BILL REQ. #: H-0907.1
State of Washington | 63rd Legislature | 2013 Regular Session |
Read first time 02/01/13. Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources.
AN ACT Relating to helping to ensure the viability of small forest landowners; amending RCW 76.13.130 and 76.13.120; adding a new section to chapter 76.13 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 (1) The legislature finds that providing for
long-term stewardship of nonindustrial forests and woodlands in
projected growth areas and rural areas is an important factor in
maintaining Washington's special character and quality of life.
(2) The legislature further finds that in order to encourage and
maintain nonindustrial forests and woodlands for their present and
future benefit to all citizens, Washington's nonindustrial forest and
woodland owners' long-term commitments to stewardship of forest
resources must be recognized and supported by the citizens of
Washington.
(3) The legislature further finds that the adoption of forest
practices rules consistent with the forests and fish report, as defined
in RCW 76.09.020, has imposed substantial financial burdens on small
forest landowners.
(4) The legislature further finds that forest practices rules
adopted since the forests and fish report have not provided small
forest landowners with the alternate plan processes or alternate
harvest restrictions that were intended by the legislature to lower the
overall cost of regulation to small forest landowners while meeting the
public resource protection standard set forth in RCW 76.09.370(3).
(5) The legislature further finds that in order to maintain the
economic viability of eighty-nine thousand family forest owners
managing five million acres of forestland across the state, small
forest landowners must be provided with incentives to keep their land
in long-term forestry. The legislature intends to provide regulatory
certainty and remove disincentives in order to encourage ownership
tenure for generations to come.
Sec. 2 RCW 76.13.130 and 1999 sp.s. c 4 s 505 are each amended to
read as follows:
((On parcels)) (1) Except as provided in section 3 of this act on
harvest units of twenty contiguous acres or less, small forest
landowners ((with a total parcel ownership of less than eighty acres)),
as that term is defined in RCW 76.13.120, shall not be required to
leave riparian buffers adjacent to streams according to forest
practices rules adopted under the forests and fish report as defined in
RCW 76.09.020. These landowners shall be subject to the permanent
forest practices rules in effect as of January 1, 1999, but may
additionally be required to leave timber adjacent to streams that is
equivalent to no greater than fifteen percent of a volume of timber
contained in a stand of well managed fifty-year old commercial timber
covering the harvest area. The additional fifteen percent leave tree
level shall be computed as a rotating stand volume and shall be
regulated through flexible forest practices as the stream buffer is
managed over time to meet riparian functions.
(2) On parcels of twenty contiguous acres or less the small forest
landowner office shall work with landowners with a total parcel
ownership of less than eighty acres to develop alternative management
plans for riparian buffers. Such alternative plans shall provide for
the removal of leave trees as other new trees grow in order to ensure
the most effective protection of critical riparian function. The
office may recommend reasonable modifications in alternative management
plans of such landowners to further reduce risks to public resources
and endangered species so long as the anticipated operating costs are
not unreasonably increased and the landowner is not required to leave
a greater volume than the threshold level. To qualify for the
provisions of this section, parcels must be twenty acres or less in
contiguous ownership, and owners cannot have ownership interests in a
total of more than eighty acres of forest lands within the state.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 A new section is added to chapter 76.13 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The department of natural resources must monitor all harvests
conducted by small forest landowners under the authority provided in
RCW 76.13.130 and its associated rules and provide an annual report to
the forest practices board on the miles of stream negatively impacted
by these harvests. If the department's annual report concludes that
more than ten percent of a watershed administrative unit, as that term
is defined by WAC 222-16-010 as it existed on the effective date of
this section, is negatively impacted by harvests permitted under RCW
76.13.130, then no further harvests will be allowed in that watershed
administrative unit under the rules associated with RCW 76.13.130 until
the forest practices board decides that further harvest is appropriate.
(2) A small forest landowner located in a watershed administrative
unit that is not eligible for harvests under RCW 76.13.130 and its
associated rules pursuant to this section may still conduct harvests
consistent with the remainder of the forest practice rules.
Sec. 4 RCW 76.13.120 and 2011 c 218 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) The legislature finds that the state should acquire easements
primarily along riparian and other sensitive aquatic areas from
qualifying small forest landowners willing to sell or donate such
easements to the state provided that the state will not be required to
acquire such easements if they are subject to unacceptable liabilities.
The legislature therefore establishes a forestry riparian easement
program.
(2) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this
section and RCW 76.13.100, 76.13.110, 76.13.140, and 76.13.160 unless
the context clearly requires otherwise.
(a) "Forestry riparian easement" means an easement covering
qualifying timber granted voluntarily to the state by a qualifying
small forest landowner.
