BILL REQ. #:  H-1559.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/13/09.   

     AN ACT Relating to habitat open space; and amending RCW 76.09.040.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 76.09.040 and 2000 c 11 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Where necessary to accomplish the purposes and policies stated in RCW 76.09.010, and to implement the provisions of this chapter, the board shall adopt forest practices rules pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW and in accordance with the procedures enumerated in this section that:
     (a) Establish minimum standards for forest practices;
     (b) Provide procedures for the voluntary development of resource management plans which may be adopted as an alternative to the minimum standards in (a) of this subsection if the plan is consistent with the purposes and policies stated in RCW 76.09.010 and the plan meets or exceeds the objectives of the minimum standards;
     (c) Set forth necessary administrative provisions;
     (d) Establish procedures for the collection and administration of forest practice fees as set forth by this chapter; and
     (e) Allow for the development of watershed analyses.
     Forest practices rules pertaining to water quality protection shall be adopted by the board after reaching agreement with the director of the department of ecology or the director's designee on the board with respect thereto. All other forest practices rules shall be adopted by the board.
     Forest practices rules shall be administered and enforced by either the department or the local governmental entity as provided in this chapter. Such rules shall be adopted and administered so as to give consideration to all purposes and policies set forth in RCW 76.09.010.
     (2) The board shall prepare proposed forest practices rules. In addition to any forest practices rules relating to water quality protection proposed by the board, the department of ecology may submit to the board proposed forest practices rules relating to water quality protection.
     Prior to initiating the rule-making process, the proposed rules shall be submitted for review and comments to the department of fish and wildlife and to the counties of the state. After receipt of the proposed forest practices rules, the department of fish and wildlife and the counties of the state shall have thirty days in which to review and submit comments to the board, and to the department of ecology with respect to its proposed rules relating to water quality protection. After the expiration of such thirty day period the board and the department of ecology shall jointly hold one or more hearings on the proposed rules pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW. At such hearing(s) any county may propose specific forest practices rules relating to problems existing within such county. The board may adopt and the department of ecology may approve such proposals if they find the proposals are consistent with the purposes and policies of this chapter.
     (3) The board shall establish by rule a program for the acquisition of riparian open space ((program that includes acquisition of a fee interest in, or at the landowner's option, a conservation easement on)) and critical habitat for threatened or endangered species as designated by the board. At the landowner's option, acquisition may be of a fee interest or a conservation easement. Lands eligible for acquisition are forest lands within unconfined ((avulsing)) channel migration zones or forest lands containing critical habitat for threatened or endangered species as designated by the board. Once acquired, these lands may be held and managed by the department, transferred to another state agency, transferred to an appropriate local government agency, or transferred to a private nonprofit nature conservancy corporation, as defined in RCW 64.04.130, in fee or transfer of management obligation. The board shall adopt rules governing the acquisition by the state or donation to the state of such interest in lands including the right of refusal if the lands are subject to unacceptable liabilities. The rules shall include definitions of qualifying lands, priorities for acquisition, and provide for the opportunity to transfer such lands with limited warranties and with a description of boundaries that does not require full surveys where the cost of securing the surveys would be unreasonable in relation to the value of the lands conveyed. The rules shall provide for the management of the lands for ecological protection or fisheries enhancement. Because there are few, if any, comparable sales of forest land within unconfined ((avulsing)) channel migration zones, separate from the other lands or assets or within critical habitat for threatened or endangered species as designated by the board, these lands are likely to be extraordinarily difficult to appraise and the cost of a conventional appraisal often would be unreasonable in relation to the value of the land involved. Therefore, for the purposes of voluntary sales under this section, the legislature declares that these lands are presumed to have a value equal to: (a) The acreage in the sale multiplied by the average value of commercial forest land in the region under the land value tables used for property tax purposes under RCW ((84.33.120)) 84.33.140; plus (b) the cruised volume of any timber located within the channel migration zone or critical habitat for threatened or endangered species as designated by the board multiplied by the appropriate quality code stumpage value for timber of the same species shown on the appropriate table used for timber harvest excise tax purposes under RCW 84.33.091. For purposes of this section, there shall be an eastside region and a westside region as defined in the forests and fish report as defined in RCW 76.09.020.
     (4) Subject to appropriations sufficient to cover the cost of such an acquisition program and the related costs of administering the program, the department is directed to purchase a fee interest or, at the owner's option, a conservation easement in land that an owner tenders for purchase; provided that such lands have been taxed as forest lands and are located within an unconfined ((avulsing)) channel migration zone or contain critical habitat for threatened or endangered species as designated by the board. Lands acquired under this section shall become riparian or habitat open space. These acquisitions shall not be deemed to trigger the compensating tax of chapters 84.33 and 84.34 RCW.
     (5) Instead of offering to sell interests in qualifying lands, owners may elect to donate the interests to the state.
     (6) Any acquired interest in qualifying lands by the state under this section shall be managed as riparian open space or critical habitat.