2379-S

AN ACT Relating to creating a property tax credit as an incentive for the improvement of streams, rivers, and riparian areas; reenacting and amending RCW 90.58.030; adding a new section to chapter 89.08 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 35.63 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 35A.63 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 36.70 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 36.70A RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.21C RCW; adding a new section to chapter 75.20 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 79.90 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 90.48 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 84 RCW; providing an effective date; and providing expiration dates.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that:

(a) Cooperative partnerships formed by governmental agencies and private landowners can provide needed improvement to streams, rivers, and riparian areas;

(b) Improving the habitat of streams, rivers, and riparian areas will:

(i) Benefit the aquatic and wildlife species in the state;

(ii) Improve water quality for water resource users;

(iii) Reduce damage to property that often accompanies flooding; and

(iv) Potentially improve the availability of water for users; and

(c) Some salmonid stocks within the state of Washington have declined at an accelerated rate during the past few years and improving the habitat of streams, rivers, and riparian areas upon which spawning salmonid stocks depend for survival will help to reverse this decline.

(2) The legislature intends that a program be created to improve the habitat of aquatic and wildlife species of streams, rivers, and riparian areas and that owners of land abutting streams and rivers be allowed a credit against the state portion of property taxes levied on such land for expenditures made to improve the habitat of streams, rivers, and riparian areas.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Conservation commission" means the conservation commission created under chapter 89.08 RCW.

(2) "Conservation district" means a conservation district created under chapter 89.08 RCW.

(3) "Improvement" and "improve" mean expenditures made to improve the water quality and quantity, wildlife habitat, or aquatic habitat of streams, rivers, or riparian areas in the state.

(4) "Owner" means the party or parties having the fee interest in land, except that where land is subject to real estate contract, "owner" means the contract vendee.

(5) "Riparian" means areas next to streams or rivers that are capable of supporting plant and animal species that require more moisture than the plant and animal communities growing on adjacent uplands. Riparian areas are adjacent to streams and rivers where specific measures are needed to protect aquatic and wildlife habitat needs and watershed.

(6) "Salmonid" means a fish of the family salmonidae. Fish in this family include salmon, steelhead, trout, char, whitefish, and grayling.

(7) "Watershed" means a geographic region within which water drains into a particular river, stream, or body of water identified and numbered as state of Washington water resource inventory areas under RCW 43.27A.130 and defined by WAC 173-500-040 as existing on the effective date of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) An owner of a parcel of land shall be entitled to the credit specified in section 6 of this act against property taxes on the parcel, if:

(a) The parcel contains land that abuts a stream, river, or riparian area and the land falls within one of the categories set forth in section 4 of this act and the owner of the parcel requests the development of an improvement plan under this chapter;

(b) A conservation district has determined that improvements on that land or on a portion of any public property that is within the stream or river, which portion is immediately abutted by the parcel, are necessary to improve the habitat of the stream, river, or riparian area;

(c) The conservation district and the department of fish and wildlife have jointly prepared an improvement plan under section 5 of this act specifying the improvements to be made;

(d) The improvements to the habitat of the stream, river, or riparian area detailed in the plan would be required to be made by a governmental agency, as resources are available, if the owner does not make the required improvements;

(e) The owner has completed the improvements as specified in the improvement plan and has provided the conservation district with all receipts for work and materials associated with the improvements;

(f) The conservation district has inspected the improvements and has determined that the improvements specified by the improvement plan have been satisfactorily completed; and

(g) The conservation district is authorized to issue a voucher for the improvements under section 7(2) of this act.

(2) The conservation district shall provide the owner with a credit voucher certifying that the owner has completed the improvements and certifying the total amount of money spent by the owner in this effort. The credit shall be for the amount of money spent implementing the improvement plan, within the limitations of section 6 of this act. The credit is for improvements specified in the improvement plan that are made on the parcel or on a portion of any public property within a stream or river, which portion is immediately abutted by the parcel.

