S-2116

AN ACT Relating to funding Puget Sound salmon recovery; adding a new chapter to Title 75 RCW; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. FINDINGS. (1) The legislature finds that salmon recovery in Washington state requires a state-wide strategy and actions that are tailored to the unique characteristics of each major watershed in the state.

(2) The legislature finds that:

(a) The Puget Sound region contributes significantly to the economic vitality and the natural resources of the state of Washington. The health and economic prosperity of the region depends on a high quality environment;

(b) Several species of salmon in Puget Sound are, or expected to be, listed as threatened or endangered under the federal endangered species act. At present, these species include chinook, chum, bull trout, and coho;

(c) One or more listings under the federal endangered species act have the potential to adversely affect nearly all aspects of the Puget Sound economy, and a comprehensive solution will require significant involvement of the private and public sectors; and

(d) The legislature recognizes that a critical pathways mechanism was established in 1998 to fund salmon habitat restoration. The legislature also recognizes that there is an extensive network of federal, state, local, and tribal rules and regulations to protect salmon habitat. In 1998, the legislature also established a comprehensive approach to setting priorities for individual watersheds through water resource inventory area planning.

(3) The legislature further finds that:

(a) Healthy salmon populations require a series of connected, high quality habitats to support their unique life cycle;

(b) An intensive, short-term effort to preserve quality habitat in Puget Sound is an essential next step if the region is to realize the benefits of the substantial ongoing investments made to protect and restore salmon habitat;

(c) Highly productive salmon habitat still exists in Puget Sound but is increasingly threatened by development and the manner in which land is managed. There is a high degree of agreement among scientists that preserving this remaining habitat is an essential action to protect salmon populations over the long term;

(d) While there are a number of public, nonprofit, and business entities involved in acquiring land or easements to preserve habitat, the lack of dedicated funding and a coordinated approach cause this effort to occur on a piecemeal basis;

(e) A private nongovernmental approach to preservation and restoration is necessary to increase business and landowner participation, garner public support, and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of habitat investments;

(f) Adding a focused private preservation and restoration strategy to the state's current effort of regulatory protection will provide the Puget Sound region with the tools and flexibility it needs to develop a comprehensive, regionally based strategy that implements watershed planning and conservation priorities and effectively responds to the federal endangered species act listings of salmon.

(4) The legislature declares that habitat preservation is an essential tool that must be used in concert with protection and restoration if salmon populations are to survive and thrive in Puget Sound. The legislature also declares that it is in the public interest to create a nonprofit foundation to guide private investments for preservation and restoration of high quality salmon habitat in Puget Sound.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. PURPOSE. The purpose of the Puget Sound salmon and river conservation program is to establish a network of key habitats that, in combination with existing regulatory and nonregulatory efforts, provides a stable base to support the long-term survival of salmon in Puget Sound. The purpose of the Puget Sound foundation is to guide private investments in the preservation and restoration of the remaining high quality salmon habitat throughout Puget Sound.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Puget Sound" means the twelve counties bordering Puget Sound.

(2) "Foundation" means the entity created in section 4 of this act.

(3) "Critical salmon habitat" means aquatic systems and surrounding land that meet the criteria in section 6 of this act.

(4) "Eligible grant recipients" includes tribes, local governments, state agencies, and nonprofit organizations.

(5) "Governor's salmon office" means the office established in RCW 75.46.040.

(6) "Eligible projects" means any project or action that serves to preserve, restore, or steward critical salmon habitat.

(7) "Preserve" means a nonregulatory action that facilitates permanent protection of critical salmon habitat and may include the purchase of development or timber rights, conservation easements, or fee simple title.

(8) "Restore" means an action to reestablish ecological conditions of critical salmon habitat, including but not limited to actions that restore key processes, functions, or structures that support salmon habitat.

(9) "Stewardship" means activities necessary to maintain the quality of habitat that has been acquired or restored for its benefits to salmon.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. THE PUGET SOUND FOUNDATION. (1) By September 1, 1999, the governor shall file articles of incorporation in accordance with the Washington nonprofit corporation act, chapter 24.03 RCW, to establish the Puget Sound foundation. The foundation shall not be an agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision of the state and shall not disburse public funds.

(2) The foundation shall have a board of directors consisting of eighteen members. Fourteen nonlegislative members shall be appointed by the governor and collectively have experience in business, conservation, tribal interests, or government. Initial appointments shall be made by September 30, 1999, and shall provide geographic representation from northern, central, southern, and the Hood canal areas of the Puget Sound region. The remaining four members shall be legislators representing each of the two major caucuses in both the house of representatives and the senate. The two members of the house of representatives shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and the two senate members shall be appointed by the president of the senate.

(3) Members other than legislative members shall serve three-year terms, except for the initial terms, which shall be staggered by the governor to achieve a balanced mix of terms on the board. Members may serve up to a maximum of three terms. At the end of a term, a member may continue to serve until a successor has been appointed. Terms for legislative members shall be two years.

(4) The foundation shall meet at least four times per year.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. POWERS AND DUTIES. (1) By December 1, 1999, the foundation shall establish a science panel.

(a) The science panel shall be composed of scientists from the Puget Sound region employed by or otherwise affiliated with universities, private industry, environmental organizations, local and state governments, and tribes.

