BILL REQ. #:  S-1767.1 

Read first time 02/19/09.   Referred to Committee on Environment, Water & Energy.

     AN ACT Relating to the Lewis county watershed planning and economic development demonstration project; creating a new section; and making appropriations.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The sum of three hundred seventy-five thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010, from the general fund, and the sum of three hundred fifty thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, from the general fund, to the department of community, trade, and economic development for the purposes of developing the Lewis county watershed planning and economic development demonstration project. The purpose of the project is to identify lands and resources suitable for economic development within Lewis county and outside of the floodplains of Chehalis and Cowlitz river watersheds.
     (a) The department shall provide up to two hundred thousand dollars of the appropriation each to the department of fish and wildlife and the department of ecology to develop a watershed characterization and to conduct a local habitat assessment, develop recommendations, and provide technical assistance in support of a demonstration watershed planning and economic development project in Lewis county.
     (b) Up to three hundred twenty-five thousand dollars of the appropriation is provided solely for a grant to Lewis county to fund development of a subarea plan, consistent with the provisions of chapter 36.70A RCW, for rural economic development that is based on the watershed characterization and local habitat assessment funded in (a) of this subsection. The department may retain no more than thirty percent for grant administration and technical assistance.
     (2) The subarea plan funded under subsection (1)(b) of this section shall be developed by a broad-based local stakeholder group with state agency technical assistance, and shall include the following:
     (a) A defined area or areas for future economic development outside the one hundred year floodplain. An area planned for economic development requiring urban levels of service must be designated on the land use map as an urban growth area consistent with RCW 36.70A.110;
     (b) A defined area or areas of designated agricultural, forestry, wildlife habitat, and other critical area lands;
     (c) Mechanisms to achieve long-term conservation of important aquatic and terrestrial resources in the subarea;
     (d) Defined mitigation and restoration areas;
     (e) Identification of capital facility improvements needed to implement the plan, and a plan to finance such capital facilities within projected funding capacities;
     (f) Discussion of the relationship between the plan and other existing, adopted plans and regulations including but not limited to county and city comprehensive plans, as appropriate, critical areas and shoreline regulations, transportation, salmon recovery, watershed, and water resource inventory area plans;
     (g) A plan for monitoring and adaptive management; and
     (h) Adoption by the local government affected as an amendment to its comprehensive plan pursuant to chapter 36.70A RCW, after review and recommendations on the plan by a broad-based local stakeholder group.