BILL REQ. #:  S-4178.2 

Read first time 01/13/2006.   Referred to Committee on Government Operations & Elections.

     AN ACT Relating to building permit moratoriums due to water rights issues; and amending RCW 19.27.097.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 19.27.097 and 1995 c 399 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Each applicant for a building permit of a building necessitating potable water shall provide evidence of an adequate water supply for the intended use of the building. Evidence may be in the form of a water right permit from the department of ecology, a letter from an approved water purveyor stating the ability to provide water, or another form sufficient to verify the existence of an adequate water supply. In addition to other authorities, the county or city may impose conditions on building permits requiring connection to an existing public water system where the existing system is willing and able to provide safe and reliable potable water to the applicant with reasonable economy and efficiency. An application for a water right shall not be sufficient proof of an adequate water supply.
     (2) Within counties not required or not choosing to plan pursuant to RCW 36.70A.040, the county and the state may mutually determine those areas in the county in which the requirements of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply. The departments of health and ecology shall coordinate on the implementation of this section. Should the county and the state fail to mutually determine those areas to be designated pursuant to this subsection, the county may petition the department of community, trade, and economic development to mediate or, if necessary, make the determination.
     (3) Buildings that do not need potable water facilities are exempt from the provisions of this section. The department of ecology, after consultation with local governments, may adopt rules to implement this section, which may recognize differences between high-growth and low-growth counties.
     (4) For purposes of this section, no state, county, or city agency or authority may place a moratorium on building permits unless the department of ecology has issued a record of examination for all active and completed water right applications pending with the department in the pertinent jurisdiction.