[atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to mitigation of hydraulic continuity impact of ground water on surface water in processing ground water right applications; and amending RCW 90.44.070.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 90.44.070 and 1987 c 109 s 110 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) No permit shall be granted for the development or withdrawal of public ground waters beyond the capacity of the underground bed or formation in the given basin, district, or locality to yield such water within a reasonable or feasible pumping lift in case of pumping developments, or within a reasonable or feasible reduction of pressure in the case of artesian developments. The department shall have the power to determine whether the granting of any such permit will injure or damage any vested or existing right or rights under prior permits and may in addition to the records of the department, require further evidence, proof, and testimony before granting or denying any such permits.

(2) Any impact upon the flow or level of any surface water body that provides habitat for one or more salmonid stocks that are listed or proposed for listing as threatened or endangered under the federal endangered species act or with stocks listed as critical or depressed under the state salmon and steelhead inventory, or any surface water body that has flows regulated under chapter 90.22 RCW, which is likely to be caused specifically by the exercise of a water right permit issued after the effective date of this section, is subject to mitigation, using the best available science to determine as nearly as possible the actual amount of impact and effective long-term measures to mitigate the impact.

(a) Mitigation measures prescribed must be in direct proportion to the impact caused and may include any combination of the following in addition to any other measures deemed effective by the department:

(i) Stream flow augmentation to replace measured or calculated loss of water during periods specified under chapter 90.22 RCW, from an impacted surface water body as a result of a ground water permit, and subsequent ground water certificate, issued after the effective date of this section. Such water will be returned to the impacted water body at a time and at a point that is both economically feasible and that has the required mitigating effect on stream flows;

(ii) Stream or watershed restoration, installation of vegetation or runoff controls, preservation or restoration of wetlands, ground water recharge area preservation or restoration, replacement of a water source that has a direct hydraulic connection with a surface water body with an alternative source that has a lesser or delayed impact upon the impacted water body, or any other mitigation measures or combination of measures agreed upon by the department and the applicant for a water right;

(iii) Adoption of policies and programs designed to obviate construction of new or reduction of existing exempt wells withdrawing from the specific aquifers that contribute directly to the flow or level of any surface water body that provides habitat for one or more salmonid stocks that are listed or proposed for listing as threatened or endangered under the federal endangered species act or with stocks listed as critical or depressed under the state salmon and steelhead inventory.

(b) Mitigation undertaken under the interlocal agreement shall include:

(i) The provision for long-term assurance that mitigation measures will be maintained and effective for the duration of the water right; and

(ii) Enforcement measures through application of financial penalty, injunction, or other remedy provided by law.

(c) Mitigation measures shall be subject to evaluation regarding their effectiveness on an annual basis and may be modified, as necessary, by joint agreement between the department and the water right holder to maintain the agreed standard of performance.