BILL REQ. #:  H-2763.5 

Read first time 01/17/14.   Referred to Committee on Environment.

     AN ACT Relating to local integrating organizations; amending RCW 90.71.010, 90.71.200, 90.71.230, 90.71.240, 90.71.260, 90.71.310, 90.71.330, and 90.71.340; and adding new sections to chapter 90.71 RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 90.71.010 and 2007 c 341 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     ((Unless the context clearly requires otherwise,)) The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Action agenda" means the comprehensive schedule of projects, programs, and other activities designed to achieve a healthy Puget Sound ecosystem that is authorized and further described in RCW 90.71.300 and 90.71.310.
     (2) "Action area" means the geographic areas delineated as provided in RCW 90.71.260.
     (3) "Benchmarks" means measurable interim milestones or achievements established to demonstrate progress towards a goal, objective, or outcome.
     (4) "Board" means the ecosystem coordination board.
     (5) "Council" means the leadership council.
     (6) "Environmental indicator" means a physical, biological, or chemical measurement, statistic, or value that provides a proximate gauge, or evidence of, the state or condition of Puget Sound.
     (7) "Implementation strategies" means the strategies incorporated, including regional ecosystem recovery strategies, on a biennial basis in the action agenda developed under RCW 90.71.310.
     (8) "Nearshore" means the area beginning at the crest of coastal bluffs and extending seaward through the marine photics zone, and to the head of tide in coastal rivers and streams. "Nearshore" also means both shoreline and estuaries.
     (9) "Panel" means the Puget Sound science panel.
     (10) "Partnership" means the Puget Sound partnership.
     (11) "Puget Sound" means Puget Sound and related inland marine waters, including all salt waters of the state of Washington inside the international boundary line between Washington and British Columbia, and lying east of the junction of the Pacific Ocean and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the rivers and streams draining to Puget Sound as mapped by water resource inventory areas 1 through 19 in WAC 173-500-040 as it exists on July 1, 2007.
     (12) "Puget Sound partner" means an entity that has been recognized by the partnership, as provided in RCW 90.71.340, as having consistently achieved outstanding progress in implementing the 2020 action agenda.
     (13) "Watershed groups" means all groups sponsoring or administering watershed programs, including but not limited to local integrating organizations, local governments, private sector entities, watershed planning units, watershed councils, shellfish protection areas, regional fishery enhancement groups, marine ((resource[s])) resources committees including those working with the Northwest straits commission, nearshore groups, and watershed lead entities.
     (14) "Watershed programs" means and includes all regional ecosystem recovery strategies, watershed-level plans, programs, projects, and activities that relate to or may contribute to the protection or restoration of Puget Sound waters. Such programs may include jurisdiction-wide programs regardless of whether more than one watershed is addressed.
     (15) "Local integrating organizations" include committees of counties, tribes, cities, special purpose districts, nongovernmental organizations, or citizens approved by the Puget Sound partnership leadership council for the purpose of coordinating local watershed input to the partnership for inclusion into the action agenda. Local integrating organizations may be informal forums or formal regional alliances as provided for in section 6 of this act.
     (16) "Puget Sound technical review team" means the committee formed by the partnership to review, advise, and comment on draft regional ecosystem recovery strategies prepared by regional alliances. The Puget Sound technical review team may include federal, state, tribal, local, and nongovernmental organizations having fisheries, water quality, storm water, and other relevant ecosystems expertise.
     (17) "Regional ecosystem recovery strategies" means the comprehensive schedule of projects, programs, and other activities developed by regional alliances provided in RCW 90.71.260 that are incorporated into the action agenda described in RCW 90.71.300 and 90.71.310.

Sec. 2   RCW 90.71.200 and 2007 c 341 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The legislature finds that:
     (a) Puget Sound, including Hood Canal, and the waters that flow to it are a national treasure and a unique resource. Residents enjoy a way of life centered around these waters that depends upon clean and healthy marine and freshwater resources.
