BILL REQ. #:  S-3192.4 

Read first time 01/11/12.   Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Water & Rural Economic Development.

     AN ACT Relating to the preservation and conservation of agricultural resource lands; and adding a new section to chapter 43.21C RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 43.21C RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The legislature finds the state's farm and range lands are a unique natural resource that provide for the production of food, fiber, alternative fuels, and other products necessary for the continued welfare of people locally, nationally, and globally. Each year, a significant amount of the state's agricultural land is irrevocably converted from actual or potential agricultural use to nonagricultural use. The continued decrease in the state's agricultural resource land base is threatening the ability of the agricultural industry to produce safe and affordable agricultural products in sufficient quantities to meet our current and future local, regional, and national food and fiber needs, as well as the demands of our export markets.
     (2) The program and project actions of state agencies, local governments, and persons, in many cases, inadvertently result in the conversion of farmland to nonagricultural uses where alternative actions would be preferred. The legislature declares that it is the policy of the state to identify and take into account the adverse effects of these actions on the preservation and conservation of agricultural lands; to consider alternative actions, as appropriate, that could lessen such adverse effects; and to assure that such actions appropriately mitigate for unavoidable impacts to agricultural resources.
     (3) To implement the policy identified in this section, the lead agency shall ask the following questions when a proposal will affect or be located on agricultural lands, and in accordance with subsection (4) of this section, must add the questions to the state environmental policy act environmental checklist form provided in WAC 197-11-960 when a proposal will affect or be located on agricultural lands:
     (a) Is there any agricultural land directly affected by the proposal, or near the vicinity of a project site? If yes, describe.
     (b) Describe how much agricultural land will be converted to a nonagricultural use as a result of this proposal.
     (c) Would this proposal affect the ability of adjacent agricultural landowners to continue farming?
     (d) Would this proposal affect existing agricultural drainage patterns within vicinity? If yes, generally describe.
     (e) Would this proposal affect or interfere with normal agricultural operations such as oversize equipment access, pesticide applications, and tilling and harvesting? If yes, generally describe.
     (f) Will this proposal result in placing or removing agricultural soils from the site? If yes, generally describe.
     (g) Describe proposed measures to preserve or enhance agricultural resource lands, if any.
     (4) The department of ecology must add the questions in subsection (3)(a) through (g) of this section to the environmental checklist form in WAC 197-11-960 at the next update of the state environmental policy act rules, chapter 197-11 WAC.
     (5) For the purposes of this section, "agricultural lands" means those lands that are designated agricultural lands of long-term commercial significance pursuant to chapter 36.70A RCW.