S-1507

AN ACT Relating to state forest lands and municipal drinking water protection; creating new sections; making appropriations; providing an expiration date; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that protection of watershed sources of drinking water is required to assure maintenance of water quality, and also necessary to avoid very costly treatment technologies that may be required under federal safe drinking laws in the absence of adequate watershed protection. The legislature further finds that substantial tracts of state forest lands lie within watersheds that serve thousands of Washington citizens with drinking water through municipal water supply systems, and that the state should serve as a model in the management of its forest lands in a manner that protects drinking water sources.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) The department of natural resources shall review the adequacy of its management plans and standards for state forest lands lying within watersheds that are the source of supply for public water systems with ten thousand or more service connections. The objective of the review is to ensure that forest practice activities on such lands do not cause a degradation of the quality of source waters for such public water supply systems and do not cause hydrologic changes that could affect the supply volume reliability of the source waters for such systems.

(2) The department shall conduct the review in coordination with the departments of ecology and health. The department of ecology shall provide information on public water system withdrawal locations and watershed areas supplying source waters for such systems. The department of health shall provide information on state and federal drinking water standards and the applicability of these standards to water source conditions.

(3) The department shall involve the operators of public water systems having ten thousand or more service connections and relying on a substantial portion of their water supplies from a watershed in which ten percent or more of the watershed area are state trust lands. The system operators shall cooperate with the department in providing information on the system's source waters, including reliability and quality of supply, and customer usage of the source waters.

(4) The department shall seek substantial public participation in the review, including public review and comment upon a draft summary of the results of the review. The department may hold one or more public hearings in one or more of the watersheds subject to the review.

(5) The review required by this section shall be completed no later than January 1, 2001. On or before January 1, 2001, the department shall submit a report to the appropriate standing committees of the senate and the house of representatives summarizing the results of its review, including revised management planning and standards. The recommendations shall include strengthened management standards to ensure that municipal water supply sources are not degraded, and shall include procedures to involve municipal water supply systems in the development of management plans for state forest lands within municipal water supply watersheds. The report may include recommendations to the legislature for statutory or budgetary measures to meet the objectives of this act.

(6) This section expires January 31, 2001.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. Until July 1, 2001, the department and the board of natural resources shall postpone the harvest of state-owned forest land that lies within the watershed of the source water supply of one or more public water systems that cumulatively have more than ten thousand service connections, and that rely on that water source for fifty percent or more of their cumulative average annual water use. This section shall not apply to forest practices activities necessary to protect public health or safety or to respond to an emergency.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) The sum of thirty-five thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1999, from the general fund to the department of natural resources for the purposes of this act.

(2) The sum of forty thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2000, from the general fund to the department of natural resources for the purposes of this act.

(3) The department may provide funding through interagency agreement to the departments of ecology and health for the purposes of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. 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 takes effect immediately.