H‑0673.2 _____________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 1447
_____________________________________________
State of Washington 57th Legislature 2001 Regular Session
By Representatives Wood, Fisher, Cooper, Hankins, Schoesler, DeBolt, Doumit, Hatfield, Linville, Ogden and Murray
Read first time 01/25/2001. Referred to Committee on Transportation.
_1 AN ACT Relating to environmental mitigation of transportation
_2 projects; and amending RCW 47.12.330.
_3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
_4 Sec. 1. RCW 47.12.330 and 1998 c 181 s 2 are each amended to read
_5 as follows:
_6 For the purpose of environmental mitigation of transportation
_7 projects, the department may acquire or develop, or both acquire
_8 and develop, environmental mitigation sites in advance of the
_9 construction of programmed projects, or in response to
10 programmatic agreements with resource agencies that include but
11 are not limited to chronic repair obligations, emergency
12 maintenance practices, and retrofit projects. The term "advanced
13 environmental mitigation" means mitigation of adverse impacts upon
14 the environment from transportation projects before their design
15 and construction. Advanced environmental mitigation consists of the
16 acquisition of property; the acquisition of property, water, or
17 air rights; the development of property for the purposes of
18 improved environmental management; engineering costs necessary for
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_1 such purchase and development; and the use of advanced
_2 environmental mitigation sites to fulfill project environmental
_3 permit requirements. Advanced environmental mitigation must be
_4 conducted in a manner that is consistent with the definition of
_5 mitigation found in the council of environmental quality
_6 regulations (40 C.F.R. Sec. 1508.20) ((and)),
the governor's
_7 executive order on wetlands (EO 90-04), and the alternative
_8 mitigation policy guidance interagency implementation agreement,
_9 as signed on February 10, 2000, by the Washington state
10 departments of ecology, fish and wildlife, and
11 transportation. Advanced environmental mitigation is for projects
12 approved by the transportation commission as part of the state's
13 six-year plan or included in the state highway system
14 plan. Advanced environmental mitigation must give consideration to
15 activities related to fish passage, fish habitat, wetlands, and
16 flood management. Advanced environmental mitigation may also be
17 conducted in partnership with federal, state, or local government
18 agencies, tribal governments, interest groups, or private
19 parties. Partnership arrangements may include joint acquisition and
20 development of mitigation sites, purchasing and selling mitigation
21 bank credits among participants, and transfer of mitigation site
22 title from one party to another. Specific conditions of partnership
23 arrangements will be developed in written agreements for each
24 applicable environmental mitigation site. Advanced mitigation
25 opportunities can be identified in programmatic agreements between
26 the department of transportation and other state agencies. For the
27 purposes of this section, programmatic agreements are regulatory
28 instruments that respond to the need to streamline permitting
29 processes, conduct required mitigation and address permit
30 conditions on a watershed-ecosystem function basis, and optimize
31 environmental benefits. Specific conditions of a programmatic
32 agreement will be developed in written agreement for applicable
33 mitigation sites. All regulating state agencies are to work
34 cooperatively with the department of transportation to develop and
35 implement programmatic agreements to reduce mitigation costs of
36 projects and improve permit streamline activities to achieve
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_1 delivery of the state transportation system in the most effective
_2 and efficient manner possible.
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