BILL REQ. #:  H-4819.1 

Read first time 01/24/08.   Referred to Committee on Ecology & Parks.

     AN ACT Relating to intertidal commercial geoduck aquaculture on state-owned aquatic lands; amending RCW 79.135.100; adding new sections to chapter 79.135 RCW; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that Puget Sound is a unique and vital resource to the state of Washington. Puget Sound provides unparalleled scenic, recreational fishing, tourism, and transportation opportunities. These opportunities enhance Washington's economy and the quality of life for all citizens of the state.
     The legislature further finds that, as manager of state-owned aquatic lands, the department of natural resources must provide a balance of public benefits for all citizens of the state. The department of natural resources must, by statute, manage aquatic lands to: Encourage direct public use and access; foster water-dependent uses; ensure environmental protection; utilize renewable resources; and generate revenue in a manner consistent with these management goals.
     Additionally, the legislature finds that the state has an obligation to be a good steward of Puget Sound so that future generations may enjoy the many benefits of this important natural resource. Therefore, the legislature intends to ensure that any leases of state-owned land for intertidal commercial geoduck aquaculture by the department of natural resources are consistent with protecting the resources of Puget Sound and providing a balance of benefits to Washington's citizens.

Sec. 2   RCW 79.135.100 and 2007 c 216 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) If state-owned aquatic lands are used for aquaculture production or harvesting, rents and fees shall be established through competitive bidding or negotiation.
     (2) After an initial twenty-three acres are leased, the department is prohibited from offering leases that would permit the intertidal commercial aquaculture of geoducks on more than fifteen acres of state-owned aquatic lands ((a [per])) per year until December 1, 2014.
     (3) Any intertidal leases entered into by the department for geoduck aquaculture must be conditioned in such a way that the department can engage in monitoring of the environmental impacts of the lease's execution, without unreasonably diminishing the economic viability of the lease, and that the lease tracts are eligible to be made part of the studies conducted under RCW 28B.20.475.
     (4) In addition to the general monitoring requirements of subsection (3) of this section, the department must designate appropriate intertidal commercial geoduck aquaculture leases for in-depth environmental monitoring. In-depth monitoring sites must constitute at least one-fifth of the state-owned aquatic acreage leased each year for the purpose of intertidal commercial geoduck aquaculture. The monitoring must be designed to evaluate the impacts of each different phase of intertidal commercial geoduck aquaculture on the environment, including site recovery following the completion of aquaculture activities. In order to effectively monitor site recovery, the department may not allow replanting of a site designated for in-depth environmental monitoring for at least ten years following an intertidal commercial geoduck harvest on that site.
     (5) The department must notify all abutting landowners and any landowner within three hundred feet of the lands to be leased of the intent of the department to lease any intertidal lands for the purposes of geoduck aquaculture.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 79.135 RCW under the subchapter heading "leasing for shellfish cultivation/aquaculture use" to read as follows:
     (1) When determining appropriate lease sites for intertidal commercial geoduck aquaculture on state-owned aquatic land, the department shall seek to:
     (a) Avoid impacts to landowners by leasing only sites with high banks or no or minimal upland residential development;
     (b) Avoid impacts to aquatic life by leasing only sites with no or minimal natural stock shellfish, eelgrass, spawning fish populations, and other aquatic life; and
     (c) Avoid impacts to recreation by leasing only sites with no or minimal recreational use on or above the aquatic lands.
     (2) If avoiding impacts under subsection (1) of this section is impracticable, the department must seek to minimize any impacts and to provide mitigation for any unavoidable impacts.
     (3) The department must develop detailed criteria for determining appropriate lease sites for intertidal commercial geoduck aquaculture on state-owned aquatic land. The criteria must be consistent with subsections (1) and (2) of this section. The department must provide this criteria to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2009.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 79.135 RCW under the subchapter heading "leasing for shellfish cultivation/aquaculture use" to read as follows:
     Before entering into any lease of state-owned aquatic land that would allow intertidal commercial geoduck aquaculture, the department must hold a public hearing in the county where the state-owned aquatic land, or the greatest proportion of the state-owned aquatic land, is located. The department must make every reasonable effort to hold the public hearing at a location near the proposed lease site. At least fifteen days, but not more than thirty days before the hearing, the department must publish a public notice of reasonable size in display advertising form, setting forth the date, time, and place of hearing, at least once in one or more daily newspapers of general circulation in the county or counties where the state-owned aquatic land is located. At the same time the published notice is given, the department must disseminate a news release pertaining to the hearing among printed and electronic media in the area where the state-owned aquatic land is located.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   This act applies only to state-owned aquatic lands and does not apply to privately owned lands.