SSB 6011 -
By Select Committee on Puget Sound
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 79.105
RCW under the subchapter heading "other management provisions" to read
as follows:
(1) There is created the Maury Island aquatic reserve. The reserve
encompasses only state-owned tidelands and bedlands, except that the
department may include tidelands or shorelands contiguous to state
aquatic lands where the owner provides written permission for inclusion
of such lands in the reserve and states in writing an intent to sell or
donate the lands to the state in the future. The commissioner may
expand the reserve by administrative order designating additional
contiguous state-owned tidelands and bedlands, or by accepting written
permission by the owner of contiguous aquatic lands, where the
commissioner determines the lands in the designation or private owner
permission meet one or more of the following characteristics:
(a) The lands have been identified as having high priority for
conservation, natural systems, wildlife, and low-impact public use
values;
(b) The lands have flora, fauna, geological, recreational,
archaeological, cultural, scenic, or similar features of critical
importance and have retained to some degree or reestablished its
natural character;
(c) The lands provide significant examples of native ecological
communities; and
(d) The lands have significant sites or features threatened with
conversion to incompatible uses.
(2) The Maury Island aquatic reserve shall include the lands
designated by administrative order under subsection (1) of this
section, and the tidelands and bedlands surrounding Maury Island and
including Quartermaster Harbor in King county, as described in this
subsection:
The tidelands and bedlands of navigable waters, owned by the state
of Washington, described as follows:
Those tidelands and bedlands surrounding Maury Island, which are
fronting and abutting Section 14, Sections 20-23, inclusively, and
Sections 28-32, inclusively, Township 22 North, Range 3 East, W.M.;
Together with, those tidelands and bedlands lying westerly of said
Maury Island which are fronting and abutting only those portions of
Sections 9 and 16, which are fronting on Quartermaster Harbor, Township
22 North, Range 3 East, W.M.;
Together with, those tidelands and bedlands lying southerly of said
Maury Island, which are fronting and abutting Sections 5 and 6,
Township 21 North, Range 3 East, W.M.; and said reserve extends
waterward to a water depth of 70 feet below mean lower low water or
one-half mile from the line of extreme low tide, whichever line is
further waterward;
Those tidelands and bedlands lying southerly and easterly of Vashon
Island, which are fronting and abutting Section 1, Township 21 North,
Range 2 East, W.M.;
Together with, those tidelands and bedlands lying easterly of said
Vashon Island, which are fronting and abutting Sections 24, 25, and 36,
Township 22 North, Range 2 East, W.M.;
Together with, those tidelands and bedlands lying easterly of said
Vashon Island, which are fronting and abutting Sections 17-20,
inclusively, Township 22 North, Range 3 East, W.M.;
Together with, those tidelands and bedlands lying southerly and
westerly of said Vashon Island, which are fronting and abutting only
those portions of Section 8, which is fronting on Quartermaster Harbor,
Township 22 North, Range 3 East, W.M.; and said reserve extends
waterward to a water depth of 70 feet below mean lower low water or
one-half mile from the line of extreme low tide, whichever line is
further waterward.
(3) The department shall manage the Maury Island aquatic reserve
primarily for the achievement of the following goals:
(a) To conserve native habitats and associated plant and wildlife
species, with a special emphasis upon forage fish, salmonids, and
migratory birds;
(b) To protect and restore the functions and natural processes of
nearshore ecosystems in support of the natural resources of the
reserve;
(c) To promote stewardship of riparian and aquatic habitats and
species by providing education and outreach opportunities and promoting
coordination with other resource managers; and
(d) To provide for low-impact public uses including recreation uses
and improvements that do not adversely affect the resource values, are
appropriate to the maintenance of the lands in a relatively unmodified
natural setting, and do not detract from long-term ecological
processes.
(4) The department shall develop a management plan for the aquatic
reserve, and may incorporate an existing management plan and policies
previously adopted for the lands where consistent with the management
guidance of this section. The plan must identify the significant
resources to be conserved consistent with the purposes of this chapter
and identify the areas with potential for low-impact public uses. The
plan must specify what types of management activities and public uses
are permitted, consistent with the conservation purposes of this
chapter. The department shall make the plan available for review and
comment by the public and other state, tribal, and local agencies,
prior to final approval by the commissioner.
(5)(a) Until November 1, 2007, the department shall not authorize
any portion of the Maury Island aquatic reserve for industrial uses or
for transportation of materials from a surface mine or mining operation
as defined under RCW 78.44.031 or other industrial activities, and may
not authorize the construction of docks or other improvements
associated with these uses.
(b) Nothing in this section shall preclude any landowner from
initiating, continuing, or completing a land use permitting process for
aquatic lands or uplands affected by this section either before or
after November 1, 2007.
