BILL REQ. #:  S-4101.2 

Read first time 01/15/08.   Referred to Committee on Water, Energy & Telecommunications.

     AN ACT Relating to Puget Sound marine managed areas; amending RCW 90.71.010, 79.105.210, and 90.71.300; adding a new section to chapter 90.71 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 79.105 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 77.12 RCW; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that many state agencies and local governments administer marine protected areas, preserves, conservation areas, and other similar geographically based area designations that are a valuable means to protect and enhance Puget Sound's marine resources. The legislature further finds that the combination of climate change impacts and increased population and development in the Puget Sound basin will place further stresses upon sustaining the biological diversity and ecosystem health of Puget Sound.
     (2) It is the intent of the legislature that state and local actions intended to protect, conserve, and manage marine life and resources be conducted in a coordinated manner, utilize the best available science, consider the projected impacts on Puget Sound's marine areas from climate change, and contribute to the recovery of the Puget Sound's environmental health by 2020.
     (3) It is the purpose of this act to:
     (a) Create a strategic network of marine managed areas that contribute to conserving the biological diversity and ecosystem health of Puget Sound;
     (b) Strengthen the coordination of marine managed areas among multiple state agencies and local governments;
     (c) Provide for management and designation of marine managed areas programs on an ecosystem basis and to incorporate the best available scientific information into these programs;
     (d) Adopt a plan that builds a comprehensive system of marine managed areas, that adopts goals for maintaining the diversity of marine life and resources in Puget Sound, and that is based upon anticipated threats and stressors such as climate change impacts;
     (e) Recognize the interrelationship of the marine ecosystem throughout the Pacific Northwest, and the multiple entities, including local, state, provincial, and federal governments, as well as tribal governments and first nations, that are involved in managing marine managed areas; and
     (f) Adopt codified criteria and procedures applicable to the aquatic reserve program on state-owned aquatic lands.