(3) To receive this credit the owner shall submit the credit voucher received from the conservation district for the improvements to the treasurer of the county in which the improved stream, river, or riparian area is located. The treasurer shall treat this credit voucher in the same manner as a monetary payment of property taxes.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Land that falls within one of the following categories may qualify for improvements to the habitat of streams, rivers, or riparian areas that may be specified in improvement plans under this chapter:

(1) Land bordering streams that are critical to the recovery of anadromous fishery stocks listed as "critical" or "depressed" in the 1992 Washington State Salmon and Steelhead Stock Inventory published by the department of fisheries, the department of wildlife, and the Western Washington Treaty of Indian Tribes in March 1993;

(2) Land within a watershed that is listed as a priority in the Preliminary Priority Watersheds for Restoration and Conservation of Fish and Wildlife published by the department of fish and wildlife and the department of natural resources in February 1995;

(3) Land bordering streams, rivers, and riparian areas that do not meet water quality standards according to the May 1994 Section 303(d) list published by the department of ecology;

(4) Land within watersheds that have an approved watershed plan developed in accordance with chapter 90.70 RCW;

(5) Land abutting streams, rivers, or riparian areas impacting threatened or endangered species as listed in the federal Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq., as existing on the effective date of this act; or

(6) Land included within watershed restoration plans or projects that have been approved in accordance with RCW 89.08.450 through 89.08.510.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) In order to qualify for the property tax credit set forth in section 3 of this act, an improvement plan must be developed. A conservation district and the department of fish and wildlife shall jointly, in conjunction with the owner of land abutting one or more streams, rivers, or riparian areas, develop a plan to improve the habitat of the stream, river, or riparian areas using:

(a) Practices listed in the United States department of agriculture/natural resources conservation service's field office technical guide, as existing on the effective date of this act, for the protection or improvement of riparian areas; or

(b) Practices listed in the 1995 Fish and Wildlife Priority Habitat Management Recommendations: RIPARIAN.

(2) An owner of land or the owner's predecessor in right shall not be responsible for maintaining any improvement made or caused to be made as specified in an improvement plan authorized by this chapter. Plans developed under this chapter shall not include maintenance requirements. Plans developed under this chapter shall not include or establish any public access requirements. Neither a person who makes improvements or causes improvements to be made as specified in an improvement plan authorized under this chapter nor the person's successor in right shall be liable for any consequences resulting from making the improvements or for any consequences arising from the improvements.

(3) No state or local permit of any kind may be required for the development of or for an activity conducted solely to implement an improvement plan developed under this chapter if the conditions set forth in section 3(1) (a) through (d) of this act are satisfied and the implementation takes place by June 30, 1999.

(4) A conservation district and the department of fish and wildlife may consult a unit of the natural resources conservation service of the United States department of agriculture regarding the development of an improvement plan for a parcel of land only with the consent of the owner of the parcel of land.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) A credit allowed under this chapter shall be used as a credit against the state portion of property taxes imposed on the parcel of land with regard to which an improvement plan has been implemented under this chapter. Such a credit may not be used against any property taxes imposed against buildings or other facilities located on the parcel.

(2) Credits shall not exceed the amount of the state portion of the property taxes imposed on the parcel nor the amount of money the owner spent to improve stream, river, or riparian areas.

(3) A credit shall be allowed against taxes levied for collection in each of not more than two years immediately following the year in which completion of and payment for improvements occurs. Credits may not be carried forward to subsequent tax years.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) The total amount of credits to be allowed under this chapter shall not exceed six million dollars for the biennium ending June 30, 1997, twelve million dollars for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1998, and twelve million dollars for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1999.

