The legislature finds that the department provides, manages, and monitors aquatic land dredged material disposal sites on state-owned aquatic lands for materials dredged from rivers, harbors, and shipping lanes. These disposal sites are approved through a cooperative planning process by the departments of natural resources and ecology, the United States army corps of engineers, and the United States environmental protection agency in cooperation with the Puget Sound partnership. These disposal sites are essential to the commerce and well-being of the citizens of the state of Washington. Management and environmental monitoring of these sites are necessary to protect environmental quality and to assure appropriate use of state-owned aquatic lands. The creation of an aquatic land dredged material disposal site account is a reasonable means to enable and facilitate proper management and environmental monitoring of these disposal sites.

Effective date—2007 c 341: See RCW 90.71.907.

Effective date—1987 c 259: "This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect on July 1, 1987." [ 1987 c 259 s 5.]