     (b) Puget Sound is in serious decline, and Hood Canal is in a serious crisis. This decline is indicated by loss of and damage to critical habit, rapid decline in species populations, increases in aquatic nuisance species, numerous toxics contaminated sites, urbanization and attendant storm water drainage, closure of beaches to shellfish harvest due to disease risks, low-dissolved oxygen levels causing death of marine life, and other phenomena. If left unchecked, these conditions will worsen.
     (c) Puget Sound must be restored and protected in a more coherent and effective manner. The current system is highly fragmented. Immediate and concerted action is necessary by all levels of government working with the public, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to ensure a thriving natural system that exists in harmony with a vibrant economy.
     (d) By working at the local watershed level, customized solutions to fit local environmental and community conditions can achieve the immediate benefits of restoration.
     (e) Leadership, accountability, government transparency, thoughtful and responsible spending of public funds, and public involvement will be integral to the success of efforts to restore and protect Puget Sound.
     (2) The legislature therefore creates a new Puget Sound partnership to coordinate and lead the effort to restore and protect Puget Sound, and intends that all governmental entities, including federal and state agencies, tribes, cities, counties, ports, and special purpose districts, support and help implement the partnership's restoration efforts. The legislature further intends that the partnership will:
     (a) Define a strategic action agenda prioritizing necessary actions, both basin-wide and within specific action areas, and creating an approach that addresses all of the complex connections among the land, water, web of species, and human needs. The action agenda will be based on science and include clear, measurable goals for the recovery of Puget Sound by 2020;
     (b) Determine accountability for performance, oversee the efficiency and effectiveness of money spent, educate and engage the public, and track and report results to the legislature, the governor, and the public;
     (c) Not have regulatory authority, nor authority to transfer the responsibility for, or implementation of, any state regulatory program, unless otherwise specifically authorized by the legislature.
     (3) It is the goal of the state that the health of Puget Sound be restored by 2020.

Sec. 3   RCW 90.71.230 and 2007 c 341 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The leadership council shall have the power and duty to:
     (a) Provide leadership and have responsibility for the functions of the partnership, including adopting, revising, and guiding the implementation of the action agenda, allocating funds for Puget Sound recovery, providing progress and other reports, setting strategic priorities and benchmarks, adopting and applying accountability measures, and making appointments to the board and panel;
     (b) Adopt rules, in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW;
     (c) Create subcommittees and advisory committees as appropriate to assist the council;
     (d) Enter into, amend, and terminate contracts with individuals, corporations, or research institutions to effectuate the purposes of this chapter;
     (e) Make grants to governmental and nongovernmental entities to effectuate the purposes of this chapter;
     (f) Receive such gifts, grants, and endowments, in trust or otherwise, for the use and benefit of the partnership to effectuate the purposes of this chapter;
     (g) Promote extensive public awareness, education, and participation in Puget Sound protection and recovery;
     (h) Work collaboratively with the Hood Canal coordinating council established in chapter 90.88 RCW on Hood Canal-specific issues;
     (i) Maintain complete and consolidated financial information to ensure that all funds received and expended to implement the action agenda have been accounted for; and
     (j) Take such other ((powers and duties)) actions as are necessary and appropriate to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
     (2) The council may delegate functions to the chair and to the executive director, however the council may not delegate its decisional authority regarding developing or amending the action agenda.
     (3) The council shall work closely with existing organizations and all levels of government to ensure that the action agenda and its implementation are scientifically sound, efficient, and achieve necessary results to accomplish recovery of Puget Sound to health by 2020.
     (4) The council shall support, engage, and foster collaboration among watershed groups to assist in the recovery of Puget Sound.
     (5) The council shall support and fund the incorporation of regional ecosystem recovery strategies provided for in this chapter into the action agenda.
     (6) Before updating the action agenda, the council shall obtain the consent of regional alliances established as provided for in section 6 of this act.
