tide gate a priority. The department shall pay for any tide gate removal required by this section within existing resources.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 77.85 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) If a limiting factors analysis has been conducted under this chapter for a specific geographic area and that analysis shows insufficient intertidal salmon habitat, the department of fish and wildlife and the county legislative authorities of the affected counties may jointly initiate a salmon intertidal habitat restoration planning process to develop a plan that addresses the intertidal habitat goals contained in the limiting factors analysis. The fish and wildlife commission and the county legislative authorities of the geographic area shall jointly appoint a task force composed of the following members:
     (a) One representative of the fish and wildlife commission, appointed by the chair of the commission;
     (b) Two representatives of the agricultural industry familiar with agricultural issues in the geographic area, one appointed by an organization active in the geographic area and one appointed by a statewide organization representing the industry;
     (c) Two representatives of environmental interest organizations with familiarity and expertise of salmon habitat, one appointed by an organization in the geographic area and one appointed by a statewide organization representing environmental interests;
     (d) One representative of a diking and drainage district, appointed by the individual districts in the geographic area or by an association of diking and drainage districts;
     (e) One representative of the lead entity for salmon recovery in the geographic area, appointed by the lead entity;
     (f) One representative of each county in the geographic area, appointed by the respective county legislative authorities; and
     (g) One representative from the office of the governor.
     (2) Representatives of the United States environmental protection agency, the United States natural resources conservation service, federal fishery agencies, as appointed by their regional director, and tribes with interests in the geographic area shall be invited and encouraged to participate as members of the task force.
     (3) The task force shall elect a chair and adopt rules for conducting the business of the task force. Staff support for the task force shall be provided by the Washington state conservation commission.
     (4) The task force shall:
     (a) Review and analyze the limiting factors analysis for the geographic area;
     (b) Initiate and oversee intertidal salmon habitat studies for enhancement of the intertidal area as provided in section 5 of this act;
     (c) Review and analyze the completed assessments listed in section 5 of this act;
     (d) Develop and draft an overall plan that addresses identified intertidal salmon habitat goals that has public support; and
     (e) Identify appropriate demonstration projects and early implementation projects that are of high priority and should commence immediately within the geographic area.
     (5) The task force may request briefings as needed on legal issues that may need to be considered when developing or implementing various plan options.
     (6) Members of the task force shall be reimbursed by the conservation commission for travel expenses as provided in RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
     (7) The task force shall provide annual reports that provide an update on its activities to the fish and wildlife commission, to the involved county legislative authorities, and to the lead entity formed under this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 77.85 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) In consultation with the task force, the conservation commission may contract with universities, private consultants, nonprofit groups, or other entities to assist it in developing a plan incorporating the following elements:
     (a) An inventory of existing tide gates located on streams in the county. The inventory shall include location, age, type, and maintenance history of the tide gates and other factors as determined by the task force in consultation with the county and diking and drainage districts;
     (b) An assessment of the role of tide gates located on streams in the county; the role of intertidal fish habitat for various life stages of salmon; the quantity and characterization of intertidal fish habitat currently accessible to fish; the quantity and characterization of the present intertidal fish habitat created at the time the dikes and outlets were constructed; the quantity of potential intertidal fish habitat on public lands and alternatives to enhance this habitat; the effects of saltwater intrusion on agricultural land, including the effects of backfeeding of saltwater through the underground drainage system; the role of tide gates in drainage systems, including relieving excess water from saturated soil and providing reservoir functions between tides; the effect of saturated soils on production of crops; the characteristics of properly functioning intertidal fish habitat; a map of agricultural lands designated by the county as having long-term commercial significance and the effect of that designation; and the economic impacts to existing land uses for various alternatives for tide gate alteration; and
     (c) A long-term plan for intertidal salmon habitat enhancement to meet the goals of salmon recovery and protection of agricultural lands. The proposal shall consider all other means to achieve salmon recovery without converting farmland. The proposal shall include methods to increase fish passage and otherwise enhance intertidal habitat on public lands pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, voluntary methods to increase fish passage on private lands, a priority list of intertidal salmon enhancement projects, and recommendations for funding of high priority projects. The task force also may propose pilot projects that will be designed to test and measure the success of various proposed strategies.
     (2) In conjunction with other public landowners and the task force, the department shall develop an initial salmon intertidal habitat enhancement plan for public lands in the county. The initial plan shall include a list of public properties in the intertidal zone that could be enhanced for salmon, a description of how those properties could be altered to support salmon, a description of costs and sources of funds to enhance the property, and a strategy and schedule for prioritizing the enhancement of public lands for intertidal salmon habitat. This initial plan shall be submitted to the task force at least six months before the deadline established in subsection (3) of this section.
     (3) The final intertidal salmon enhancement plan shall be completed within two years from the date the task force is formed and funding has been secured. A final plan shall be submitted by the task force to the lead entity for the geographic area established under this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   A new section is added to chapter 77.55 RCW to read as follows:
     As used in this chapter, "tide gate" means a one-way check valve that prevents the backflow of tidal water.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   The process established in sections 4 and 5 of this act shall be initiated as soon as practicable in Skagit county.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   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.