Contact: Josh Weiss, Legislative/Legal Affairs Coordinator (360) 902-2226

Situation

By law, a permit issued by the agency is required for any project that will "use, divert, obstruct or change the natural flow or bed of any of the salt or fresh waters of the state." In fiscal year 1999, the agency reviewed more than 6,000 applications for Hydraulic Project Approvals (HPAs) and the number of applications continues to grow every year. This is putting increasing pressure on agency staff at a time when they are facing other challenges, including the need to bring the entire program into compliance with the federal Endangered Species Act. For a few specific activities (e.g. mineral prospecting, aquatic plant control), current law authorizes the agency to issue "pamphlet HPAs" rather than requiring individual permits for those projects. In these cases, the agency publishes a pamphlet stating the rules for that activity as specified in the Hydraulics Code. So long as the person follows those rules, he or she is considered to be in compliance with the code – without the need to apply for an individual permit.

Problem

The growing number of individual HPA applications is causing delays in issuing permits and putting undue pressure on agency permitting staff, which has not increased in more than a decade. It is also detracting from other important environmental work, including the need to bring the HPA program into compliance with the federal Endangered Species Act.

Proposal

The agency proposes that the Fish and Wildlife Commission be granted rulemaking authority to allow the use of pamphlet HPAs for various types of hydraulic projects. It also proposes that current law, which outlines penalties for HPA violations be amended to encompass violations of pamphlet HPAs.

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