     (7) When working with federally recognized Indian tribes to develop and implement the action agenda, the council shall conform to the procedures and standards required in a government-to-governmental relationship with tribes under the 1989 Centennial Accord between the state of Washington and the sovereign tribal governments in the state of Washington.
     (((6))) (8) Members of the council shall be compensated in accordance with RCW 43.03.220 and be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

Sec. 4   RCW 90.71.240 and 2007 c 341 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The partnership shall be administered by an executive director who serves as a communication link between all levels of government, the private sector, tribes, nongovernmental organizations, the council, the board, ((and)) the panel, and local integrating organizations. The executive director shall be accountable to the council and the governor for effective communication, actions, and results.
     (2) The executive director shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the governor, in consultation with the council. The governor shall consider the recommendations of the council when appointing the executive director.
     (3) The executive director shall have complete charge of and supervisory powers over the partnership, subject to the guidance from the council.
     (4) The executive director shall employ a staff, who shall be state employees under Title 41 RCW.
     (5) Upon approval of the council, the executive director may take action to create a private nonprofit entity, which may take the form of a nonprofit corporation, to assist the partnership in restoring Puget Sound by:
     (a) Raising money and other resources through charitable giving, donations, and other appropriate mechanisms;
     (b) Engaging and educating the public regarding Puget Sound's health, including efforts and opportunities to restore Puget Sound ecosystems; and
     (c) Performing other similar activities as directed by the partnership.

Sec. 5   RCW 90.71.260 and 2007 c 341 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The partnership shall develop and update the action agenda ((in part)) upon the foundation of regional ecosystem recovery strategies or, if those are absent, existing watershed programs that address or contribute to the health of Puget Sound. To ensure full consideration of these regional ecosystem recovery strategies and watershed programs in a timely manner to meet the required date for adoption of the action agenda, the partnership shall rely largely upon local integrating organizations, watershed groups, tribes, cities, counties, special purpose districts, and the private sector, who are engaged in developing and implementing these programs.
     (2) The partnership shall organize this work by incorporating the regional ecosystem recovery strategies developed by local integrating organizations and working with ((these)) groups in the following geographic action areas of Puget Sound, which collectively encompass all of the Puget Sound basin and include the areas draining to the marine waters in these action areas:
     (a) Strait of Juan de Fuca;
     (b) The San Juan Islands;
     (c) Whidbey Island;
     (d) North central Puget Sound;
     (e) South central Puget Sound;
     (f) South Puget Sound; and
     (g) Hood Canal.
     (3) The council shall define the geographic delineations of these action areas based upon the common issues and interests of the entities in these action areas, and upon the characteristics of the Sound's physical structure, and the water flows into and within the Sound. Where regional alliances are formed, as provided for in section 6 of this act, the council shall ensure the respective regional ecosystem recovery strategy is incorporated into the action agenda prior to any updates of the action agenda adoption.
     (4) The executive director, working with the board representatives from each action area, shall invite appropriate tribes, local governments, and watershed groups to convene for the purpose of compiling the existing watershed programs relating or contributing to the health of Puget Sound. The participating groups should work to identify the applicable local plan elements, projects, and programs, together with estimated budget, timelines, and proposed funding sources, that are suitable for adoption into the action agenda. This may include a prioritization among plan elements, projects, and programs.
     (5) The partnership may provide assistance to watershed groups in those action areas that are developing and implementing programs included within the action agenda, and to improve coordination among the groups to improve and accelerate the implementation of the action agenda.
     (6) The executive director, working with the board, shall also compile and assess ecosystem scale management, restoration, and protection plans for the Puget Sound basin.
     (a) At a minimum, the compilation shall include regional ecosystem recovery strategies adopted by regional alliances, the Puget Sound nearshore estuary project, clean-up plans for contaminated aquatic lands and shorelands, aquatic land management plans, state resource management plans, habitat conservation plans, and recovery plans for salmon, orca, and other species in Puget Sound that are listed under the federal endangered species act.
