AN ACT Relating to the financing of flood control projects; and amending RCW 86.26.040, 86.26.050, 86.26.090, and 86.26.100.

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

Sec. 1. Section 6, chapter 240, Laws of 1951 as last amended by section 63, chapter 36, Laws of 1988 and RCW 86.26.040 are each amended to read as follows:

Whenever state grants under this chapter are used in a flood control maintenance project, the engineer of the county, city, or town within which the project is located shall approve all plans for the specific project and shall supervise the work. The approval of such plans, construction and expenditures by the department of ecology, in consultation with the department of fisheries and the department of wildlife, shall be a condition precedent to state participation in the cost of any project beyond planning and designing the specific project.

Additionally, state grants may be made to counties, cities, or towns for preparation of a comprehensive flood control management plan required to be prepared under RCW 86.26.050.

Sec. 2. Section 7, chapter 240, Laws of 1951 as last amended by section 64, chapter 36, Laws of 1988 and RCW 86.26.050 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) State participation shall be in such preparation of comprehensive flood control management plans and flood control maintenance projects as are affected with a general public and state interest, as differentiated from a private interest, and as are likely to bring about public benefits commensurate with the amount of state funds allocated thereto.

(2) No participation for flood control maintenance projects may occur with a county or other municipal corporation unless the director of ecology has approved the flood plain management activities of the county, city, or town having planning jurisdiction over the area where the flood control maintenance project will be, on the one hundred year flood plain surrounding such area.

The department of ecology shall adopt rules concerning the flood plain management activities of a county, city, or town that are adequate to protect or preclude flood damage to structures, works, and improvements, including the restriction of land uses within a river's meander belt or floodway to only flood-compatible uses. Whenever the department has approved county, city, and town flood plain management activities, as a condition of receiving an allocation of funds under this chapter, each revision to the flood plain management activities must be approved by the department of ecology, in consultation with the department of fisheries and the department of wildlife.

No participation with a county or other municipal corporation for flood control maintenance projects may occur unless the county, city, or town engineer of the county within which the flood control maintenance project is located certifies that a comprehensive flood control management plan has been completed and adopted by the appropriate local authority, or is being prepared for all portions of the river basin or other area, within which the project is located in that county, that are subject to flooding with a frequency of one hundred years or less.

(3) Participation for flood control maintenance projects and preparation of comprehensive flood control management plans shall be made from grants made by the department of ecology from the flood control assistance account. Comprehensive flood control management plans, and any revisions to the plans, must be approved by the department of ecology, in consultation with the department of fisheries and the department of wildlife.

Sec. 3. Section 11, chapter 240, Laws of 1951 as amended by section 7, chapter 212, Laws of 1984 and RCW 86.26.090 are each amended to read as follows:

The state shall participate with eligible local authorities in maintaining and restoring the normal and reasonably stable river and stream channel alignment and the normal and reasonably stable river and stream channel capacity for carrying off flood waters with a minimum of damage from bank erosion or overflow of adjacent lands and property; and in restoring, maintaining, and repairing natural conditions, works, and structures for the maintenance of such conditions. The state shall likewise participate in the restoration and maintenance of natural conditions, works or structures for the protection of lands and other property from inundation or other damage by the sea or other bodies of water. The state may participate in financing additions to existing levees to provide a level of flood protection equal to a five-year frequency flood, plus one foot or to a level of flood protection determined by the county, city, or town engineer to be consistent with the comprehensive flood control management plan or, if the plan is not completed, so far as can be ascertained. Funds from the flood control assistance account shall not be available for maintenance of works or structures maintained solely for the detention or storage of flood waters.

Sec. 4. Section 12, chapter 240, Laws of 1951 as last amended by section 4, chapter 46, Laws of 1986 and RCW 86.26.100 are each amended to read as follows:

State participation in the cost of any flood control maintenance project shall be provided for by a written memorandum agreement between the director of ecology and the legislative authority of the county, city, or town submitting the request, which agreement, among other things, shall state the estimated cost and the percentage thereof to be borne by the state. In no instance, except on emergency projects, shall the state's share exceed one-half the cost of the project, to include project planning and design. However, grants to prepare a comprehensive flood control management plan required under RCW 86.26.050 shall not exceed seventy-five percent of the full planning costs, but not to exceed amounts for either purpose specified in rule and regulation by the department of ecology.