(2) The conservation commission shall keep a running total of the estimated costs of implementing improvement plans and a running total of the dollar amount of credits approved under this chapter. The commission shall immediately notify all conservation districts when the estimated costs of implementing plans is approaching the amounts in subsection (1) of this section and when the annual maximum dollar amount of credit has been reached. A conservation district shall not issue any credit voucher that would cause an annual limit to be exceeded and shall advise landowners requesting the development of improvement plans as to whether the total of the estimated costs of implementing the plans state-wide approximate the amounts in subsection (1) of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Any portion of the state levy reduced as a result of this chapter shall be made whole from other state revenues. This chapter shall not result in the reduction in any manner of the amount of the state school levy for support of the common schools.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. This chapter shall expire June 30, 1999.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. A new section is added to chapter 89.08 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Conservation districts shall monitor and provide monthly reports to the conservation commission on the number of owners who submit applications and who are approved to participate in the improvement program set forth in section 3 of this act and on the estimated costs of implementing the improvement plans developed under the program.

(2) The conservation commission shall provide grants to conservation districts to reimburse them for the technical assistance costs incurred in developing improvement plans under chapter 84.-- RCW (sections 1 through 9 of this act).

(3) The conservation commission in conjunction with the department of fish and wildlife shall submit a report to the office of the governor summarizing the progress of the program set forth in chapter 84.-- RCW (sections 1 through 9 of this act) by October 1, 1997.

(4) The conservation commission in cooperation with the Washington department of fish and wildlife shall prepare and submit a report by October 1, 1998, to the environmental committees of the legislature and to the office of the governor summarizing the progress of the program set forth in chapter 84.-- RCW (sections 1 through 9 of this act) to date.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. A new section is added to chapter 35.63 RCW to read as follows:

No permit or other authorization may be required under a local ordinance for the development of an improvement plan under section 5 of this act or for an activity conducted solely to implement such a plan.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. A new section is added to chapter 35A.63 RCW to read as follows:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. A new section is added to chapter 36.70 RCW to read as follows:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. A new section is added to chapter 36.70A RCW to read as follows:

This chapter does not apply to the development of an improvement plan under section 5 of this act or to an activity conducted solely to implement such a plan.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. A new section is added to chapter 43.21C RCW to read as follows:

This chapter does not apply to the development of an improvement plan under section 5 of this act or to an activity conducted solely to implement such a plan.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. A new section is added to chapter 75.20 RCW to read as follows:

Hydraulic project approval shall not be required for the development of an improvement plan under section 5 of this act or an activity conducted solely to implement such a plan.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. A new section is added to chapter 79.90 RCW to read as follows:

No permit or lease shall be required for the development of an improvement plan under section 5 of this act or for an activity conducted on state aquatic lands solely to implement such a plan.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW to read as follows:

A permit shall not be required under this chapter for the development of an improvement plan under section 5 of this act or for an activity conducted solely to implement such a plan.

Sec. 19. RCW 90.58.030 and 1995 c 382 s 10, 1995 c 255 s 5, and 1995 c 237 s 1 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions and concepts apply:

(1) Administration:

(a) "Department" means the department of ecology;

(b) "Director" means the director of the department of ecology;

(c) "Local government" means any county, incorporated city, or town which contains within its boundaries any lands or waters subject to this chapter;

(d) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, organization, cooperative, public or municipal corporation, or agency of the state or local governmental unit however designated;

(e) "Hearing board" means the shoreline hearings board established by this chapter.

(2) Geographical:

(a) "Extreme low tide" means the lowest line on the land reached by a receding tide;

(b) "Ordinary high water mark" on all lakes, streams, and tidal water is that mark that will be found by examining the bed and banks and ascertaining where the presence and action of waters are so common and usual, and so long continued in all ordinary years, as to mark upon the soil a character distinct from that of the abutting upland, in respect to vegetation as that condition exists on June 1, 1971, as it may naturally change thereafter, or as it may change thereafter in accordance with permits issued by a local government or the department: PROVIDED, That in any area where the ordinary high water mark cannot be found, the ordinary high water mark adjoining salt water shall be the line of mean higher high tide and the ordinary high water mark adjoining fresh water shall be the line of mean high water;

