BILL REQ. #:  H-4165.2 

Read first time 01/18/10.   Referred to Committee on Local Government & Housing.

     AN ACT Relating to providing a one-year extension for completion of recommendations under RCW 36.70A.5601 conducted by the William D. Ruckelshaus Center; amending RCW 36.70A.560 and 36.70A.5601; amending 2007 c 353 s 6 (uncodified); creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 36.70A.560 and 2007 c 353 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) For the period beginning May 1, 2007, and concluding July 1, ((2010)) 2011, counties and cities may not amend or adopt critical area ordinances under RCW 36.70A.060(2) as they specifically apply to agricultural activities. Nothing in this section:
     (a) Nullifies critical area ordinances adopted by a county or city prior to May 1, 2007, to comply with RCW 36.70A.060(2);
     (b) Limits or otherwise modifies the obligations of a county or city to comply with the requirements of this chapter pertaining to critical areas not associated with agricultural activities; or
     (c) Limits the ability of a county or city to adopt or employ voluntary measures or programs to protect or enhance critical areas associated with agricultural activities.
     (2) Counties and cities subject to deferral requirements under subsection (1) of this section:
     (a) Should implement voluntary programs to enhance public resources and the viability of agriculture. Voluntary programs implemented under this subsection (2)(a) must include measures to evaluate the successes of these programs; and
     (b) Must review and, if necessary, revise critical area ordinances as they specifically apply to agricultural activities to comply with the requirements of this chapter by December 1, ((2011)) 2012.
     (3) For purposes of this section and RCW 36.70A.5601, "agricultural activities" means agricultural uses and practices currently existing or legally allowed on rural land or agricultural land designated under RCW 36.70A.170 including, but not limited to: Producing, breeding, or increasing agricultural products; rotating and changing agricultural crops; allowing land used for agricultural activities to lie fallow in which it is plowed and tilled but left unseeded; allowing land used for agricultural activities to lie dormant as a result of adverse agricultural market conditions; allowing land used for agricultural activities to lie dormant because the land is enrolled in a local, state, or federal conservation program, or the land is subject to a conservation easement; conducting agricultural operations; maintaining, repairing, and replacing agricultural equipment; maintaining, repairing, and replacing agricultural facilities, when the replacement facility is no closer to a critical area than the original facility; and maintaining agricultural lands under production or cultivation.

Sec. 2   RCW 36.70A.5601 and 2007 c 353 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the William D. Ruckelshaus Center must conduct an examination of the conflicts between agricultural activities and critical area ordinances adopted under chapter 36.70A RCW. The examination required by this section must commence by July 1, 2007.
     (2) In fulfilling the requirements of this section, the center must: (a) Work and consult with willing participants including, but not limited to, agricultural, environmental, tribal, and local government interests; and (b) involve and apprise legislators and legislative staff of its efforts.
     (3) The examination conducted by the center must be completed in two distinct phases in accordance with the following:
     (a) In the first phase, the center must conduct fact-finding and stakeholder discussions with stakeholders identified in subsection (2) of this section. These discussions must identify stakeholder concerns, desired outcomes, opportunities, and barriers. The fact-finding must identify existing regulatory, management, and scientific information related to agricultural activities and critical areas including, but not limited to: (i) Critical area ordinances adopted under chapter 36.70A RCW; (ii) acreage enrolled in the conservation reserve enhancement program; (iii) acreage protected by conservation easements; (iv) buffer widths; (v) requirements of federally approved salmon recovery plans; (vi) the impacts of agricultural activities on Puget Sound recovery efforts; and (vii) compliance with water quality requirements. The center must issue two reports of its fact-finding efforts and stakeholder discussions to the governor and the appropriate committees of the house of representatives and the senate by December 1, 2007, and December 1, 2008; and
     (b)(i) In the second phase, the center must facilitate discussions between the stakeholders identified in subsection (2) of this section to identify policy and financial options or opportunities to address the issues and desired outcomes identified by stakeholders in the first phase of the center's examination efforts.
     (ii) In particular, the stakeholders must examine innovative solutions including, but not limited to, outcome-based approaches that incorporate, to the maximum extent practicable, voluntary programs or approaches. Additionally, stakeholders must examine ways to modify statutory provisions to ensure that regulatory constraints on agricultural activities are used as a last resort if desired outcomes are not achieved through voluntary programs or approaches.
     (iii) The center must work to achieve agreement among participating stakeholders and to develop a coalition that can be used to support agreed upon changes or new approaches to protecting critical areas during the ((2010)) 2011 legislative session.
     (4) The center must issue a final report of findings and legislative recommendations to the governor and the appropriate committees of the house of representatives and the senate by September 1, ((2009)) 2010.

Sec. 3   2007 c 353 s 3 (uncodified) is amended to read as follows:
     This act expires December 1, ((2011)) 2012.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   If specific funding for the purposes of section 2 of this act, referencing section 2 of this act by bill or chapter number and section number, is not provided by June 30, 2010, in the omnibus appropriations act, section 2 of this act is null and void.