AN
ACT Relating to small forest landowners; amending RCW 76.13.110, 76.13.120, and
76.13.140; and adding a new section to chapter 76.09 RCW.
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
76.13.110 and 2001 c 280 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
The department of natural resources shall establish and maintain a small forest
landowner office. The small forest landowner office shall be a resource and
focal point for small forest landowner concerns and policies, and shall have
significant expertise regarding the management of small forest holdings,
governmental programs applicable to such holdings, and the forestry riparian
easement program.
(2)
The small forest landowner office shall administer the provisions of the
forestry riparian easement program created under RCW 76.13.120. ((With
respect to that program, the office shall have the authority to contract with
private consultants that the office finds qualified to perform timber cruises
of forestry riparian easements or to lay out streamside buffers and comply with
other forest and fish regulatory requirements related to the forest riparian
easement program.))
(3)
The small forest landowner office shall assist in the development of small
landowner options through alternate management plans or alternate harvest
restrictions appropriate to small landowners. The small forest landowner
office shall develop criteria to be adopted by the forest practices board in
rules and a manual for alternate management plans or alternate harvest
restrictions. These alternate plans or alternate harvest restrictions shall
meet riparian functions while requiring less costly regulatory prescriptions.
At the landowner's option, alternate plans or alternate harvest restrictions
may be used to further meet riparian functions.
The
small forest landowner office shall evaluate the cumulative impact of such
alternate management plans or alternate harvest restrictions on essential
riparian functions at the subbasin or watershed level. The small forest
landowner office shall adjust future alternate management plans or alternate
harvest restrictions in a manner that will minimize the negative impacts on
essential riparian functions within a subbasin or watershed.
(4)
An advisory committee is established to assist the small forest landowner
office in developing policy and recommending rules to the forest practices
board. The advisory committee shall consist of seven members, including a
representative from the department of ecology, the department of fish and
wildlife, and a tribal representative. Four additional committee members shall
be small forest landowners who shall be appointed by the commissioner of public
lands from a list of candidates submitted by the board of directors of the
Washington farm forestry association or its successor organization. The association
shall submit more than one candidate for each position. The commissioner
shall designate two of the initial small forest landowner appointees to serve
five-year terms and the other two small forest landowner appointees to serve
four-year terms. Thereafter, appointees shall serve for a term of four
years. The small forest landowner office shall review draft rules or rule
concepts with the committee prior to recommending such rules to the forest
practices board. The office shall reimburse nongovernmental committee members
for reasonable expenses associated with attending committee meetings as
provided in RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
(5)
By December 1, 2002, the small forest landowner office shall provide a report
to the board and the legislature containing:
(a)
Estimates of the amounts of nonindustrial forests and woodlands in holdings of
twenty acres or less, twenty-one to one hundred acres, one hundred to one
thousand acres, and one thousand to five thousand acres, in western Washington
and eastern Washington, and the number of persons having total nonindustrial
forest and woodland holdings in those size ranges;
(b)
Estimates of the number of parcels of nonindustrial forests and woodlands held
in contiguous ownerships of twenty acres or less, and the percentages of those
parcels containing improvements used: (i) As primary residences for half or
more of most years; (ii) as vacation homes or other temporary residences for
less than half of most years; and (iii) for other uses;
(c)
The watershed administrative units in which significant portions of the
riparian areas or total land area are nonindustrial forests and woodlands;
(d)
Estimates of the number of forest practices applications and notifications
filed per year for forest road construction, silvicultural activities to
enhance timber growth, timber harvest not associated with conversion to
nonforest land uses, with estimates of the number of acres of nonindustrial
forests and woodlands on which forest practices are conducted under those applications
and notifications; and
(e)
Recommendations on ways the board and the legislature could provide more
effective incentives to encourage continued management of nonindustrial forests
and woodlands for forestry uses in ways that better protect salmon, other fish
and wildlife, water quality, and other environmental values.
(6)
By December 1, 2004, and every four years thereafter, the small forest
landowner office shall provide to the board and the legislature an update of
the report described in subsection (5) of this section, containing more recent
information and describing:
(a)
Trends in the items estimated under subsection (5)(a) through (d) of this
section;
(b)
Whether, how, and to what extent the forest practices act and rules contributed
to those trends; and
(c)
Whether, how, and to what extent: (i) The board and legislature implemented
recommendations made in the previous report; and (ii) implementation of or
failure to implement those recommendations affected those trends.
Sec.
2. RCW
76.13.120 and 2001 c 280 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
The legislature finds that the state should acquire easements along riparian
and other sensitive aquatic areas from small forest landowners willing to sell
or donate such easements to the state provided that the state will not be
required to acquire such easements if they are subject to unacceptable
liabilities. The legislature therefore establishes a forestry riparian
easement program.
(2)
The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section and RCW
76.13.100 and 76.13.110 unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(a)
"Forestry riparian easement" means an easement covering qualifying
timber granted voluntarily to the state by a small forest landowner.
