WSR 98-18-103

PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY

DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY

[Order 9823--Filed September 2, 1998, 11:28 a.m.]

Subject of Possible Rule Making: Chapter 173-532 WAC, Water resources program for the Walla Walla River Basin, WRIA 32. Amend rule to allow giving higher priority to processing water right change applications when doing so will result in a substantial enhancement of the natural environment. Rule would include specific criteria for evaluating the degree to which the natural environment would be enhanced by a proposed use, to determine whether prioritization of the proposal is appropriate.

Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: Chapter 43.21A RCW (Department of Ecology); chapter 43.27A RCW (Water Resources); chapter 90.03 RCW (Water Code); chapter 90.44 RCW (Regulation of Public Ground Waters); and chapter 90.54 RCW (Water Resources Act of 1971).

Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: Ecology anticipates there may be water right change applications in the Walla Walla Basin with proposals that could result in enhancement of the natural environment in the basin. By amending the rule to allow for processing these water right change applications out of strict priority date order, the department would be able to: (1) Determine whether such environmental enhancement opportunities do exist and, (2) if they do, to act on these opportunities by processing the relevant applications relatively promptly.

Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: None.

Process for Developing New Rule: Ecology presently anticipates following the normal rule-making process, but if it proves to be practical the agency will conduct a pilot rule making instead.

Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication. At least one hearing will be held in Walla Walla after the proposed rule is filed with the Code Reviser's Office. The specific details about the hearing(s) will be included with the information published in the State Register announcing the filing of the rule proposal. Information concerning the hearing(s) will also be provided to local newspapers and other news media. Until then, for more information regarding this proposal, interested parties can contact (in Spokane) George Schlender at (509) 456-5057 or (in Lacey) Mary Getchell at (360) 407-6157.

September 2, 1998

Doug McChesney

for Keith Phillips

Program Manager