FOREST PRACTICES BOARD

(1) "Board" means forest practices board.

(2) "Board staff" means employees of the forest practices division of the department who work in support of the board.

(3) "Department" means department of natural resources.

(4) "Office" means the administrative office of the board in the forest practices division of the department.

(5) "Public record" as defined in RCW 42.56.010(((2))) (3), means any writing containing information relating to the conduct of government or the performance of any governmental or proprietary function prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics.

(6) "Writing" as defined in RCW 42.56.010(((3))) (4), means handwriting, typewriting, printing, photographing, including, but not limited to, letters, words, pictures, sounds, and all papers, maps, magnetic or paper tapes, photographic films and prints, video recordings, diskettes, sound recordings, and other documents including existing data compilations from which information may be obtained or translated.

(1) The forest practices board was created by chapter 76.09 RCW to adopt forest practices rules as described in WAC 222-12-010.

(2) The board's membership as described in RCW 76.09.030(((1))) (5), consists of thirteen members to include:

(a) The commissioner of public lands or the commissioner's designee;

(b) The director of the department of commerce or the director's designee;

(c) The director of the department of agriculture or the director's designee;

(d) The director of the department of ecology or the director's designee;

(e) The director of the department of fish and wildlife or the director's designee;

(f) An elected member of a county legislative authority appointed by the governor so long as that member serves as an elected official;

(g) A member representing a timber products union, appointed by the governor from a list of three names submitted by a timber labor coalition affiliated with a statewide labor organization that represents a majority of the timber product unions in the state; and

(h) Six members of the general public appointed by the governor, one of whom shall be a small forest landowner who actively manages his or her land, and one of whom shall be an independent logging contractor.

(3) The governor-appointed members are appointed to four-year terms.

(4) The commissioner of public lands or designee shall chair the board.

(5) General public members of the board, except public employees and elected officials, shall be compensated in accordance with RCW 43.03.250. Each member shall be entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

(6) Staff support is provided to the board as provided in RCW 76.09.030(6). Staff shall perform the following duties under the general authority and supervision of the board:

(a) Act as administrative arm of the board;

(b) Act as records officer to the board;

(c) Coordinate the policies and activities of the board; and

(d) Act as liaison between the board and other public agencies and stakeholders.

(7) The administrative office of the board is located at 1111 Washington Street S.E., Olympia, Washington. The board may sit or hold hearings anywhere in the state. The office hours are 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except legal holidays and during board meetings. The board may be contacted at:

Forest Practices Board

c/o Department of Natural Resources

Forest Practices Division

P.O. Box 47012

Olympia, WA 98504-7012

Phone: 360-902-1400

Fax: 360-902-1428

Email: forest.practicesboard@dnr.wa.gov

(8) Any person may contact the board as indicated in subsection (7) of this section to obtain information on board activities.

(1) The board holds quarterly scheduled meetings on the second Wednesday of February, May, August, and November, at such times and places as deemed necessary to conduct board business. At regularly scheduled board meetings, agenda time is allotted for public comment on rule proposals and board activities, unless the board has already set public hearings on the rule proposals. Special and emergency meetings may be called anytime by the chair of the board or by a majority of the board members. Notice of special and emergency meetings will be provided in accordance with RCW 42.30.070 and 42.30.080. All meetings are conducted in accordance with chapter 42.30 RCW, and RCW 76.09.030(((4))) (3). A schedule of meetings shall be published in the Washington State Register in January of each year. Minutes shall be taken at all meetings.

(2) Each member of the board is allowed one vote on any action before the board; pursuant to RCW 42.30.060(2), secret voting is not allowed. All actions shall be decided by majority vote. A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum for making decisions and promulgating rules necessary for the conduct of its powers and duties. When there is a quorum and a vote is taken, a majority vote is based upon the number of members participating. The chair, designee, or majority of the board may hold hearings and receive public comment on specific issues such as rule making that the board will consider in its actions.

