AN ACT Relating to drift area associations; adding new sections to chapter 75.28 RCW; creating a new section; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature recognizes that historically, members of snag unions on the Columbia river have removed obstructions and snags from the river bottom. This clearing of the river bottom is a recognized public service which benefits both the commercial and sports fisheries and helps keep the river free of navigational dangers. Areas of the Columbia river bottom cleared by snag union members have been historically and traditionally recognized as that union or association's area of drift and this custom has been recognized and honored on the Columbia river for over one hundred years.

The legislature therefore finds that an orderly and safe gillnet fishery on the Columbia river will be supported by the establishment of drift area associations.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout sections 2 through 7 of this act.

(1) "Drift area right" means a priority use by members of a drift area association, but does not exclude sport fishing interests, on an area of the Columbia river described in section 3 of this act and is based on a drift area association's improvement and maintenance of the river bed within an association's defined area.

(2) "Drift area association" means an organized group of at least three licensed gillnet fishers who participate in the improvement and maintenance of a defined drift area.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) Drift area rights may be established on the Columbia river downstream from a line projected between fishing boundary markers located four miles below Bonneville Dam to a line projected from Grays Point in Washington to Tongue Point in Oregon.

(2) Areas of the Columbia river as described in subsection (1) of this section, and not within a drift area association's defined area are not subject to this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) Drift area associations shall adopt by-laws that establish the criteria for membership including changes in membership. Each drift area association shall maintain a membership of at least three licensed gillnet fishers except for a drift association maintaining a drift area right of less than one-half mile in length. Such a drift area association shall maintain a membership of at least two licensed gillnet fishers. A drift area association obtains a drift area right upon registration. Only one drift area association may commercially fish on a designated drift area.

(2) A drift area association shall be responsible for improvement and maintenance of the river bed within the association's defined area, obtaining a snag permit for a defined area from the department. It shall be the responsibility of the drift area association to coordinate with commercial shipping and sport fishing interests for an orderly and cooperative use of the drift area.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The exclusive remedy for encroaching upon the drift area or interfering with snagging operations by a nonmember commercial fisher shall be a civil action brought by the drift area association.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) Drift area associations on the Columbia river recognized as of January 1, 1990, shall be recorded by the department and shall be maintained in a registry by the department under this chapter. A recognized drift area association may be established by the following:

(a) Records of the United States army corps of engineers that state the location, name, and membership of the drift area association;

(b) Drift areas currently recorded in county records in counties bordering the Columbia river in Washington and Oregon; or

(2) Any group of gillnet fishers registering as a recognized drift area association shall have the burden of establishing proof of their claim and shall register with the department within one year of the effective date of this act. The department shall provide notice of the registration requirement to all registered commercial fishers on the Columbia river. The department shall charge a reasonable fee to cover costs of administering this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) The department shall adopt rules for establishing drift area associations not recognized as of January 1, 1990.

(2) The department shall adopt rules for forfeiting drift area rights. Failure of a drift area association to maintain or to fish in a designated drift area for at least two years shall be evidence of abandonment of a drift area right that may then be forfeited. A group of gillnet fishers seeking to establish a drift area association on an abandoned drift area has the burden of establishing the abandonment.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Sections 2 through 7 of this act are each added to chapter 75.28 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. 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.