(b)
"Qualifying timber" means those trees covered by a forest practices
application that the small forest landowner is required to leave unharvested
under the rules adopted under RCW 76.09.055 and 76.09.370 or that is made
uneconomic to harvest by those rules, and for which the small landowner is
willing to grant the state a forestry riparian easement. "Qualifying
timber" is timber within or bordering a commercially reasonable harvest
unit as determined under rules adopted by the forest practices board, or timber
for which an approved forest practices application for timber harvest cannot be
obtained because of restrictions under the forest practices rules.
(c)
"Small forest landowner" means a landowner meeting all of the
following characteristics: (i) A forest landowner as defined in RCW 76.09.020
whose interest in the land and timber is in fee or who has rights to the timber
to be included in the forestry riparian easement that extend at least fifty
years from the date the forest practices application associated with the
easement is submitted; (ii) an entity that has harvested from its own lands in
this state during the three years prior to the year of application an average
timber volume that would qualify the owner as a small ((timber))
harvester under RCW ((84.33.073(1))) 84.33.035; and (iii) an
entity that certifies at the time of application that it does not expect to
harvest from its own lands more than the volume allowed by RCW ((84.33.073(1)))
84.33.035 during the ten years following application. If a landowner's
prior three-year average harvest exceeds the limit of RCW ((84.33.073(1)))
84.33.035, or the landowner expects to exceed this limit during the ten
years following application, and that landowner establishes to the department
of natural resources' reasonable satisfaction that the harvest limits were or
will be exceeded to raise funds to pay estate taxes or equally compelling and
unexpected obligations such as court-ordered judgments or extraordinary medical
expenses, the landowner shall be deemed to be a small forest landowner.
For
purposes of determining whether a person qualifies as a small forest landowner,
the small forest landowner office, created in RCW 76.13.110, shall evaluate the
landowner under this definition as of the date that the forest practices
application is submitted or the date the landowner notifies the department that
the harvest is to begin with which the forestry riparian easement is
associated. A small forest landowner can include an individual, partnership,
corporate, or other nongovernmental legal entity. If a landowner grants timber
rights to another entity for less than five years, the landowner may still
qualify as a small forest landowner under this section. If a landowner is
unable to obtain an approved forest practices application for timber harvest
for any of his or her land because of restrictions under the forest practices
rules, the landowner may still qualify as a small forest landowner under this
section.
(d)
"Completion of harvest" means that the trees have been harvested from
an area and that further entry into that area by mechanized logging or slash
treating equipment is not expected.
(3)
The department of natural resources is authorized and directed to accept and
hold in the name of the state of Washington forestry riparian easements granted
by small forest landowners covering qualifying timber and to pay compensation
to such landowners in accordance with subsections (6) and (7) of this section.
The department of natural resources may not transfer the easements to any
entity other than another state agency.
(4)
Forestry riparian easements shall be effective for fifty years from the date
the forest practices application associated with the qualifying timber is
submitted to the department of natural resources, unless the easement is
terminated earlier by the department of natural resources voluntarily, based on
a determination that termination is in the best interest of the state, or under
the terms of a termination clause in the easement.
(5)
Forestry riparian easements shall be restrictive only, and shall preserve all
lawful uses of the easement premises by the landowner that are consistent with
the terms of the easement and the requirement to protect riparian functions
during the term of the easement, subject to the restriction that the leave
trees required by the rules to be left on the easement premises may not be cut
during the term of the easement. No right of public access to or across, or
any public use of the easement premises is created by this statute or by the
easement. Forestry riparian easements shall not be deemed to trigger the
compensating tax of or otherwise disqualify land from being taxed under chapter
84.33 or 84.34 RCW.
(6)
Upon application of a small forest landowner for a riparian easement that is
associated with a forest practices application and the landowner's marking of
the qualifying timber on the qualifying lands, the small forest landowner
office shall determine the compensation to be offered to the small forest
landowner as provided for in this section. The small forest landowner office
shall also determine the compensation to be offered to a small forest landowner
for qualifying timber for which an approved forest practices application for
timber harvest cannot be obtained because of restrictions under the forest
practices rules. The legislature recognizes that there is not readily
available market transaction evidence of value for easements of this nature,
and thus establishes the following methodology to ascertain the value for
forestry riparian easements. Values so determined shall not be considered
competent evidence of value for any other purpose.
The
small forest landowner office shall establish the volume of the qualifying
timber. Based on that volume and using data obtained or maintained by the
department of revenue under RCW 84.33.074 and 84.33.091, the small forest
landowner office shall attempt to determine the fair market value of the
qualifying timber as of the date the forest practices application associated
with the qualifying timber was submitted or the date the landowner notifies the
department that the harvest is to begin. ((If, under the forest practices
rules adopted under chapter 4, Laws of 1999 sp. sess., some qualifying timber
may be removed prior to the expiration of the fifty-year term of the easement,
the small forest landowner office shall apply a reduced compensation factor to
ascertain the value of those trees based on the proportional economic value,
considering income and growth, lost to the landowner)) Removal of any
qualifying timber before the expiration of the easement must be in accordance
with the forest practices rules and the terms of the easement. There shall be
no reduction in compensation for reentry.