(3) Rules marked with an asterisk (*) pertain to water quality and are adopted or amended with agreement from the department of ecology. See WAC 222-12-010.

(4) The chair or majority of board members shall set the meeting agenda. Public requests for topics to be included in the board's quarterly public meeting agenda must include the name of the ((requester)) requestor, and be received at the office at least fourteen days before the scheduled meeting. Topics requested may be added to the meeting agenda at the chair's discretion or by a majority vote of the board members. Pursuant to RCW 42.30.077 agendas of each regular meeting will be available online no later than twenty-four hours in advance of the published start time of the meeting.

(5) Written materials for the board which are not provided in advance of the meeting date will not be distributed during the meeting unless fifteen copies are provided to staff.

The board's public records are available for inspection and copying except as otherwise exempted under RCW 42.56.210 through ((42.56.480)) 42.56.470, any other law, and this chapter.

Public records may be inspected or copies of such records obtained, upon compliance with the following procedure:

(1) A request shall be made in writing, by fax or electronic mail, to the public records officer or designee. The request shall include the following information:

(a) The name of the person requesting the record;

(b) The calendar date of the request; and

(c) A description of the record(s) requested.

(2) Within five business days of receiving a public records request, as required by RCW 42.56.520, the office shall respond by:

(a) Providing the record; or

(b) Acknowledging that the office has received the request and providing a reasonable estimate of time required to respond; or

(c) Denying the request.

(3) The office may request additional time to provide the records based upon the need to:

(a) Clarify the intent of the request;

(b) Locate and assemble the information requested;

(c) Notify third persons or agencies who may be affected by the request; or

(d) Determine whether any of the information requested is exempt and that a denial should be made for all or part of the request.

(4) The public records officer may, if it deems the request is unclear, ask the ((requester)) requestor to clarify the information the ((requester)) requestor is seeking. If the ((requester)) requestor fails to clarify the request, the office need not respond to it.

(5) Public records shall be available for inspection in the office from 9:00 a.m. to noon and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays and during board meetings.

(6) No fee shall be charged for the inspection of public records. ((For printed, typed and written public records of a maximum size of 8 1/2" by 14", the board shall charge twenty-five cents per page to reimburse the board for the actual costs of providing the copies and the use of copying equipment. Copies of maps, photos, films, recordings, and other nonstandard public records shall be furnished at the board's actual costs. The board shall charge the current rate for tax and shipping on all disclosure copying requests.)) The board's charges for producing public records shall follow the fee schedule established in RCW 42.56.120, because calculating the actual costs associated with records production would be unduly burdensome. The public records officer may waive the fees ((when the expense of processing the payment exceeds the cost of providing the copies)) for de minimus requests. Before releasing the copies, the public records officer may require a deposit not to exceed ten percent of the estimated cost.

(7) The public records officer may determine that all or a portion of a public record is exempt under the provisions of chapter 42.56 RCW. Pursuant to RCW 42.56.070(1) and 42.56.210(1), the public records officer may ((delete)) redact portions of public records. The public records officer will explain the reasons for such ((deletion)) redaction in writing, including the exemption that applies.

(8) Any denial of a request for public records shall be in writing, specifying the reason for the denial, including the specific exemption authorizing the nondisclosure of the record, and a brief explanation of how the exemption applies to the records withheld.

(9) Any person who objects to a denial of a request for a public record may request review of such decision by submitting a written request to the public records officer. The written request shall specifically refer to the written statement by the public records officer or designee which constituted or accompanied the denial.

(10) Immediately after receiving a written request for review of a decision denying disclosure of a public record, the public records officer or designee denying the request shall refer it to the chair of the board. The chair shall consider the matter and either affirm or reverse such denial.

(11) Administrative remedies shall not be considered exhausted until the chair of the board or designee has returned the request for review with a decision or until the close of the second business day following receipt of the written request for review of the denial of the public record, whichever occurs first.