     (b) The board should work to identify and assess applicable ecosystem scale plan elements, projects, and programs, together with estimated budget, timelines, and proposed funding sources, that are suitable for adoption into the action agenda.
     (c) When the board identifies conflicts or disputes among ecosystem scale projects or programs, the board may convene the agency managers in an attempt to reconcile the conflicts with the objective of advancing the protection and recovery of Puget Sound.
     (d) If it determines that doing so will increase the likelihood of restoring Puget Sound by 2020, the partnership may explore the utility of federal assurances under the endangered species act, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq., and shall confer with the federal services administering that act.
     (7) The executive director shall integrate and present the proposed elements from regional ecosystem recovery strategies, watershed programs, and ecosystem-level plans to the council for consideration for inclusion in the action agenda ((not later than July 1, 2008)).

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   A new section is added to chapter 90.71 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) To assist in the recovery of Puget Sound, local integrating organizations may be organized, and the partnership shall provide funding, for the following purposes:
     (a) For regional forums. Regional forums function to communicate, coordinate, and act to assist the partnership in developing and implementing the action agenda. Regional forums may involve elected and nonelected stakeholders and should include a broad representation of interests within their geographic area. Regional forums act to provide input between local stakeholders and the partnership.
     (b) For regional alliances. Regional alliances are formalized associations of local elected officials and representatives of tribes, cities, counties, nongovernmental organizations, ports, conservation districts, health districts, and others. Regional alliances are organized under an interlocal agreement or by local ordinance or resolution of the counties and participating tribes within the designated geographic area. At a minimum, regional alliances shall:
     (i) Be organized with an executive committee of locally elected county officials and tribal officials as a decision-making body and a broadly inclusive advisory council.
     (ii) Invite all tribes within the designated area to sit on the executive committee.
     (iii) Develop, implement, and provide project management of science-based, regional ecosystem recovery strategies.
     (2) Local integrating organizations recognized by the council before December 1, 2013, are deemed regional forums for purposes of this chapter. Additionally, the local integrating organization for the south Puget Sound action area is deemed the regional alliance for that area as provided for in this chapter.
     (3) The council shall adopt criteria and processes for approving additional regional alliances.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   A new section is added to chapter 90.71 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Regional alliances organized under this chapter shall develop, coordinate implementation, track, and report to the partnership a regional ecosystem recovery strategy for their respective area. Regional recovery strategies must at a minimum:
     (a) Include a comprehensive schedule of science-based projects, programs, and other activities needed in their respective area to achieve an area contribution to Puget Sound recovery goals and objectives;
     (b) Include benchmarks with milestones tracked to environmental indicators of the Puget Sound partnership at the area scale;
     (c) Provide for inclusion and articulation of specific, regional alliance adopted priorities;
     (d) Be prepared in a manner to facilitate a project management approach to scoping, budgeting, scheduling, synchronizing, tracking, reporting, monitoring, and assessing progress; and
     (e) Be the list of area priorities for state and federal funding within the area.
     (2) Regional alliances shall submit a draft of the regional ecosystem recovery strategy to the Puget Sound technical review team for review and approval prior to adoption by the regional alliance. The Puget Sound technical review team may review the draft strategy for the following:
     (a) Consistency with the terminology with the action agenda;
     (b) Consistency of performance measures, benchmarks, implementation strategies, and near-term actions within the action agenda;
     (c) Likelihood of success of implementation strategies achieving local and regional priorities; and
     (d) Anticipated effectiveness of proposed actions.
     (3) Puget Sound technical review team comments on regional ecosystem recovery strategies, if any, must be submitted to the regional alliance for consideration no later than thirty days after receipt of the draft strategy.
     (4) The council must incorporate regional ecosystem recovery strategies into the action agenda for the action area.