(7)
Except as provided in subsection (8) of this section, the small forest
landowner office shall, subject to available funding, offer compensation to the
small forest landowner in the amount of fifty percent of the value determined
in subsection (6) of this section, plus the compliance and reimbursement
costs as determined in accordance with RCW 76.13.140. If the landowner accepts
the offer for qualifying timber that will be harvested pursuant to an approved
forest practices application, the department of natural resources shall pay the
compensation promptly upon (a) completion of harvest in the area covered by the
forestry riparian easement; (b) verification that there has been compliance
with the rules requiring leave trees in the easement area; and (c) execution
and delivery of the easement to the department of natural resources. If the
landowner accepts the offer for qualifying timber for which an approved forest
practices application for timber harvest cannot be obtained because of
restrictions under the forest practices rules, the department of natural
resources shall pay the compensation promptly upon (i) verification that there
has been compliance with the rules requiring leave trees in the easement area;
and (ii) execution and delivery of the easement to the department of natural
resources. Upon donation or payment of compensation, the department of natural
resources may record the easement.
(8)
For approved forest practices applications where the regulatory impact is
greater than the average percentage impact for all small landowners as
determined by the department of natural resources analysis under the regulatory
fairness act, chapter 19.85 RCW, the compensation offered will be increased to
one hundred percent for that portion of the regulatory impact that is in excess
of the average. Regulatory impact includes trees left in buffers, special
management zones, and those rendered uneconomic to harvest by these rules. A separate
average or high impact regulatory threshold shall be established for western
and eastern Washington. Criteria for these measurements and payments shall be
established by the small forest landowner office.
(9)
The forest practices board shall adopt rules under the administrative procedure
act, chapter 34.05 RCW, to implement the forestry riparian easement program,
including the following:
(a)
A standard version or versions of all documents necessary or advisable to
create the forestry riparian easements as provided for in this section;
(b)
Standards for descriptions of the easement premises with a degree of precision
that is reasonable in relation to the values involved;
(c)
Methods and standards for cruises and valuation of forestry riparian easements
for purposes of establishing the compensation. The department of natural
resources shall perform the timber cruises of forestry riparian easements
required under this chapter and chapter 76.09 RCW. Any rules concerning the
methods and standards for valuations of forestry riparian easements shall apply
only to the department of natural resources, small forest landowners, and the
small forest landowner office;
(d)
A method to determine that a forest practices application involves a
commercially reasonable harvest, and adopt criteria for entering into a forest
riparian easement where a commercially reasonable harvest is not possible or a
forest practices application that has been submitted cannot be approved because
of restrictions under the forest practices rules;
(e)
A method to address blowdown of qualified timber falling outside the easement
premises;
(f)
A formula for sharing of proceeds in relation to the acquisition of qualified
timber covered by an easement through the exercise or threats of eminent domain
by a federal or state agency with eminent domain authority, based on the
present value of the department of natural resources' and the landowner's
relative interests in the qualified timber;
(g)
High impact regulatory thresholds;
(h)
A method to determine timber that is qualifying timber because it is rendered
uneconomic to harvest by the rules adopted under RCW 76.09.055 and 76.09.370;
and
(i)
A method for internal department of natural resources review of small forest
landowner office compensation decisions under subsection (7) of this section.
Sec.
3. RCW
76.13.140 and 2001 c 280 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
In
order to assist small forest landowners to remain economically viable, the
legislature intends that the small forest landowners be able to net fifty
percent of the value of the trees left in the buffer areas. The amount of
compensation offered in RCW 76.13.120 shall also include the compliance costs
for participation in the riparian easement program. For purposes of this
section, "compliance costs" includes the cost of preparing and
recording the easement, and any business and occupation tax and real estate
excise tax imposed because of entering into the easement. The office may
contract with private consultants that the office finds qualified to perform
timber cruises of forestry riparian easements or to lay out streamside buffers
and comply with other forest and fish regulatory requirements related to the
forest riparian easement program. The department shall reimburse small forest
landowners for the actual costs incurred for laying out the streamside buffers
and marking the qualifying timber once a contract has been executed for the
forestry riparian easement program. Reimbursement is subject to the work being
acceptable to the department. The small forest landowner office shall
determine how the reimbursement costs will be calculated.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 4. A
new section is added to chapter 76.09 RCW to read as follows:
The
legislature intends that small forest landowners have access to alternate plan
processes or alternate harvest restrictions, or both if necessary, that meet
the public resource protection standard set forth in RCW 76.09.370(3), but
which also lowers the overall cost of regulation to small forest landowners
including, but not limited to, timber value forgone, layout costs, and
operating costs. The forest practices board shall consult with the small
forest landowner office advisory committee in developing these alternate
approaches. By July 1, 2003, the forest practices board shall provide the
legislature with a written report that describes the board's progress in
developing alternate plan processes or alternate harvest restrictions, or both
if necessary, that meet legislative intent.
As
used in this section, "small forest landowner" has the same meaning
as defined in RCW 76.13.120(2).