Sec. 2   RCW 90.71.010 and 2007 c 341 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     ((Unless the context clearly requires otherwise,)) The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Action agenda" means the comprehensive schedule of projects, programs, and other activities designed to achieve a healthy Puget Sound ecosystem that is authorized and further described in RCW 90.71.300 and 90.71.310.
     (2) "Action area" means the geographic areas delineated as provided in RCW 90.71.260.
     (3) "Benchmarks" means measurable interim milestones or achievements established to demonstrate progress towards a goal, objective, or outcome.
     (4) "Board" means the ecosystem coordination board.
     (5) "Council" means the leadership council.
     (6) "Environmental indicator" means a physical, biological, or chemical measurement, statistic, or value that provides a proximate gauge, or evidence of, the state or condition of Puget Sound.
     (7) "Implementation strategies" means the strategies incorporated on a biennial basis in the action agenda developed under RCW 90.71.310.
     (8) "Marine managed area" means a named, discrete geographic marine or estuarine area designated by statute, ordinance, resolution, or administrative action, whose designation is intended to protect, conserve, or otherwise manage the marine life and resources within the area.
     (9) "Nearshore" means the area beginning at the crest of coastal bluffs and extending seaward through the marine photics zone, and to the head of tide in coastal rivers and streams. "Nearshore" also means both shoreline and estuaries.
     (((9))) (10) "Panel" means the Puget Sound science panel.
     (((10))) (11) "Partnership" means the Puget Sound partnership.
     (((11))) (12) "Plan" means the statewide marine managed areas plan developed under section 3 of this act.
     (13) "Puget Sound" means Puget Sound and related inland marine waters, including all salt waters of the state of Washington inside the international boundary line between Washington and British Columbia, and lying east of the junction of the Pacific Ocean and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the rivers and streams draining to Puget Sound as mapped by water resource inventory areas 1 through 19 in WAC 173-500-040 as it exists on July 1, 2007.
     (((12))) (14) "Puget Sound partner" means an entity that has been recognized by the partnership, as provided in RCW 90.71.340, as having consistently achieved outstanding progress in implementing the 2020 action agenda.
     (((13))) (15) "Watershed groups" means all groups sponsoring or administering watershed programs, including but not limited to local governments, private sector entities, watershed planning units, watershed councils, shellfish protection areas, regional fishery enhancement groups, marine ((resource[s])) resources committees including those working with the Northwest straits commission, nearshore groups, and watershed lead entities.
     (((14))) (16) "Watershed programs" means and includes all watershed-level plans, programs, projects, and activities that relate to or may contribute to the protection or restoration of Puget Sound waters. Such programs include jurisdiction-wide programs regardless of whether more than one watershed is addressed.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 90.71 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The partnership shall prepare a Puget Sound marine managed areas plan to coordinate and strengthen all of the marine managed areas programs managed by state agencies and local governments.
     (2) The chair of the council shall designate a work group for preparation of the plan. The work group shall include one or more members of the Puget Sound science panel, one of whom must chair the work group. The work group must include, but not be limited to, state agencies and local governments with regulatory jurisdiction over or that manage marine managed areas including, but not limited to, the department of natural resources, the department of fish and wildlife, and the department of ecology. The work group shall also include the state biodiversity council, created by executive order 04-02, or the biodiversity council's successor entity. The chair of the council shall also invite representatives of tribal governments, federal agencies, and cities and counties that have designated or have significant interests in the management of Puget Sound marine managed areas. The chair of the council may also invite representatives from other states and provinces and first nation and tribal governments with interests in marine managed areas in the Pacific Northwest to participate on the work group as observers.
     (3) The plan must include, but not be limited to:
     (a) Guidelines for incorporating the best available scientific information when designating and managing marine managed areas;
     (b) Guidelines for managing areas on an ecosystem basis and for coordinating multiple programs and areas within the same biogeographical regions to achieve ecosystem-based management;
     (c) Recommendations for adequate levels of funding for the designation, long-term management, and monitoring of the marine managed areas in the network;
     (d) Strategies to address the projected impacts to marine managed areas from population growth, existing and proposed upland and aquatic lands development, and storm water discharges to Puget Sound;
     (e) Strategies to prepare for and manage the impacts of climate change, including impacts due to sea level changes, salinity changes, water temperature, increased acidification, and changes in frequency and intensity of precipitation events affecting storm water discharges to marine waters;
     (f) An adaptive management component in which new information on the progress of implementing management goals for the individual marine managed areas and overall goals for all such areas, and climate change impacts may be considered and integrated into the designation and management of marine managed areas; and
     (g) Methodologies for synthesizing monitoring results with programmatic goals to inform decision making on subsequent designation and marine managed areas strategies.
     (4) The plan must also include comprehensive objectives for coordinating existing marine managed areas, revisions to existing areas, and designation of additional areas, in order to achieve a network of marine managed areas that will contribute to the long-term conservation of important biota and marine ecosystems. In developing the objectives the work group shall rely primarily upon existing plans and objectives relating to conservation of marine life in Puget Sound, and the program plans prepared by state agencies and local governments administering marine managed areas programs.
     (5) The plan must be completed by December 31, 2009, and submitted to the council for its review and approval. The plan must be incorporated into the Puget Sound action agenda adopted under RCW 90.71.310. The council shall provide for public review and comment on the plan in a manner comparable to the other provisions of the Puget Sound action agenda. The council, with the assistance of the work group, may amend the plan from time to time using public review and comment procedures comparable to that in revising other elements of the Puget Sound action agenda.

