S-2194.3  _______________________________________________

                SECOND SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5536

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Spanel and Gardner)

Read first time 03/08/1999.

Creating a pilot project for a municipal watershed on state trust lands.

    AN ACT Relating to state forest lands and municipal drinking water protection; and amending RCW 79.01.128.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 79.01.128 and 1971  ex.s. c 234 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) In the management of public lands lying within the limits of any watershed over and through which is derived the water supply of any city or town, the department may alter its land management practices to provide water with qualities exceeding standards established for intrastate and interstate waters by the department of ecology:  PROVIDED, That if such alterations of management by the department reduce revenues from, increase costs of management of, or reduce the market value of public lands the city or town requesting such alterations shall fully compensate the department.

(2) The department shall initiate a pilot project for the municipal watershed delineated by the Lake Whatcom hydrographic boundaries to determine what factors need to be considered to achieve water quality standards beyond those required under chapter 90.48 RCW and what additional management actions can be taken on state trust lands that can contribute to such higher water quality standards.  The department shall establish an advisory committee consisting of a representative each of the city of Bellingham, Whatcom county, the Whatcom county water district 10, the department of ecology, the department of fish and wildlife, and the department of health, and three general citizen members to assist in this pilot project.

(3) The pilot project in subsection (2) of this section shall be completed by June 30, 2000.  The department shall defer all timber sales in the Lake Whatcom hydrographic boundaries until the pilot project is complete.

(4) The exclusive manner, notwithstanding any provisions of the law to the contrary, for any city or town to acquire by condemnation ownership or rights in public lands for watershed purposes within the limits of any watershed over or through which is derived the water supply of any city or town shall be to petition the legislature for such authority.  Nothing in this section, RCW 79.44.003 and chapter 79.68 RCW shall be construed to affect any existing rights held by third parties in the lands applied for.

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