AN ACT Relating to shoreline management; and amending RCW 90.58.180.

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

Sec. 1. Section 18, chapter 286, Laws of 1971 ex. sess. as last amended by section 2, chapter 51, Laws of 1975-'76 2nd ex. sess. and RCW 90.58.180 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Any person aggrieved by the granting, denying, or rescinding of a permit on shorelines of the state pursuant to RCW 90.58.140 as now or hereafter amended may seek review from the shorelines hearings board by filing a request for the same within thirty days of the date of filing as defined in RCW 90.58.140(6) as now or hereafter amended.

Concurrently with the filing of any request for review with the board as provided in this section pertaining to a final order of a local government, the requestor shall file a copy of his request with the department and the attorney general. ((If it appears to the department or the attorney general that the requestor has valid reasons to seek review, either the department or the attorney general may certify the request within thirty days after its receipt to the shorelines hearings board following which the board shall then, but not otherwise, review the matter covered by the requestor: PROVIDED, That the failure to obtain such certification shall not preclude the requestor from obtaining a review in the superior court under any right to review otherwise available to the requestor. The department and the attorney general may intervene to protect the public interest and insure that the provisions of this chapter are complied with at any time within fifteen days from the date of the receipt by the department or the attorney general of a copy of the request for review filed pursuant to this section. The shorelines hearings board shall initially schedule review proceedings on such requests for review without regard as to whether such requests have or have not been certified or as to whether the period for the department or the attorney general to intervene has or has not expired, unless such review is to begin within thirty days of such scheduling. If at the end of the thirty day period for certification neither the department nor the attorney general has certified a request for review, the hearings board shall remove the request from its review schedule.))

(2) The department or the attorney general may obtain review of any final order granting a permit, or granting or denying an application for a permit issued by a local government by filing a written request with the shorelines hearings board and the appropriate local government within thirty days from the date the final order was filed as provided in RCW 90.58.140(6) as now or hereafter amended.

(3) The review proceedings authorized in subsections (1) and (2) of this section are subject to the provisions of chapter 34.04 RCW pertaining to procedures in contested cases. Judicial review of such proceedings of the shorelines hearings board may be had as provided in chapter 34.04 RCW.

(4) Local government may appeal to the shorelines hearings board any rules, regulations, guidelines, designations, or master programs for shorelines of the state adopted or approved by the department within thirty days of the date of the adoption or approval. The board shall make a final decision within sixty days following the hearing held thereon.

(a) In an appeal relating to a master program for shorelines, the board, after full consideration of the positions of the local government and the department, shall determine the validity of the master program. If the board determines that said program:

(i) Is clearly erroneous in light of the policy of this chapter; or

(ii) Constitutes an implementation of this chapter in violation of constitutional or statutory provisions; or

(iii) Is arbitrary and capricious; or

(iv) Was developed without fully considering and evaluating all proposed master programs submitted to the department by the local government; or

(v) Was not adopted in accordance with required procedures;

the board shall enter a final decision declaring the program invalid, remanding the master program to the department with a statement of the reasons in support of the determination, and directing the department to adopt, after a thorough consultation with the affected local government, a new master program. Unless the board makes one or more of the determinations as hereinbefore provided, the board shall find the master program to be valid and enter a final decision to that effect.

(b) In an appeal relating to a master program for shorelines of state-wide significance the board shall approve the master program adopted by the department unless a local government shall, by clear and convincing evidence and argument, persuade the board that the master program approved by the department is inconsistent with the policy of RCW 90.58.020 and the applicable guidelines.

(c) In an appeal relating to rules, regulations, guidelines, master programs of state-wide significance, and designations, the standard of review provided in RCW 34.04.070 shall apply.

(5) Rules, regulations, designations, master programs, and guidelines shall be subject to review in superior court, if authorized pursuant to RCW 34.04.070: PROVIDED, That no review shall be granted by a superior court on petition from a local government unless the local government shall first have obtained review under subsection (4) of this section and the petition for court review is filed within three months after the date of final decision by the shorelines hearings board.