AN
ACT Relating to the protection of archaeological sites; amending RCW 27.53.020,
27.53.060, and 27.53.080; adding a new section to chapter 27.53 RCW; creating a
new section; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 1. The
purpose of this act is to give the department of community, trade, and economic
development the authority to issue civil penalties to enforce the provisions of
permits issued under RCW 27.53.060 and to take into consideration prior
penalties issued under chapter 27.53 RCW and under comparable federal laws when
issuing permits. Additionally, this act provides guidance to state agencies
and political subdivisions of the state when approving archaeological
activities on public lands.
Sec.
2. RCW
27.53.020 and 1986 c 266 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:
The
discovery, identification, excavation, and study of the state's archaeological
resources, the providing of information on archaeological sites for their
nomination to the state and national registers of historic places, the
maintaining of a complete inventory of archaeological sites and collections,
and the providing of information to state, federal, and private construction
agencies regarding the possible impact of construction activities on the
state's archaeological resources, are proper public functions; and the ((Washington
archaeological research center)) office of archaeology and historic
preservation, created under the authority of chapter 39.34 RCW ((as now
existing or hereafter amended)), is hereby designated as an appropriate
agency to carry out these functions. The director, in consultation with the ((Washington
archaeological research center)) office of archaeology and historic
preservation, shall provide guidelines for the selection of depositories
designated by the state for archaeological resources. The legislature directs
that there shall be full cooperation amongst the department, the ((Washington
archaeological research center)) office of archaeology and historic
preservation, and other agencies of the state.
Sec.
3. RCW
27.53.060 and 1989 c 44 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
On the private and public lands of this state it shall be unlawful for any
person, firm, corporation, or any agency or institution of the state or a
political subdivision thereof to knowingly remove, alter, dig into, or excavate
by use of any mechanical, hydraulic, or other means, or to damage, deface, or
destroy any historic or prehistoric archaeological resource or site, or remove
any archaeological object from such site, except for Indian graves or cairns,
or any glyptic or painted record of any tribe or peoples, or historic graves as
defined in chapter 68.05 RCW, disturbances of which shall be a class C felony
punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW, without having obtained a written permit
from the director for such activities.
(2)
The director must obtain the consent of the private or public property owner or
agency responsible for the management thereof, prior to issuance of the
permit. The property owner or agency responsible for the management of such
land may condition its consent on the execution of a separate agreement, lease,
or other real property conveyance with the applicant as may be necessary to
carry out the legal rights or duties of the public property landowner or
agency.
(3)
The director, in consultation with the affected tribes, shall develop
guidelines for the issuance and processing of permits.
(4)
Such written permit and any agreement or lease or other conveyance required by
any public property owner or agency responsible for management of such land
shall be physically present while any such activity is being conducted.
(5)
The provisions of this section shall not apply to the removal of artifacts
found exposed on the surface of the ground which are not historic
archaeological resources or sites.
(6)
When determining whether to grant or condition a permit, the director may give
great weight to the final record of previous civil or criminal penalties
against either the applicant, the parties responsible for conducting the work,
or the parties responsible for carrying out the terms and conditions of the
permit, either under this chapter or under comparable federal laws. If the
director denies a permit, the applicant may request a hearing as provided for
in chapter 34.05 RCW.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 4. A
new section is added to chapter 27.53 RCW to read as follows:
(1)
Persons found to have violated this chapter, either by a knowing and willful
failure to obtain a permit where required under RCW 27.53.060 or by a knowing
and willful failure to comply with the provisions of a permit issued by the
director where required under RCW 27.53.060, in addition to other remedies as
provided for by law, may be subject to one or more of the following:
(a)
Reasonable investigative costs incurred by a mutually agreed upon independent
professional archaeologist investigating the alleged violation;
(b)
Reasonable site restoration costs; and
(c)
Civil penalties, as determined by the director, in an amount of not more than
five thousand dollars per violation.
(2)
Any person incurring the penalty may file an application for an adjudicative
proceeding and may pursue subsequent review as provided in chapter 34.05 RCW
and applicable rules of the department of community, trade, and economic
development.
(3)
Any penalty imposed by final order following an adjudicative proceeding becomes
due and payable upon service of the final order.
(4)
The attorney general may bring an action in the name of the department in the
superior court of Thurston county or of any county in which the violator may do
business to collect any penalty imposed under this chapter and to enforce
subsection (5) of this section.
(5)
Any and all artifacts in possession of a violator shall become the property of
the state until proper identification of artifact ownership may be determined
by the director.
(6)
Penalties overturned on appeal entitle the appealing party to fees and other
expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, as provided in RCW 4.84.350.
Sec.
5. RCW
27.53.080 and 1986 c 266 s 19 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
Qualified or professional archaeologists, in performance of their duties, ((are
hereby authorized to)) may enter upon public lands of the state of
Washington and its political subdivisions after first notifying the entity
responsible for managing those public lands, at such times and in such
manner as not to interfere with the normal management thereof, for the purposes
of doing archaeological resource location and evaluation studies, including
site sampling activities. The results of such studies shall be provided to
the state agency or political subdivision responsible for such lands and the
office of archaeology and historic preservation and are confidential unless the
director, in writing, declares otherwise. Scientific excavations are to be
carried out only after appropriate agreement has been made between a
professional archaeologist or an institution of higher education and the agency
or political subdivision responsible for such lands. ((Notice)) A
copy of such agreement shall be filed with the ((Washington
archaeological research center)) office of archaeology and historic
preservation and by them to the department.
(2)
Amateur societies may engage in such activities by submitting and having
approved by the responsible agency or political subdivision a written proposal
detailing the scope and duration of the activity. Before approval, a proposal
from an amateur society shall be submitted to the ((Washington
archaeological research center)) office of archaeology and historic
preservation for review and recommendation. The approving agency or
political subdivision shall impose conditions on the scope and duration of the
proposed activity necessary to protect the archaeological resources and ensure
compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. The findings and
results of activities authorized under this section shall be made known to the
approving agency or political subdivision approving the activities and to the
office of archaeology and historic preservation.