     (5) By December 1, 2014, the partnership shall develop and implement a regional allocation method to fund implementation of regional alliances' ecosystem recovery strategies. The regional allocation method must:
     (a) Provide that no less than forty-five percent of the total available annual federal nontribal Puget Sound national estuary program and geographic initiative funds and no less than forty-five percent of Puget Sound recovery account, created in RCW 90.71.400, funds used by the partnership for loans, grants, or funding transfers to other entities be distributed by the partnership to regional alliances that have completed and adopted a regional ecosystem recovery strategy as provided in this chapter;
     (b) Provide the executive committee of the regional alliance the ability to receive, distribute, and account for nontribal Puget Sound recovery funds to projects in the ecosystem recovery strategy; and
     (c) Provide that specific, scientifically supported actions, projects, and programs that are included in the regional strategy are funded.
     (6) In deploying the regional allocation method, the council may pilot with the local integrating organization for the south Puget Sound action area known as the alliance for a healthy south Puget Sound, for the 2014 and 2015 allocations.

Sec. 8   RCW 90.71.310 and 2008 c 329 s 926 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The council shall develop a science-based action agenda that leads to the recovery of Puget Sound by 2020 and achievement of the goals and objectives established in RCW 90.71.300. The action agenda shall:
     (a) Address all geographic areas of Puget Sound including upland areas and tributary rivers and streams that affect Puget Sound;
     (b) Describe the problems affecting Puget Sound's health using supporting scientific data, and provide a summary of the historical environmental health conditions of Puget Sound so as to determine past levels of pollution and restorative actions that have established the current health conditions of Puget Sound;
     (c) Meet the goals and objectives described in RCW 90.71.300, including measurable outcomes for each goal and objective specifically describing what will be achieved, how it will be quantified, and how progress towards outcomes will be measured. The action agenda shall include near-term and long-term benchmarks designed to ensure continuous progress needed to reach the goals, objectives, and designated outcomes by 2020. The council shall consult with the panel in developing these elements of the plan;
     (d) Identify and prioritize the strategies and actions necessary to restore and protect Puget Sound and to achieve the goals and objectives described in RCW 90.71.300;
     (e) Identify the agency, entity, or person responsible for completing the necessary strategies and actions, and potential sources of funding;     
     (f) ((Include prioritized actions)) Incorporate regional ecosystem recovery strategies adopted by regional alliances and the regional alliances' prioritized actions and may also include other prioritized actions identified through the assembled proposals from each of the seven action areas and the identification and assessment of ecosystem scale programs as provided in RCW 90.71.260;
     (g) Include specific actions to address aquatic rehabilitation zone one, as defined in RCW 90.88.010;
     (h) Incorporate any additional goals adopted by the council; and
     (i) Incorporate appropriate actions to carry out the biennial science work plan created in RCW 90.71.290.
     (2) In developing the action agenda and any subsequent revisions, the council shall, when appropriate, incorporate the following:
     (a) All updated regional ecosystem recovery strategies adopted by regional alliances;
     (b) Water quality, water quantity, sediment quality, watershed, marine resource, and habitat restoration plans created by governmental agencies, watershed groups, and marine and shoreline groups. The council shall consult with the board in incorporating these plans;
     (((b))) (c) Recovery plans for salmon, orca, and other species in Puget Sound listed under the federal endangered species act;
     (((c))) (d) Existing plans and agreements signed by the governor, the commissioner of public lands, other state officials, or by federal agencies; and
     (((d))) (e) Appropriate portions of the Puget Sound water quality management plan existing on July 1, 2007.
     (3) Until the action agenda is adopted, the existing Puget Sound management plan and the 2007-09 Puget Sound biennial plan shall remain in effect. The existing Puget Sound management plan shall also continue to serve as the comprehensive conservation and management plan for the purposes of the national estuary program described in section 320 of the federal clean water act, until replaced by the action agenda and approved by the United States environmental protection agency as the new comprehensive conservation and management plan.
