READ FIRST TIME 02/07/08.   

     AN ACT Relating to establishing a pilot program to examine the impacts of small scale mineral prospecting on coastal areas; amending RCW 79A.05.165; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) Beginning July 1, 2008, the state parks and recreation commission and the department of fish and wildlife shall establish a pilot program to allow small scale prospecting and mining, as defined in RCW 77.55.011, on ocean beaches. The pilot program must be conducted from July 1, 2008, through July 1, 2010.
     (2) The state parks and recreation commission, in consultation with the department of fish and wildlife, shall establish at least three demonstration areas in appropriate beach areas in the Washington state seashore conservation area established for recreational use and enjoyment of the public by RCW 79A.05.605. The demonstration areas must be located between the southern border of Cape Disappointment state park and the southern border of the Quinault Indian reservation, and must allow small scale mineral prospecting for purposes of the pilot program. Each demonstration area must be:
     (a) Located in separate areas along the coast;
     (b) Located in an area suitable for small scale prospecting as determined by the state parks and recreation commission in consultation with persons interested in small scale prospecting and mining; and
     (c) Located in areas having minimal potential for damage to the beach environment, birds, shellfish, other beach marine life, fish habitat, and other recreational use.
     (3) The department of fish and wildlife shall use existing authority under chapter 77.55 RCW to issue individual hydraulic project approval permits for small scale prospecting within the demonstration areas established under subsection (2) of this section. The permits must require that small scale prospecting and mining activities occur, to the greatest extent possible, on the beach to minimize the removal of sand from the area.
     (4) The department of fish and wildlife shall monitor the compliance of small scale prospecting and mining activities with the permits issued for participation in the pilot program.
     (5) By October 1, 2010, the department of fish and wildlife shall report its findings and recommendations regarding small scale prospecting and mining on ocean beaches to the state parks and recreation commission. The department of fish and wildlife shall consider public input prior to finalizing their findings and recommendations.
     (6) The state parks and recreation commission and the department of fish and wildlife shall report their findings and recommendations on the potential impacts and the activity of small scale prospecting and mining on ocean beaches to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2010.

Sec. 2   RCW 79A.05.165 and 2007 c 441 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Every person is guilty of a misdemeanor who:
     (a) Cuts, breaks, injures, destroys, takes, or removes any tree, shrub, timber, plant, or natural object in any park or parkway except as authorized in section 1 of this act or in accordance with such rules as the commission may prescribe; or
     (b) Kills, or pursues with intent to kill, any bird or animal in any park or parkway except in accordance with a research pass, permit, or other approval issued by the commission, pursuant to rule, for scientific research purposes; or
     (c) Takes any fish from the waters of any park or parkway, except in conformity with such general rules as the commission may prescribe; or
     (d) Willfully mutilates, injures, defaces, or destroys any guidepost, notice, tablet, fence, inclosure, or work for the protection or ornamentation of any park or parkway; or
     (e) Lights any fire upon any park or parkway, except in such places as the commission has authorized, or willfully or carelessly permits any fire which he or she has lighted or which is under his or her charge, to spread or extend to or burn any of the shrubbery, trees, timber, ornaments, or improvements upon any park or parkway, or leaves any campfire which he or she has lighted or which has been left in his or her charge, unattended by a competent person, without extinguishing it; or
     (f) Places within any park or parkway or affixes to any object therein contained, without a written license from the commission, any word, character, or device designed to advertise any business, profession, article, thing, exhibition, matter, or event.
     (2)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, a person who violates any rule adopted, promulgated, or issued by the commission pursuant to the provisions of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor.
     (b) The commission may specify by rule, when not inconsistent with applicable statutes, that violation of the rule is an infraction under chapter 7.84 RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   This act expires December 1, 2010.