2005 Washington Revised Code RCW 79A.15.060: Habitat conservation account — Acquisition policies and priorities. (Effective until July 1, 2007.)

     Severability -- Effective date--1997 c 235: See notes following RCW 79A.15.040.

RCW 79A.15.060

(1) The committee may adopt rules establishing acquisition policies and priorities for distributions from the habitat conservation account.

(2) Except as provided in RCW 79A.15.030(7), moneys appropriated for this chapter may not be used by the committee to fund staff positions or other overhead expenses, or by a state, regional, or local agency to fund operation or maintenance of areas acquired under this chapter.

(3) Moneys appropriated for this chapter may be used by grant recipients for costs incidental to acquisition, including, but not limited to, surveying expenses, fencing, and signing.

(4) Moneys appropriated for this section may be used to fund mitigation banking projects involving the restoration, creation, enhancement, or preservation of critical habitat and urban wildlife habitat, provided that the parties seeking to use the mitigation bank meet the matching requirements of subsection (5) of this section. The moneys from this section may not be used to supplant an obligation of a state or local agency to provide mitigation. For the purposes of this section, a mitigation bank means a site or sites where critical habitat or urban wildlife habitat is restored, created, enhanced, or in exceptional circumstances, preserved expressly for the purpose of providing compensatory mitigation in advance of authorized project impacts to similar resources.

(5) The committee may not approve a local project where the local agency share is less than the amount to be awarded from the habitat conservation account.

(6) In determining acquisition priorities with respect to the habitat conservation account, the committee shall consider, at a minimum, the following criteria:

(a) For critical habitat and natural areas proposals:

(i) Community support for the project;

(ii) The project proposal's ongoing stewardship program that includes control of noxious weeds, detrimental invasive species, and that identifies the source of the funds from which the stewardship program will be funded;

(iii) Recommendations as part of a watershed plan or habitat conservation plan, or a coordinated regionwide prioritization effort, and for projects primarily intended to benefit salmon, limiting factors, or critical pathways analysis;

(iv) Immediacy of threat to the site;

(v) Uniqueness of the site;

(vi) Diversity of species using the site;

(vii) Quality of the habitat;

(viii) Long-term viability of the site;

(ix) Presence of endangered, threatened, or sensitive species;

(x) Enhancement of existing public property;

(xi) Consistency with a local land use plan, or a regional or statewide recreational or resource plan, including projects that assist in the implementation of local shoreline master plans updated according to RCW 90.58.080 or local comprehensive plans updated according to RCW 36.70A.130;

(xii) Educational and scientific value of the site;

(xiii) Integration with recovery efforts for endangered, threatened, or sensitive species;

(xiv) For critical habitat proposals by local agencies, the statewide significance of the site.

(b) For urban wildlife habitat proposals, in addition to the criteria of (a) of this subsection:

(i) Population of, and distance from, the nearest urban area;

(ii) Proximity to other wildlife habitat;

(iii) Potential for public use; and

(iv) Potential for use by special needs populations.

(7) Before November 1st of each even-numbered year, the committee shall recommend to the governor a prioritized list of all state agency and local projects to be funded under RCW 79A.15.040(1) (a), (b), and (c). The governor may remove projects from the list recommended by the committee and shall submit this amended list in the capital budget request to the legislature. The list shall include, but not be limited to, a description of each project and any particular match requirement, and describe for each project any anticipated restrictions upon recreational activities allowed prior to the project.

[2005 c 303 § 8; 2000 c 11 § 67; 1999 c 379 § 918; 1997 c 235 § 719; 1990 1st ex.s. c 14 § 7. Formerly RCW 43.98A.060.]

Notes:
79A.15.010.

     Effective date -- 1999 c 379: See note following RCW 79A.15.040.

     Severability -- Effective date--1997 c 235: See notes following RCW 79A.15.040.