(b) "Qualifying small forest landowner" means a landowner meeting
all of the following characteristics as of the date the department
offers compensation for a forestry riparian easement:
(i) Is a small forest landowner as defined in (d) of this
subsection; and
(ii) Is an individual, partnership, corporation, or other
nongovernmental for-profit legal entity.
(c) "Qualifying timber" means those forest trees for which the
small forest landowner is willing to grant the state a forestry
riparian easement and must meet all of the following:
(i) The forest trees are covered by a forest practices application
that the small forest landowner is required to leave unharvested under
the rules adopted under RCW 76.09.055 and 76.09.370 or that is made
uneconomic to harvest by those rules;
(ii) The forest trees are within or bordering a commercially
reasonable harvest unit as determined under rules adopted by the forest
practices board, or for which an approved forest practices application
for timber harvest cannot be obtained because of restrictions under the
forest practices rules;
(iii) The forest trees are located within, or affected by forest
practices rules pertaining to any one, or all, of the following:
(A) Riparian or other sensitive aquatic areas;
(B) Channel migration zones; or
(C) Areas of potentially unstable slopes or landforms, verified by
the department, and must meet all of the following:
(I) Are addressed in a forest practices application;
(II) Are adjacent to a commercially reasonable harvest area; and
(III) Have the potential to deliver sediment or debris to a public
resource or threaten public safety.
(d) "Small forest landowner" means a landowner meeting all of the
following characteristics:
(i) A forest landowner as defined in RCW 76.09.020 whose interest
in the land and timber is in fee or who has rights to the timber to be
included in the forestry riparian easement that extend at least fifty
years from the date the completed forestry riparian easement
application associated with the easement is submitted;
(ii) An entity that has harvested from its own lands in this state
during the three years prior to the year of application an average
timber volume that would qualify the owner as a small harvester under
RCW 84.33.035; and
(iii) An entity that certifies at the time of application that it
does not expect to harvest from its own lands more than the volume
allowed by RCW 84.33.035 during the ten years following application.
If a landowner's prior three-year average harvest exceeds the limit of
RCW 84.33.035, or the landowner expects to exceed this limit during the
ten years following application, and that landowner establishes to the
department's reasonable satisfaction that the harvest limits were or
will be exceeded to raise funds to pay estate taxes or equally
compelling and unexpected obligations such as court-ordered judgments
or extraordinary medical expenses, the landowner shall be deemed to be
a small forest landowner. For purposes of determining whether a person
qualifies as a small forest landowner, the small forest landowner
office, created in RCW 76.13.110, shall evaluate the landowner under
this definition, pursuant to RCW 76.13.160, as of the date that the
forest practices application is submitted and the date that the
department offers compensation for the forestry riparian easement. A
small forest landowner can include an individual, partnership,
corporation, or other nongovernmental legal entity. If a landowner
grants timber rights to another entity for less than five years, the
landowner may still qualify as a small forest landowner under this
section. If a landowner is unable to obtain an approved forest
practices application for timber harvest for any of his or her land
because of restrictions under the forest practices rules, the landowner
may still qualify as a small forest landowner under this section.
(e) "Completion of harvest" means that the trees have been
harvested from an area and that further entry into that area by
mechanized logging or slash treating equipment is not expected.
(3) The department is authorized and directed to accept and hold in
the name of the state of Washington forestry riparian easements granted
by qualifying small forest landowners covering qualifying timber and to
pay compensation to such landowners in accordance with this section.
The department may not transfer the easements to any entity other than
another state agency.
(4) Forestry riparian easements shall be effective for fifty years
from the date of the completed forestry riparian easement application,
unless the easement is voluntarily terminated earlier by the
department, based on a determination that termination is in the best
interest of the state, or under the terms of a termination clause in
the easement.
(5) Forestry riparian easements shall be restrictive only, and
shall preserve all lawful uses of the easement premises by the
landowner that are consistent with the terms of the easement and the
requirement to protect riparian functions during the term of the
easement, subject to the restriction that the leave trees required by
the rules to be left on the easement premises may not be cut during the
term of the easement. No right of public access to or across, or any
public use of the easement premises is created by this statute or by
the easement. Forestry riparian easements shall not be deemed to
trigger the compensating tax of or otherwise disqualify land from being
taxed under chapter 84.33 or 84.34 RCW.
(6) The small forest landowner office shall determine what
constitutes a completed application for a forestry riparian easement.
Such an application shall, at a minimum, include documentation of the
owner's status as a qualifying small forest landowner, identification
of location and the types of qualifying timber, and notification of
completion of harvest, if applicable.
(7) Upon receipt of the qualifying small forest landowner's
forestry riparian easement application, and subject to the availability
of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the following must
occur:
(a) The small forest landowner office shall determine the
compensation to be offered to the qualifying small forest landowner for
qualifying timber after the department accepts the completed forestry
riparian easement application and the landowner has completed marking
the boundary of the area containing the qualifying timber. The
legislature recognizes that there is not readily available market
transaction evidence of value for easements of the nature required by
this section, and thus establishes the methodology provided in this
subsection to ascertain the value for forestry riparian easements.