Sec. 4   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. When withdrawing lands from leasing for the purposes of managing an aquatic reserve, the department shall be guided by the procedures and criteria of section 5 of this act.
     (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.
     (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. 5   A new section is added to chapter 79.105 RCW under a new subchapter heading of "aquatic reserve system" to read as follows:
     (1) The aquatic reserve system is established. The aquatic reserve system is comprised of those areas of state-owned aquatic lands designated by the department prior to the effective date of this section and any areas added to the system by order of the commissioner thereafter.
     (2) State-owned aquatic lands that have one or more of the following characteristics may be included by order of the commissioner in the system as an aquatic reserve:
     (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.
     (3) The commissioner shall adopt procedures for submission of reserve nominations and for public participation in the review of proposed reserves. If a reserve no longer meets the goals and objectives for which it was designated, and adaptive management has not been successful to meet the goals and objectives, the commissioner may by order modify the reserve boundaries or remove the area from reserve status. The commissioner shall provide public participation procedures for the proposals.
     (4) In the designation and management of reserves within Puget Sound, as geographically defined in RCW 90.71.010, the commissioner shall be guided by the marine managed areas plan adopted under section 3 of this act. Within twenty-four months of the adoption of the marine managed areas plan under section 3 of this act, the department shall complete a review of existing management plans and pending reserve nominations for consistency with the guidelines and recommendations in the marine managed areas plan. The commissioner shall accord substantial weight to any recommendations provided by the Puget Sound partnership regarding the designation and management of reserves within Puget Sound.
     (5) Where the commissioner determines that management of the taking of fish, shellfish, or wildlife within or adjacent to the reserve would enhance the objectives for which the reserve has been created, the commissioner shall request that the fish and wildlife commission act pursuant to section 6 of this act to adopt supporting rules.
     (6) The aquatic reserve system must be coordinated with other marine managed areas and regulatory programs. The department shall cooperate with other state agencies and local governments to manage state-owned aquatic lands consistently with the management of uses and activities in the same geographic areas by state parks, the department of fish and wildlife, the department of ecology, and other state agencies. The department shall also provide recommendations to local governments in updating their shoreline master programs and in sponsoring local marine park reserves or voluntary stewardship areas to seek consistent planning and management activities in areas adjacent to designated reserves.
     (7) State agencies with authority over construction activities or water discharges in state waters or that otherwise implement programs that affect a designated reserve shall give special consideration to increasing protection and reducing and preventing pollution of these areas, consistent with the management objectives of the reserve.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   A new section is added to chapter 77.12 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The commission may adopt rules governing the taking of fish, shellfish, or wildlife within or adjacent to a designated aquatic reserve, or other marine managed areas. When requested by the commissioner of public lands to adopt such rules to support the purposes of an aquatic reserve designated by the department of natural resources, the commission shall act upon the request within one hundred eighty days.
     (2) This section is in addition to and does not limit the commission's authority to establish rules governing the taking of fish, shellfish, or wildlife under any other authority.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   The Puget Sound partnership shall provide the plan required by section 3 of this act to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2009, together with its recommendations for further policy legislation and budget recommendations to enhance Puget Sound marine managed areas programs.

Sec. 8   RCW 90.71.300 and 2007 c 341 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The action agenda shall consist of the goals and objectives in this section, implementation strategies to meet measurable outcomes, benchmarks, ((and)) identification of responsible entities, and the marine managed areas plan adopted under section 3 of this act. By 2020, the action agenda shall strive to achieve the following goals:
     (a) A healthy human population supported by a healthy Puget Sound that is not threatened by changes in the ecosystem;
     (b) A quality of human life that is sustained by a functioning Puget Sound ecosystem;
     (c) Healthy and sustaining populations of native species in Puget Sound, including a robust food web;
     (d) A healthy Puget Sound where freshwater, estuary, nearshore, marine, and upland habitats are protected, restored, and sustained;
     (e) An ecosystem that is supported by ground water levels as well as river and stream flow levels sufficient to sustain people, fish, and wildlife, and the natural functions of the environment;
     (f) Fresh and marine waters and sediments of a sufficient quality so that the waters in the region are safe for drinking, swimming, shellfish harvest and consumption, and other human uses and enjoyment, and are not harmful to the native marine mammals, fish, birds, and shellfish of the region.
     (2) The action agenda shall be developed and implemented to achieve the following objectives:
     (a) Protect existing habitat and prevent further losses;
     (b) Restore habitat functions and values;
     (c) Significantly reduce toxics entering Puget Sound fresh and marine waters;
     (d) Significantly reduce nutrients and pathogens entering Puget Sound fresh and marine waters;
     (e) Improve water quality and habitat by managing storm water runoff;
     (f) Provide water for people, fish and wildlife, and the environment;
     (g) Protect ecosystem biodiversity and recover imperiled species; and
     (h) Build and sustain the capacity for action.