(c) After November 1, 2007, the department may authorize portions
of the Maury Island aquatic reserve for industrial uses or for
transportation of materials from a surface mine or mining operation and
may authorize the construction of docks or other improvements
associated with these uses only if the commissioner publishes formal
findings in the Washington State Register that:
(i) The proposed uses are fully permitted under all applicable
federal, state, and local laws;
(ii) There is an identified market demand for the mineral resources
located on the uplands adjacent to the Maury Island aquatic reserve
that cannot be reasonably accessed or transported in quantities
necessary to satisfy the demand without the construction of a dock or
other improvements;
(iii) There is not an existing portion of state-owned uplands
containing a comparable mineral resource with a significantly equitable
value to any mineral resources existing on upland parcels adjacent to
the Maury Island aquatic reserve, that is located in an area that would
allow for the extraction and waterborne transportation of the minerals
in a manner that provides less risk to the health of the state's
aquatic environment than extraction and transportation from the uplands
adjacent to the Maury Island aquatic reserve would create; and
(iv) The commissioner conducts at least one hearing on either
Vashon or Maury Island where the public can express concerns or make
recommendations.
Sec. 2 RCW 79.105.210 and 2005 c 155 s 143 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) The management of state-owned aquatic lands shall preserve and
enhance water-dependent uses. Water-dependent uses shall be favored
over other uses in state-owned aquatic land planning and in resolving
conflicts between competing lease applications. In cases of conflict
between water-dependent uses, priority shall be given to uses which
enhance renewable resources, water-borne commerce, and the navigational
and biological capacity of the waters, and to statewide interests as
distinguished from local interests.
(2) Nonwater-dependent use of state-owned aquatic lands is a low-priority use providing minimal public benefits and shall not be
permitted to expand or be established in new areas except in
exceptional circumstances where it is compatible with water-dependent
uses occurring in or planned for the area.
(3) The department shall consider the natural values of state-owned
aquatic lands as wildlife habitat, natural area preserve,
representative ecosystem, or spawning area prior to issuing any initial
lease or authorizing any change in use. The department may withhold
from leasing lands which it finds to have significant natural values,
or may provide within any lease for the protection of such values.
(4) The power to lease state-owned aquatic lands is vested in the
department, which has the authority to make leases upon terms,
conditions, and length of time in conformance with the state
Constitution and chapters 79.105 through 79.140 RCW. Leases,
easements, licenses, permits, rights-of-way, and any other agreements
allowing use of state-owned aquatic lands designated as an aquatic
reserve under section 1 of this act must conform with the management
criteria expressed in chapters 79.105 through 79.140 RCW and with
section 1 of this act.
(5) State-owned aquatic lands shall not be leased to persons or
organizations which discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed,
religion, sex, age, or physical or mental handicap.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 (1) It is the intent of the legislature that
the creation of the Maury Island aquatic reserve will not have a net
impact on the availability of construction material resources or an
economic impact on any private sector mineral operation. It is the
intent of the legislature, expressed through the implementation of this
section, for any existing mineral-extraction operations affected by the
creation of the Maury Island aquatic reserve to be offered compensation
in the form of an opportunity to transfer title of their land to the
state in exchange for land elsewhere with an equal or greater
extractable mineral resource.
(2)(a) By August 1, 2007, the department of natural resources shall
identify a portion of state-owned uplands containing a mineral resource
with a significantly equitable value to any mineral resources existing
on upland parcels adjacent to the Maury Island aquatic reserve created
in section 1 of this act, that is located in an area that would allow
for the extraction and transportation of the minerals in a manner that
provides less risk to the health of the state's aquatic environment
than extraction and transportation from the uplands adjacent to the
Maury Island aquatic reserve would create.
(b) In order to gather the information necessary to implement this
section, the department of natural resources shall work with the owner
or owners of the mineral resources existing on upland parcels adjacent
to the Maury Island aquatic reserve to allow the department of natural
resources to conduct an estimate of the value of the mineral resources
present.
(3) Within three months of the identification of a comparable
mineral resource under this section, the department of natural
resources shall, through any authorities, programs, or management
options available to it, make a good faith offer to transfer the
ownership of the identified parcel to the owner or owners of the
mineral resources existing on upland parcels adjacent to the Maury
Island aquatic reserve in exchange for the transfer to the state of
ownership of the mineral resources existing on upland parcels adjacent
to the Maury Island aquatic reserve.
(4) Any land transferred into state ownership under this section
must be managed in accordance with the trust status originally
applicable to the land for which ownership was transferred to the
former owner or owners of the mineral resources existing on upland
parcels adjacent to the Maury Island aquatic reserve. If this
management status is not appropriate for holding the upland parcels
adjacent to the Maury Island aquatic reserve in a conservation status,
then the department of natural resources shall pursue and prioritize
all available options to transfer the land into a state-owned
landholding status appropriate for conservation management.
(5) When the transfer of the identified parcel to the owner or
owners of the mineral resources existing on upland parcels adjacent to
the Maury Island aquatic reserve has been completed, all state agencies
and local subdivisions of the state shall provide a coordinated and
expedited permitting process to assist the owners or owners of the
transferred parcel in permitting a mineral extraction project on the
transferred parcel. The office of regulatory assistance is responsible
for overseeing and ensuring that the permitting process is coordinated
and expedited.
(6) The department of natural resources shall report to the
appropriate committees of the legislature by December 31, 2008, as to
the details of the land transfer completed under this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 The department shall prioritize
expenditures, within existing appropriations for the 2005-2007 and the
2007-2009 fiscal bienniums, from the resource management cost account
to implement this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 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."
Correct the title.