Values so determined may not be considered competent evidence of value
for any other purpose.
(b) The small forest landowner office, subject to the availability
of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, is responsible for
assessing the volume of qualifying timber. However, no more than fifty
percent of the total amounts appropriated for the forestry riparian
easement program may be applied to determine the volume of qualifying
timber for completed forestry riparian easement applications. Based on
the volume established by the small forest landowner office and using
data obtained or maintained by the department of revenue under RCW
84.33.074 and 84.33.091, the small forest landowner office shall
attempt to determine the fair market value of the qualifying timber as
of the date the complete forestry riparian easement application is
received. Removal of any qualifying timber before the expiration of
the easement must be in accordance with the forest practices rules and
the terms of the easement. There shall be no reduction in compensation
for reentry.
(8)(a) Except as provided in subsection (9) of this section and
subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific
purpose, the small forest landowner office shall offer compensation for
qualifying timber to the qualifying small forest landowner in the
amount of fifty percent of the value determined by the small forest
landowner office, plus the compliance and reimbursement costs as
determined in accordance with RCW 76.13.140. However, compensation for
any qualifying small forest landowner for qualifying timber located on
potentially unstable slopes or landforms may not exceed a total of
fifty thousand dollars during any biennial funding period.
(b) If the landowner accepts the offer for qualifying timber, the
department shall pay the compensation promptly upon:
(i) Completion of harvest in the area within a commercially
reasonable harvest unit with which the forestry riparian easement is
associated under an approved forest practices application, unless an
approved forest practices application for timber harvest cannot be
obtained because of restrictions under the forest practices rules;
(ii) Verification that the landowner has no outstanding violations
under chapter 76.09 RCW or any associated rules; and
(iii) Execution and delivery of the easement to the department.
(c) Upon donation or payment of compensation, the department may
record the easement.
(9) For approved forest practices applications for which the
regulatory impact is greater than the average percentage impact for all
small forest landowners as determined by an analysis by the department
under the regulatory fairness act, chapter 19.85 RCW, the compensation
offered will be increased to one hundred percent for that portion of
the regulatory impact that is in excess of the average. Regulatory
impact includes all trees identified as qualifying timber. A separate
average or high impact regulatory threshold shall be established for
western and eastern Washington. Criteria for these measurements and
payments shall be established by the small forest landowner office.
(10) Small forest landowners choosing to conduct a harvest under
the authority provided in RCW 76.13.130 and the associated rules may
not participate in the forestry riparian easement program for the
affected harvest units.
(11) The forest practices board shall adopt rules under the
administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW, to implement the
forestry riparian easement program, including the following:
(a) A standard version of a forestry riparian easement application
as well as all additional documents necessary or advisable to create
the forestry riparian easements as provided for in this section;
(b) Standards for descriptions of the easement premises with a
degree of precision that is reasonable in relation to the values
involved;
(c) Methods and standards for cruises and valuation of forestry
riparian easements for purposes of establishing the compensation. The
department shall perform the timber cruises of forestry riparian
easements required under this chapter and chapter 76.09 RCW. Timber
cruises are subject to amounts appropriated for this purpose. However,
no more than fifty percent of the total appropriated funding for the
forestry riparian easement program may be applied to determine the
volume of qualifying timber for completed forestry riparian easement
applications. Any rules concerning the methods and standards for
valuations of forestry riparian easements shall apply only to the
department, qualifying small forest landowners, and the small forest
landowner office;
(d) A method to determine that a forest practices application
involves a commercially reasonable harvest, and adopt criteria for
entering into a forestry riparian easement where a commercially
reasonable harvest is not possible or a forest practices application
that has been submitted cannot be approved because of restrictions
under the forest practices rules;
(e) A method to address blowdown of qualified timber falling
outside the easement premises;
(f) A formula for sharing of proceeds in relation to the
acquisition of qualified timber covered by an easement through the
exercise or threats of eminent domain by a federal or state agency with
eminent domain authority, based on the present value of the
department's and the landowner's relative interests in the qualified
timber;
(g) High impact regulatory thresholds;
(h) A method to determine timber that is qualifying timber because
it is rendered uneconomic to harvest by the rules adopted under RCW
76.09.055 and 76.09.370;
(i) A method for internal department review of small forest
landowner office compensation decisions under this section; and
(j) Consistent with RCW 76.13.180, a method to collect
reimbursement from landowners who received compensation for a forestry
riparian easement and who, within the first ten years after receipt of
compensation for a forestry riparian easement, sells the land on which
an easement is located to a nonqualifying landowner.