AN
ACT Relating to flood plain management; amending RCW 86.16.041; and declaring
an emergency.
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
86.16.041 and 1989 c 64 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
Beginning July 26, 1987, every county and incorporated city and town shall
submit to the department of ecology any new flood plain management ordinance or
amendment to any existing flood plain management ordinance. Such ordinance or
amendment shall take effect thirty days from filing with the department unless
the department disapproves such ordinance or amendment within that time period.
(2)
The department may disapprove any ordinance or amendment submitted to it under
subsection (1) of this section if it finds that an ordinance or amendment does
not comply with any of the following:
(a)
Restriction of land uses within designated floodways including the prohibition
of construction or reconstruction, repair, or replacement of residential
structures, except for: (i) Repairs, reconstruction, or improvements to
a structure which do not increase the ground floor area; and (ii) repairs,
reconstruction, or improvements to a structure the cost of which does not
exceed fifty percent of the market value of the structure either, (A) before
the repair, reconstruction, or repair is started, or (B) if the structure has
been damaged, and is being restored, before the damage occurred. Work done on
structures to comply with existing health, sanitary, or safety codes or to
structures identified as historic places shall not be included in the fifty
percent determination. However, the floodway prohibition in this subsection
does not apply to existing farmhouses in designated floodways that meet the
provisions of subsection (3) of this section;
(b)
The minimum requirements of the national flood insurance program; and
(c)
The minimum state requirements adopted pursuant to RCW 86.16.031(8) that are
applicable to the particular county, city, or town.
(3)
Repairs, reconstruction, replacement, or improvements to existing farmhouse
structures located in designated floodways and which are located on lands
designated as agricultural lands of long-term commercial significance under RCW
36.70A.170 shall be permitted subject to the following:
(a)
The new farmhouse is a replacement for an existing farmhouse on the same farm
site;
(b)
There is no potential building site for a replacement farmhouse on the same
farm outside the designated floodway;
(c)
Repairs, reconstruction, or improvements to a farmhouse shall not increase the
total square footage of encroachment of the existing farmhouse;
(d)
A replacement farmhouse shall not exceed the total square footage of
encroachment of the structure it is replacing;
(e)
A farmhouse being replaced shall be removed, in its entirety, including
foundation, from the floodway within ninety days after occupancy of a new
farmhouse;
(f)
For substantial improvements, and replacement farmhouses, the elevation of the
lowest floor of the improvement and farmhouse respectively, including basement,
is one foot higher than the base flood elevation;
(g)
New and replacement water supply systems are designed to eliminate or minimize
infiltration of flood waters into the system;
(h)
New and replacement sanitary sewerage systems are designed and located to
eliminate or minimize infiltration of flood water into the system and discharge
from the system into the flood waters; and
(i)
All other utilities and connections to public utilities are designed,
constructed, and located to eliminate or minimize flood damage.
(4)
Replacement home siting other than farmhouses must evaluate flood depth, flood
velocity, and flood-related erosion, in order to identify a building site that
offers the least risk of harm to life and property.
(5)
For all other residential structures located in a designated floodway and damaged
by flooding or flood-related erosion, the department is authorized to assess
the risk of harm to life and property posed by the specific conditions of the
floodway, and, based upon scientific analysis of depth, velocity, and
flood-related erosion, may exercise best professional judgment in recommending
to the permitting authority, repair, replacement, or relocation of such damaged
structures. The effect of the department's recommendation to allow repair or
replacement of a flood-damaged residence within the designated floodway is a
waiver of the floodway prohibition.
(6)
The department shall develop a rule or rule amendment guiding the assessment
procedures and criteria described in subsections (3), (4), and (5) of this
section no later than December 31, 1999.
(7)
For the purposes of this section, "farmhouse" means a single-family
dwelling locating on a farm site where resulting agricultural products are not
produced for the primary consumption or use by the occupants and the farm
owner.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 2. 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.
