2741-S.E AMC CONF S5964.1

2741-S.E AMC CONF S5964.1

ESHB 2741 - CONF REPT

By Conference Committee

ADOPTED 3/10/94

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that:

(1) Long-term sustainable and economically productive watersheds are necessary for the well-being of the citizens of the state of Washington. The legislature also finds that there is a need to develop consensus regarding the beneficial economic and natural values which watersheds provide. The legislature further finds that watershed units are the appropriate geographic planning and implementation element for addressing the health and economic productivity of the state's natural resources;

(2) The ongoing efforts of public agencies and private parties in watershed planning and its implementation are having a far-reaching effect on lands and resources, and continued integrated and coordinated planning and its implementation is needed to achieve the most effective and efficient use of public funds;

(3) In times of decreasing revenues and increasing demands, it is critically important to ensure the efficient and effective use of scarce financial resources by avoiding overlap and duplication of effort among watershed-based planning and implementation efforts;

(4) The existing efforts implementing watershed-based planning are often complicated by multiple land ownerships, different management missions and objectives, different ways of collecting information, and legal constraints; and

(5) Many different entities, including federal, state, and local governments, tribes, private landowners, and other groups are conducting planning, research, implementation, and monitoring programs relating to watersheds. To the greatest extent possible, coordinated planning and its implementation should be based on these efforts.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The purpose of this act and the intent of the legislature is:

(1) That sections 3 through 5 of this act do not grant any new rule-making authority nor direct any substantive changes to existing management policies established pursuant to law;

(2) To provide mechanisms to make comprehensive watershed planning and implementation policy recommendations for consideration by the legislature;

(3) To encourage coordination and integration of existing state agency and private party watershed planning and implementation; and

(4) To develop a set of measurable objectives against which the effectiveness of watershed programs may be assessed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The watershed coordinating council is hereby established. The council shall be comprised of the commissioner of public lands or the commissioner's designee and the director or the director's designee or the secretary or the secretary's designee of the following agencies: The department of transportation, the department of agriculture, the department of ecology, the department of fish and wildlife, the department of health, the department of community, trade, and economic development, the interagency committee for outdoor recreation, the Puget Sound water quality authority, and the conservation commission. The members of the council shall coordinate their watershed planning and implementation activities. Meetings of the council shall be subject to the provisions of the open public meetings act.

(2) In conjunction with the council's efforts, the commissioner of public lands shall continue to coordinate the department of natural resources' landscape planning and implementation activities with landowners and other interested parties.

(3) The council shall coordinate its activities set forth in section 4 of this act with federal, tribal, and local governments.

(4) The directors of the departments of agriculture, fish and wildlife, and ecology and the commissioner of public lands shall organize meetings of the council and shall cooperatively ensure a reasonable level of staff support for the council and for the task force established in section 5 of this act.

(5) The watershed coordinating council shall expire on June 30, 1997.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. By December 15, 1994, the watershed coordinating council shall provide to the legislature a summary of all state agency watershed programs, plans, and ongoing activities on a watershed-by-watershed basis. The council shall also prepare a report of its recommendations for consideration by the legislature. The report of recommendations shall include:

(1) A recommended definition of the geographical unit for watershed planning and implementation processes, taking into account the relationships between smaller watersheds within larger watersheds and the relationships between adjacent watersheds;

(2) Recommendations for the establishment of common protocols governing data collection and analysis and for a central depository of information which could be used by all state agencies involved in watershed planning and implementation processes;

(3) Identification of data available from all existing sources regarding the condition of the state's watersheds;

(4) Identification of any barriers to state agency cooperation in watershed planning and implementation, and recommendations to overcome such barriers;

(5) Recommendations for minimizing duplication, segmentation, and overlap, and identification of proposals for improving efficiency in watershed planning and implementation; and

(6) Recommendations for new sources of funding and reallocation of existing state funding sources for watershed planning and implementation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) The legislature establishes the watershed policy task force to make recommendations on policies for the legislature to consider. The task force shall be established by May 1, 1994, and shall complete its tasks and report to the legislature by December 1, 1995. The task force shall expire on June 30, 1996.

(2) The watershed policy task force shall complete the following tasks:

(a) The development of recommendations for goals and measurable objectives for watersheds in the state of Washington. Such goals and measurable objectives shall recognize the unique characteristics and circumstances of each watershed. The goals and measurable objectives recommended shall address at least the following values inherent in watersheds: Fish and wildlife, water, beneficial economic uses of natural resources including timber and fish harvest and agricultural use, wetlands protection, employment, recreation, and educational opportunities;

(b) The identification of proposed strategies for establishing and funding locally or regionally based watershed planning and implementation activities which would help achieve the goals and measurable objectives proposed for adoption by the legislature;

(c) Identification of barriers to cooperation and possible incentives to encourage local governments, tribal governments, private landowners, and citizen participation in watershed planning and implementation;

(d) Recommendations for legislative policy changes to integrate state watershed planning and its implementation with land use planning and regulation responsibilities of local governments under the growth management act and other relevant acts; and

(e) Recommendations for coordination with student and citizen watershed protection efforts.

(3) Members may be appointed by May 1, 1994, to the task force as follows:

(a) The watershed coordinating council shall appoint four of its members to the task force;

(b) The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint two members to the task force, one from the majority party and one from the minority party;

(c) The president of the senate shall appoint two members to the task force, one from the majority party and one from the minority party; and

(d) The governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the president of the senate shall jointly appoint twelve additional members to the task force. The members so appointed shall be selected to represent each of the following interests: Small private forest landowners, large private forest landowners, agricultural interests east of the crest of the Cascade mountains, agricultural interests west of the crest of the Cascade mountains, commercial fishing, recreational fishing, labor interests from a natural resource related union, federally recognized Indian tribes, the environmental community (two members), cities, and counties. The task force shall encourage a representative from federal land resource management agencies to attend and participate in task force meetings.

(4) For the purposes of this section, "measurable objective" means a results-oriented objective against which general state goals and specific individual watershed goals can be evaluated as to current and continuing progress in meeting such goals."

ESHB 2741 - CONF REPT

By Conference Committee

ADOPTED 3/10/94

On page 1, line 2 of the title, after "planning;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "and creating new sections."