     (4) The council shall adopt the action agenda by December 1, 2008. The council shall revise the action agenda as needed, and revise the implementation strategies every two years using an adaptive management process informed by tracking actions and monitoring results in Puget Sound. In revising the action agenda and the implementation strategies, the council shall consult the panel and the board and provide opportunity for public review and comment. Biennial updates shall:
     (a) Contain a detailed description of prioritized actions necessary in the biennium to achieve the goals, objectives, outcomes, and benchmarks of progress identified in the action agenda;
     (b) Identify the agency, entity, or person responsible for completing the necessary action; and
     (c) Establish biennial benchmarks for near-term actions.
     (5) The action agenda shall be organized and maintained in a single document to facilitate public accessibility to the plan.

Sec. 9   RCW 90.71.330 and 2007 c 341 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Any funding made available directly to the partnership from the Puget Sound recovery account created in RCW 90.71.400 and used by the partnership for loans, grants, or funding transfers to other entities shall be prioritized according to the action agenda developed pursuant to RCW 90.71.310. However, no less than forty-five percent of those funds must be distributed to regional alliances that have adopted regional recovery strategies.
     (2) The partnership shall condition, with interagency agreements, any grants or funding transfers to other entities from the Puget Sound recovery account to ensure accountability in the expenditure of the funds and to ensure that the funds are used by the recipient entity in the manner determined by the partnership to be the most consistent with the priorities of the action agenda. Any conditions placed on federal funding under this section shall incorporate and be consistent with requirements under signed agreements between the entity and the federal government.
     (3) If the partnership finds that the provided funding was not used as instructed in the interagency agreement, the partnership may suspend or further condition future funding to the recipient entity.
     (4) The partnership shall require any entity that receives funds for implementing the action agenda to publicly disclose and account for expenditure of those funds.

Sec. 10   RCW 90.71.340 and 2007 c 341 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The legislature intends that fiscal incentives and disincentives be used as accountability measures designed to achieve consistency with the action agenda by:
     (a) Ensuring that projects and activities in conflict with the action agenda are not funded;
     (b) Aligning environmental investments with strategic priorities of the action agenda; and
     (c) Using state grant and loan programs to encourage consistency with the action agenda.
     (2) The council shall adopt measures to ensure that funds appropriated for implementation of the action agenda and identified by proviso or specifically referenced in the omnibus appropriations act pursuant to RCW 43.88.030(1)(g) are expended in a manner that will achieve the intended results. In developing such performance measures, the council shall establish criteria for the expenditure of the funds consistent with the responsibilities and timelines under the action agenda, and require reporting and tracking of funds expended. The council may adopt other measures, such as requiring interagency agreements regarding the expenditure of provisoed or specifically referenced Puget Sound funds.
     (3) The partnership shall work with other state agencies providing grant and loan funds or other financial assistance for projects and activities that impact the health of the Puget Sound ecosystem under chapters 43.155, 70.105D, 70.146, 77.85, 79.105, 79A.15, 89.08, and 90.50A RCW to, within the authorities of the programs, develop consistent funding criteria that prohibits funding projects and activities that are in conflict with the action agenda.
     (4) The partnership shall develop a process and criteria by which entities that consistently achieve outstanding progress in implementing the action agenda are designated as Puget Sound partners. State agencies shall work with the partnership to revise their grant, loan, or other financial assistance allocation criteria to create a preference for entities designated as Puget Sound partners for funds allocated to the Puget Sound basin, pursuant to RCW 43.155.070, 70.105D.070, 70.146.070, 77.85.130, 79.105.150, 79A.15.040, 89.08.520, and 90.50A.040. This process shall be developed on a timeline that takes into consideration state grant and loan funding cycles.
     (5) In negotiating and accepting federal clean water act section 320 funds and other Puget Sound geographic federal funds, the partnership or another agency acting on behalf of the state of Washington shall include in its contract with the United States environmental protection agency a provision that ensures that no less than forty-five percent of the annual nontribal amount is to be distributed in regional allocations to regional alliances as provided for in this chapter.
     (6) Any entity that receives state funds to implement actions required in the action agenda shall report biennially to the council on progress in completing the action and whether expected results have been achieved within the time frames specified in the action agenda.