(c) "Shorelines of the state" are the total of all "shorelines" and "shorelines of state-wide significance" within the state;

(d) "Shorelines" means all of the water areas of the state, including reservoirs, and their associated shorelands, together with the lands underlying them; except (i) shorelines of state-wide significance; (ii) shorelines on segments of streams upstream of a point where the mean annual flow is twenty cubic feet per second or less and the wetlands associated with such upstream segments; and (iii) shorelines on lakes less than twenty acres in size and wetlands associated with such small lakes;

(e) "Shorelines of state-wide significance" means the following shorelines of the state:

(i) The area between the ordinary high water mark and the western boundary of the state from Cape Disappointment on the south to Cape Flattery on the north, including harbors, bays, estuaries, and inlets;

(ii) Those areas of Puget Sound and adjacent salt waters and the Strait of Juan de Fuca between the ordinary high water mark and the line of extreme low tide as follows:

(A) Nisqually DeltaCfrom DeWolf Bight to Tatsolo Point,

(B) Birch BayCfrom Point Whitehorn to Birch Point,

(D) Skagit Bay and adjacent areaCfrom Brown Point to Yokeko Point, and

(E) Padilla BayCfrom March Point to William Point;

(iii) Those areas of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca and adjacent salt waters north to the Canadian line and lying seaward from the line of extreme low tide;

(iv) Those lakes, whether natural, artificial, or a combination thereof, with a surface acreage of one thousand acres or more measured at the ordinary high water mark;

(v) Those natural rivers or segments thereof as follows:

(A) Any west of the crest of the Cascade range downstream of a point where the mean annual flow is measured at one thousand cubic feet per second or more,

(B) Any east of the crest of the Cascade range downstream of a point where the annual flow is measured at two hundred cubic feet per second or more, or those portions of rivers east of the crest of the Cascade range downstream from the first three hundred square miles of drainage area, whichever is longer;

(vi) Those shorelands associated with (i), (ii), (iv), and (v) of this subsection (2)(e);

(f) "Shorelands" or "shoreland areas" means those lands extending landward for two hundred feet in all directions as measured on a horizontal plane from the ordinary high water mark; floodways and contiguous floodplain areas landward two hundred feet from such floodways; and all wetlands and river deltas associated with the streams, lakes, and tidal waters which are subject to the provisions of this chapter; the same to be designated as to location by the department of ecology. Any county or city may determine that portion of a one-hundred-year-flood plain to be included in its master program as long as such portion includes, as a minimum, the floodway and the adjacent land extending landward two hundred feet therefrom;

(g) "Floodway" means those portions of the area of a river valley lying streamward from the outer limits of a watercourse upon which flood waters are carried during periods of flooding that occur with reasonable regularity, although not necessarily annually, said floodway being identified, under normal condition, by changes in surface soil conditions or changes in types or quality of vegetative ground cover condition. The floodway shall not include those lands that can reasonably be expected to be protected from flood waters by flood control devices maintained by or maintained under license from the federal government, the state, or a political subdivision of the state;

(h) "Wetlands" means areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. Wetlands do not include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from nonwetland sites, including, but not limited to, irrigation and drainage ditches, grass-lined swales, canals, detention facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, farm ponds, and landscape amenities, or those wetlands created after July 1, 1990, that were unintentionally created as a result of the construction of a road, street, or highway. Wetlands may include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from nonwetland areas to mitigate the conversion of wetlands.

