AN ACT Relating to safety in Washington navigable waters; amending RCW 75.24.100; adding a new section to chapter 75.10 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 49 RCW; making an appropriation; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Commercial" means related to or connected with buying, selling, bartering, or providing services, and includes related employment. Diving and harvesting, catching, taking, or killing shellfish in excess of the limits permitted for personal use is a commercial activity.

(2) "Commercial divers" include divers who harvest, catch, take, or kill shellfish in navigable waters.

(3) "Department" means the department of labor and industries.

(4) "Dive tender" means an individual stationed at the entry point of the commercial diver in the water, who maintains voice communication with the diver in the water, and who is knowledgeable in safe diving procedures and trained in emergency rescue procedures and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

(5) "Navigable waters" means all waters within the territorial limits of the state of Washington and includes those waters on inland lakes and rivers.

(6) "Person" means any individual engaged in commercial diving operations or any other commercial activities on navigable waters.

(7) "Vessel" means watercraft of every description both privately and publicly owned.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The department shall adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW providing health and safety standards for persons engaged in commercial activities or working on or within navigable waters or on vessels operating on or within navigable waters, and shall include safety requirements for such vessels, except for privately owned vessels that are inspected by the United States coast guard.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) All commercial divers and dive tenders shall obtain a Washington commercial diver's certificate issued by the department before commencing any commercial diving activity. Licenses shall be renewed annually.

(2) To obtain certification, commercial divers shall obtain a passing mark on the commercial diver's examination administered by the department. The required passing mark shall be eighty percent. The examination shall test the applicant's knowledge of general safety requirements, including but not limited to:

(a) Basic diving physics and physiology;

(b) Safe diving practices and procedures;

(d) Emergency management of diving accidents; and

(e) Recognition of decompression tables and repetitive diving procedures as set forth in the United States Navy diving manual.

(3) The department shall make available a study guide which may be used by persons who intend to take the commercial diver's examination.

(4) The department shall require that candidates for the examination display specific qualifications before taking the examination. Such qualifications may include but are not limited to:

(a) Proof of medical fitness, as verified within the previous twelve months;

(b) Proof of commercial diver training; and

(5) The department shall set dates, times, and locations for administering the commercial diver's examination.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The department shall prescribe fees to cover the cost of issuing and renewing certificates and developing and administering examinations under section 3 of this act. Fees shall be deposited in the industrial insurance trust funds and shall be used for carrying out section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Unless specifically provided otherwise by statute, this chapter and the rules adopted under this chapter shall be implemented and enforced, including penalties, violations, citations, appeals, and other administrative procedures, by the department pursuant to the Washington industrial safety and health act, chapter 49.17 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 75.10 RCW to read as follows:

Fisheries patrol officers who in the course of inspections authorized by RCW 75.10.020 discover violations or probable violations of chapter 49.-- RCW (sections 1 through 5 of this act) shall notify the department of labor and industries for investigation of the safety violation or probable safety violation.

Sec. 7. Section 2, chapter 80, Laws of 1984 and RCW 75.24.100 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The director may issue licenses, with the approval of the commissioner of public lands, for the commercial harvesting of geoduck clams from specific tracts of beds of navigable waters for which harvest rights have been granted by the department of natural resources. The director shall not authorize commercial harvesting on bottoms which are shallower than eighteen feet below mean lower low water (0.0. ft.), or which lie in an area bounded by the line of ordinary high tide (mean high tide) and a line two hundred yards seaward from and parallel to the line of ordinary high tide. If the director determines that the number of units of gear is sufficient to harvest the known available crop and that additional units of gear might prove damaging to the resource or its habitat, the director may suspend the issuance of additional licenses until the director determines there is need for additional units of gear to achieve a sustained harvest.

(2) Commercial geoduck harvesting shall be done with a hand-held, manually operated water jet or suction device guided and controlled from under water by a diver. Periodically, the director shall determine the effect of each type or unit of gear upon the geoduck population or the substrate they inhabit. The director may require modification of the gear or stop its use if it is being operated in a wasteful or destructive manner or if its operation may cause permanent damage to the bottom or adjacent shellfish populations.

(3) A person, including the person's agents or representatives, who holds a license under subsection (1) of this section shall comply with all applicable commercial diving safety regulations adopted by the ((federal occupational safety and health administration established under the federal occupational safety and health act of 1970 as such law exists on May 8, 1979 (84 Stat. 1590 et seq.; 29 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.). A violation of these regulations is a violation of this subsection. For the purposes of this section, persons who dive for geoducks are "employees" as defined by the federal occupational safety and health act)) department of labor and industries under chapter 49.-- RCW (sections 1 through 5 of this act). A violation of this subsection is grounds for suspension or revocation of the license following a hearing as provided for in chapter ((~~34.04~~)) 34.05 RCW. A license shall not be suspended or revoked if the violation has been corrected within ten days of receipt of written notice of the violation. ((If there is a substantial probability that a violation of the commercial diving standards could result in death or serious physical harm to a person engaged in harvesting geoduck clams, the department shall suspend the license immediately until the violation has been corrected. If the licensee is the holder of a tract license and contracts with another person for the harvesting of geoducks, the license shall not be suspended or canceled if the licensee terminates its business relationship with such entity until compliance with this subsection is secured.))

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Sections 1 through 5 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 49 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. The sum of .......... dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated to the department of labor and industries from the accident and medical aid funds in a ratio consistent with other department appropriations for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, to carry out the purposes of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.