HOUSE BILL REPORT

ESB 5156

BYSenators Thorsness, Warnke, McDonald, Cantu, Rasmussen, Metcalf, von Reichbauer, Gaspard and Barr

Providing for the Cedar river sockeye salmon enhancement program.

House Committe on Fisheries & Wildlife

Majority Report:  Do pass.  (10)

      Signed by Representatives R. King, Chair; Morris, Vice Chair; S. Wilson, Ranking Republican Member; Basich, Bowman, Brooks, Cole, Haugen, Smith and Spanel.

House Staff:Pamela Madson (786-7310)

Rereferred House Committee on Capital Facilities & Financing

Majority Report:  Do pass.  (13)

      Signed by Representatives H. Sommers, Chair; Rasmussen, Vice Chair; Schoon, Ranking Republican Member; Beck, Betrozoff, Bowman, Braddock, Bristow, Fraser, Jacobsen, Peery, Wang and Winsley.

House Staff:      Bill Robinson (786-7136)

AS PASSED HOUSE APRIL 6, 1989

BACKGROUND:

The City of Seattle constructed a diversion dam on the Cedar River at the turn of the century.  The Landsburg Dam, located at river mile 21.8, blocks approximately 13 miles of the Cedar River to spawning by anadromous fish species.

The sockeye run caught in Lake Washington originates in the Cedar River.  This run has fluctuated in size dramatically over the last several years.  In the last five years, a sport fishing season opened for that run in 1984 and 1988.  The 1988 catch was more than double the previous high catch of that species for Lake Washington.

Flooding is a threat to successful natural spawning and rearing in the river.  Flooding can scour out the spawning gravel or wash the young fish into the lake prematurely, resulting in less adult fish returning to the lake and the river.

The most frequently mentioned method of enhancing the sockeye run involves construction of a spawning channel in the Cedar River.  A proposal came before the Legislature during the 1988 session that would have appropriated $790,000 for that purpose.  The Department of Fisheries has proposed a pilot project spawning channel in the biennial budget for 1989-91.

SUMMARY:

A salmon spawning channel shall be constructed on the Cedar River to be known as a Washington State Centennial Salmon Venture.  Enhancement plans and construction designs will be developed by a technical committee under the guidance of a policy committee.  The Department of Fisheries (WDF) will chair both the technical committee and the policy committee.

The eight members on the technical committee include one representative each from the Department of Fisheries, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe; and four representatives from the public utility that diverts water from the Cedar River. The six member policy committee includes a state agency representative (WDF), the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, one federal agency representative (NMFS or USFWS), and three representatives of the public utility.

The policy committee will oversee the operation and evaluation of the channel to ensure that it meets specified production goals.  The policy committee continues its oversight until the production goals are met.

The production goals for the spawning channel are fry equivalent to the number produced by 262,000 adult salmon, and to the quality of those produced in the Cedar River.  Construction of the channel must begin by September 1, 1990 with the initial phase of construction capable of meeting 50 percent or more of the production goals.

If funding for the project including planning, design, evaluation, construction, and operation is provided by a public utility that diverts water from the Cedar River and the channel meets production goals, the project will serve as compensation for lost sockeye spawning habitat due to the Landsburg diversion.

The source of funding for operation and maintenance is interest earned on the principle balance of $2.5 million provided by the public utility and placed in the Cedar River Channel Construction and Operation Account in the state general fund.  Unused interest shall be added to the principle.  The state treasurer is authorized to invest the account funds.

All permits issued by state agencies and necessary for this project shall be expedited.

The Department of Fisheries shall seek immediate legal clarification of steps necessary to fully mitigate water diversion projects on the Cedar River if the requirements of this act are not met.

Fiscal Note:      Available.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    (Fisheries & Wildlife)  Senator Leo Thorsness, Prime Sponsor; Senator Jack Metcalf, Sponsor; Jay Rusling, Puget Sound Anglers; Madeline Mennella, citizen; Dr. Charles Wischman, citizen; Jack Ballard, Salmon Foundation; Ted Cowan, Washington Rivers Coalition and Washington State Sportsmen's Council; Robert Zuanich, Purse Seine Vessel Owners; Steve Arbaugh, Puget Sound Gillnetters; Gary Bloom, Salmon For Washington; Ed Manary, Department of Fisheries (with the exception of Sec. 7); and Bob Groncznack, Superintendent, Seattle Water Department (with the exception of Sec. 7).

(Capital Facilities & Financing)  Senator Leo Thorsness, prime sponsor; Steve Arbaugh, Puget Sound Gillnetters' Association; Ed Manary, Department of Fisheries (with the exception of section 7); Henry Yates, Seattle Water Department (with the exception of section 7); Jim King, Washington State Sportsman's Council.

House Committee - Testified Against:      (Fisheries & Wildlife)  None Presented.

(Capital Facilities & Financing)  None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    (Fisheries & Wildlife)  The Lake Washington sockeye run is a unique fish run in that it is located in a metropolitan area where 50 percent of the state's population lives within a one hour drive of Lake Washington.  The lake fishery allows a broad range of fishers to participate in a sport fishery.  The goal is to provide an annual sockeye fishing season.  This sockeye run would be enhanced by construction of a spawning channel paid for by the Seattle City water utility.  A spawning channel in a metropolitan area would provide an educational opportunity.  A process is established that includes the state, the City of Seattle, and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe to determine policy and technical details for the channel.

Negotiations have been ongoing among these parties for 18 months.  One area of disagreement is the level of responsibility for operation and maintenance of the channel.  The Department of Fisheries seeks full responsibility for operation and maintenance from the utility.  The City of Seattle Water Department seeks certainty of cost and the ability to negotiate the issue of full responsibility for operation and maintenance.

(Capital Facilities & Financing)  Same as Fisheries & Wildlife.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      (Fisheries & Wildlife)  None Presented.

(Capital Facilities & Financing)  None Presented.