(3) Procedural terms:

(a) "Guidelines" means those standards adopted to implement the policy of this chapter for regulation of use of the shorelines of the state prior to adoption of master programs. Such standards shall also provide criteria to local governments and the department in developing master programs;

(b) "Master program" shall mean the comprehensive use plan for a described area, and the use regulations together with maps, diagrams, charts, or other descriptive material and text, a statement of desired goals, and standards developed in accordance with the policies enunciated in RCW 90.58.020;

(c) "State master program" is the cumulative total of all master programs approved or adopted by the department of ecology;

(d) "Development" means a use consisting of the construction or exterior alteration of structures; dredging; drilling; dumping; filling; removal of any sand, gravel, or minerals; bulkheading; driving of piling; placing of obstructions; or any project of a permanent or temporary nature which interferes with the normal public use of the surface of the waters overlying lands subject to this chapter at any state of water level;

(e) "Substantial development" shall mean any development of which the total cost or fair market value exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars, or any development which materially interferes with the normal public use of the water or shorelines of the state; except that the following shall not be considered substantial developments for the purpose of this chapter:

(i) Normal maintenance or repair of existing structures or developments, including damage by accident, fire, or elements;

(ii) Construction of the normal protective bulkhead common to single family residences;

(iii) Emergency construction necessary to protect property from damage by the elements;

(iv) Construction and practices normal or necessary for farming, irrigation, and ranching activities, including agricultural service roads and utilities on shorelands, and the construction and maintenance of irrigation structures including but not limited to head gates, pumping facilities, and irrigation channels. A feedlot of any size, all processing plants, other activities of a commercial nature, alteration of the contour of the shorelands by leveling or filling other than that which results from normal cultivation, shall not be considered normal or necessary farming or ranching activities. A feedlot shall be an enclosure or facility used or capable of being used for feeding livestock hay, grain, silage, or other livestock feed, but shall not include land for growing crops or vegetation for livestock feeding and/or grazing, nor shall it include normal livestock wintering operations;

(v) Construction or modification of navigational aids such as channel markers and anchor buoys;

(vi) Construction on shorelands by an owner, lessee, or contract purchaser of a single family residence for his own use or for the use of his family, which residence does not exceed a height of thirty-five feet above average grade level and which meets all requirements of the state agency or local government having jurisdiction thereof, other than requirements imposed pursuant to this chapter;

(vii) Construction of a dock, including a community dock, designed for pleasure craft only, for the private noncommercial use of the owner, lessee, or contract purchaser of single and multiple family residences, the cost of which does not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars;

(viii) Operation, maintenance, or construction of canals, waterways, drains, reservoirs, or other facilities that now exist or are hereafter created or developed as a part of an irrigation system for the primary purpose of making use of system waters, including return flow and artificially stored ground water for the irrigation of lands;

(ix) The marking of property lines or corners on state owned lands, when such marking does not significantly interfere with normal public use of the surface of the water;

(x) Operation and maintenance of any system of dikes, ditches, drains, or other facilities existing on September 8, 1975, which were created, developed, or utilized primarily as a part of an agricultural drainage or diking system;

(xi) Site exploration and investigation activities that are prerequisite to preparation of an application for development authorization under this chapter, if:

(A) The activity does not interfere with the normal public use of the surface waters;

(B) The activity will have no significant adverse impact on the environment including, but not limited to, fish, wildlife, fish or wildlife habitat, water quality, and aesthetic values;

(C) The activity does not involve the installation of a structure, and upon completion of the activity the vegetation and land configuration of the site are restored to conditions existing before the activity;

(D) A private entity seeking development authorization under this section first posts a performance bond or provides other evidence of financial responsibility to the local jurisdiction to ensure that the site is restored to preexisting conditions; and

(E) The activity is not subject to the permit requirements of RCW 90.58.550;

(xii) The process of removing or controlling an aquatic noxious weed, as defined in RCW 17.26.020, through the use of an herbicide or other treatment methods applicable to weed control that are recommended by a final environmental impact statement published by the department of agriculture or the department jointly with other state agencies under chapter 43.21C RCW;

(xiii) The development of a plan under section 5 of this act or an activity conducted solely to implement such a plan. This subsection (3)(e)(xiii) expires June 30, 1999.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 20. Sections 1 through 9 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 84 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 21. Sections 10 through 18 of this act shall expire June 30, 1999.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 22. This act shall take effect July 1, 1996.