(b) The science panel shall advise the foundation on the development of criteria to guide private salmon habitat investments and evaluate grant requests to preserve and restore salmon habitat in Puget Sound.

(2) The foundation shall identify high quality salmon habitats for preservation and associated opportunities for restoration generally as follows:

(a) Before February 1, 2000, the foundation shall compile an inventory of the remaining high quality habitats in Puget Sound. In preparing the inventory, the foundation shall consult the governor's salmon office, the science panel established in this section, the national marine fisheries service, water resource inventory area committees, tribes, Washington department of transportation, department of fish and wildlife, conservation commission, interagency committee for outdoor recreation, department of ecology, and department of natural resources, and local governments. The inventory shall be depicted in map form.

(b) A draft of the inventory shall be prepared by the foundation by February 1, 2000. No sooner than thirty days after the inventory is made publicly available, the foundation shall hold at least two public meetings to solicit comments.

(3) The foundation shall actively seek funding and contributions from private sources to fund the preservation and restoration of Puget Sound salmon habitat as provided in this chapter and in accordance with the applicable laws.

(4) The foundation shall develop supplemental criteria for guiding investments in the preservation and restoration of salmon habitat consistent with section 6 of this act.

(5) A competitive grant process shall be conducted at least annually by the foundation to award funds for preservation and restoration of high quality habitats in each water resource inventory area of Puget Sound.

(6) The results of preservation and restoration actions shall be monitored by the foundation to ensure long-term benefits to salmon and the preservation of a habitat network necessary for long-term survival of salmon. The foundation shall frequently publicize the Puget Sound salmon and river conservation program to the public and interested parties as well as the identified needs for further action.

(7) The foundation shall work with the salmon recovery funding board and the interagency review team, both provided for in chapter 75.46 RCW, to coordinate distribution of public and private funds to facilitate the best use of funds for preservation and restoration of high quality habitat.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. GRANT PROCESS AND SELECTION CRITERIA. (1) The foundation shall conduct a grant process at least annually beginning in February 2000. Grants shall be awarded consistent with the criteria developed by the foundation and shall be available for acquisition of development or timber rights, conservation easements, fee simple title, or other property interests. Grants shall also be available for restoration projects where the land is held in the public interest, there is a dedicated conservation easement, or the project is consistent with a long-term preservation, restoration, or stewardship agreement between affected private property owners and the grantee.

(2) The foundation shall award funds to eligible applicants for acquisition of habitat that best meet these criteria:

(a) The habitat is critical or has high potential to support important salmon runs;

(b) The habitat is likely to be degraded or threatened by conversion within the next ten years;

(c) The environmental conditions and protection programs in the surrounding watershed support the long-term quality of the habitat.

(3) In evaluating the importance of a salmon habitat the foundation shall consider:

(a) The size and cultural importance of the salmon run that the habitat supports or could reasonably support;

(b) The degree to which it provides key functions or processes that support the life cycle of the salmon in the fresh water or in estuarine environments;

(c) The size of the watershed and whether it is large enough to support the range and variability of conditions necessary to support freshwater life cycle needs for salmon; and

(d) The benefits to other wildlife and fish species.

(4) In evaluating the extent and immediacy of threat to habitat degradation, the foundation shall consider the extent to which:

(a) Current land use plans and zoning allow for alteration of the habitat or key watershed function;

(b) Current rules and regulations or approved habitat conservation plans allow for significant timber harvest, or modifications to the habitat or surrounding drainage area;

(d) Any pending development proposal consistent with local and state law has the potential to compromise the long-term quality of the habitat.

(5) In evaluating benefit of existing environmental conditions and protection programs in the surrounding watershed to provide long-term support for critical habitat, the foundation shall consider:

(a) The health of the watershed to provide sustainable populations of salmon;

(b) The ability of local regulations to prevent or significantly limit the degradation of the habitat from upland or upstream human disturbances;

(c) The existence of a watershed plan or approved habitat conservation plan that recognizes the functional importance of the habitat and how it is connected to key processes within the watershed that benefit salmon;

(d) The commitment of local community organizations to promote habitat preservation and restoration; and

(e) Local commitment for the long-term stewardship of the habitat.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS. In awarding grants over the ten-year period of the foundation, the foundation shall ensure to the maximum extent practicable that each water resource inventory area in the Puget Sound region receives grant funding for important preservation and restoration actions.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. (1) By July 1, 2000, the foundation shall establish performance measures to evaluate its progress toward its goal of establishing a network of high quality habitats capable of supporting healthy populations of salmon in Puget Sound.

(2) Beginning November 1, 2000, and every two years thereafter, the foundation shall submit a report to the governor's office and the appropriate standing committees of the legislature summarizing the foundation's:

(a) Progress to date based on the performance measures established under subsection (1) of this section;

(b) Success in leveraging private and in-kind funds;

(d) Expected results for the next two years.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. ANNUAL CONFERENCE. The foundation shall convene and host an annual conference, in consultation with the science panel established in section 5 of this act, to create an ongoing forum to ensure that the best available science is used to preserve high quality salmon habitats in Puget Sound.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. EXPIRATION OF CHAPTER. This chapter expires June 30, 2009.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. CAPTIONS NOT LAW. Captions used in this act are not any part of the law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. Sections 1 through 11 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 75 RCW.