H-4118.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 3024
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 56th Legislature 2000 Regular Session
By Representatives Mitchell, Fisher, Buck, Haigh, G. Chandler, Hurst, Radcliff, Ogden, Fortunato and Wood
Read first time 01/26/2000. Referred to Committee on Transportation.
AN ACT Relating to wetland preservation; and adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. It is the intent of the legislature to promote the use of wetland preservation as a compensatory mitigation option under appropriate circumstances, and to develop a state policy regarding the preservation of existing wetlands for compensatory mitigation credit. Preservation of existing high-quality wetlands can realize considerable mitigation cost savings by reducing or eliminating the need for site design work, site construction, plant materials and installation, and intensive postconstruction monitoring. Often, more acres of existing, high-quality natural wetlands can be purchased for preservation than could be created for the same amount of money.
Preserving existing wetlands also eliminates the uncertainty of success that accompanies created wetlands. Mature, functioning wetlands develop over long periods of time, achieving a level of quality that may be only attained by successful created wetlands after a period of decades. The temporal loss of habitat while a created wetland matures is completely avoided with wetland preservation.
The legislature acknowledges that exclusive or excessive use of wetland preservation as mitigation might lead to an overall net loss of wetlands in Washington state. Therefore, it is also the intent of the legislature to promote preservation as but one mitigation option of many, to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and used only to preserve those wetlands of the highest quality which may be threatened with degradation or destruction.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. For the purposes of this chapter:
(1) "Compensatory mitigation" means the act of replacing an impacted or destroyed wetland with a wetland of equal or greater function and/or acreage, as required by state and federal regulations and guidelines; and
(2) "No net loss" means the balance achieved when wetland function and acreage lost due to development is replaced by a wetland amount equal to that lost, a one-to-one replacement ratio.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The department of transportation shall colead the coordination of an interagency committee to develop a state policy for wetland preservation as compensatory mitigation and a memorandum of understanding to be signed by participating agencies.
(2) The department of transportation shall establish and cochair a committee of agencies involved in wetland protection, regulation, and mitigation.
(3) The committee shall include, but is not limited to, the state department of transportation, department of ecology, department of natural resources, department of fish and wildlife, parks and recreation commission, local agencies, and tribes, and the federal environmental protection agency, corps of engineers, fish and wildlife service, highway administration, and forest service.
(4) The committee shall report to the legislature on an annual basis as to the development of the state preservation policy and the status of the memorandum of understanding.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Sections 1 through 3 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.
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