AN ACT Relating to the frequency of Puget Sound action agenda implementation strategy and science work plan updates; amending RCW 90.71.010, 90.71.280, 90.71.290, and 90.71.310; and adding a new section 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.

(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 on a ((biennial)) quadrennial 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 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 watershed-level plans, programs, projects, and activities that relate to or may contribute to the protection or restoration of Puget Sound waters. Such programs include jurisdiction-wide programs regardless of whether more than one watershed is addressed.

Sec. 2.  RCW 90.71.280 and 2009 c 99 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The panel shall:

(a) Assist the council, board, and executive director in carrying out the obligations of the partnership, including preparing and updating the action agenda;

(b) As provided in RCW 90.71.290, assist the partnership in developing an ecosystem level strategic science program that:

(i) Addresses monitoring, modeling, data management, and research; and

(ii) Identifies science gaps and recommends research priorities;

(c) Develop and provide oversight of a competitive peer-reviewed process for soliciting, strategically prioritizing, and funding research and modeling projects;

(d) Develop and implement an appropriate process for peer review of monitoring, research, and modeling conducted as part of the strategic science program;

(e) Provide input to the executive director in developing ((biennial)) quadrennial implementation strategies; and

(f) Offer an ecosystem-wide perspective on the science work being conducted in Puget Sound and by the partnership.

(2) The panel should collaborate with other scientific groups and consult other scientists in conducting its work. To the maximum extent possible, the panel should seek to integrate the state-sponsored Puget Sound science program with the Puget Sound science activities of federal agencies, including working toward an integrated research agenda and Puget Sound science work plan.

(3) By July 31, 2008, the panel shall identify environmental indicators measuring the health of Puget Sound, and recommend environmental benchmarks that need to be achieved to meet the goals of the action agenda. The council shall confer with the panel on incorporating the indicators and benchmarks into the action agenda.

Sec. 3.  RCW 90.71.290 and 2007 c 341 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The strategic science program shall be developed by the panel with assistance and staff support provided by the executive director. The science program may include:

(a) Continuation of the Puget Sound assessment and monitoring program, as provided in RCW 90.71.060, as well as other monitoring or modeling programs deemed appropriate by the executive director;

(b) Development of a monitoring program, in addition to the provisions of RCW 90.71.060, including baselines, protocols, guidelines, and quantifiable performance measures, to be recommended as an element of the action agenda;

(c) Recommendations regarding data collection and management to facilitate easy access and use of data by all participating agencies and the public; and

(d) A list of critical research needs.

(2) The strategic science program may not become an official document until a majority of the members of the council votes for its adoption.

(3) A Puget Sound science update shall be developed by the panel with assistance and staff support provided by the executive director. The panel shall submit the initial update to the executive director by April 2010, and subsequent updates as necessary to reflect new scientific understandings. The update shall:

(a) Describe the current scientific understanding of various physical attributes of Puget Sound;

(b) Serve as the scientific basis for the selection of environmental indicators measuring the health of Puget Sound; and

(c) Serve as the scientific basis for the status and trends of those environmental indicators.

(4) The executive director shall provide the Puget Sound science update to the Washington academy of sciences, the governor, and appropriate legislative committees, and include:

(a) A summary of information in existing updates; and

(b) Changes adopted in subsequent updates and in the state of the Sound reports produced pursuant to RCW 90.71.370.

(5) A ((biennial)) quadrennial science work plan shall be developed by the panel, with assistance and staff support provided by the executive director, and approved by the council. The ((biennial)) quadrennial science work plan shall include, at a minimum:

(a) Identification of recommendations from scientific and technical reports relating to Puget Sound;

(b) A description of the Puget Sound science-related activities being conducted by various entities in the region, including studies, models, monitoring, research, and other appropriate activities;

(c) A description of whether the ongoing work addresses the recommendations and, if not, identification of necessary actions to fill gaps;

(d) Identification of specific ((biennial)) quadrennial science work actions to be done over the course of the work plan, and how these actions address science needs in Puget Sound; and

(e) Recommendations for improvements to the ongoing science work in Puget Sound.

Sec. 4.  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 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)) quadrennial 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) 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) Recovery plans for salmon, orca, and other species in Puget Sound listed under the federal endangered species act;

(c) Existing plans and agreements signed by the governor, the commissioner of public lands, other state officials, or by federal agencies;

(d) 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)) four 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)) Quadrennial updates shall:

(a) Contain a detailed description of prioritized actions necessary in the ((biennium)) quadrennial time period 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)) quadrennial 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.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5.  A new section is added to chapter 90.71 RCW to read as follows:

Nothing in this chapter may be construed to relieve the partnership of the need to provide a written report to the legislature each biennium pursuant to RCW 90.71.370(3), which must also include references to ongoing science-related activities and monitoring efforts that inform the findings of the report.

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