READ FIRST TIME 02/16/07.   

     AN ACT Relating to the authority of a watershed management partnership to exercise powers of its forming governments; and adding a new section to chapter 39.34 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 39.34 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) As limited in subsection (3) of this section, a watershed management partnership formed or qualified under the authority of RCW 39.34.200 and 39.34.210, including a separate legal entity established by such a partnership to conduct the cooperative undertaking of the partnership under the same statutory authority, may exercise the power of eminent domain as provided in chapter 8.12 RCW.
     (2) The eminent domain authority granted under subsection (1) of this section may be exercised only for those utility purposes for which the watershed partnership was formed.
     (3) Subsection (1) of this section applies only to a watershed management partnership that:
     (a) Was formed or qualified before July 1, 2006, under the authority of RCW 39.34.200 and 39.34.210;
     (b) Is not engaged in planning or in implementing a plan for a water resource inventory area under the terms of chapter 90.82 RCW;
     (c) Is composed entirely of cities and water-sewer districts authorized to exercise the power of eminent domain in the manner provided by chapter 8.12 RCW; and
     (d) Is governed by a board of directors consisting entirely of elected officials from the cities and water-sewer districts that constitute the watershed management partnership.
     (4) A watershed management partnership exercising authority under this section shall report to the relevant legislative committees by July 1, 2010. The report shall address the status of the water system's project or projects, and the use, if any, of the authority granted in this section, including any use of the authority for the siting and construction of the system. The report shall also inform the legislature of efforts to inform and involve the public of the affected areas regarding siting and construction of system facilities.
     (5) A watershed management partnership exercising authority under this section shall:
     (a) Comply with the notice requirements of RCW 8.25.290; and
     (b) Provide notice to the city, town, or county with jurisdiction over the subject property by certified mail thirty days prior to the partnership board authorizing condemnation.