Washington Business Fall 2018 | Legislative Review & Vote Record | Page 31

issue area reports | environment
Rep. Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen, chairs the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee.
water quality, chemical
management policy
EHB 2957
banning net pen
aquaculture
Passed/AWB Opposed
A net pen containing Atlantic salmon off
the coast of Cypress Island failed in August
2017 and released the salmon into the
Puget Sound. The released salmon could
not reproduce with wild Pacific salmon
populations and were found with empty
stomachs, meaning the Atlantic salmon
were not competing with native salmon
for prey, and yet lawmakers introduced
several pieces of legislation to ban net pen
aquaculture in Washington state entirely.
AWB members hold a spectrum of opinions
on this topic, but AWB eventually opposed
the bills banning net pen aquaculture
outright due to the dangerous precedent it
sets for other Washington state industries.
Bill considered as part of
AWB’s voting record
The state should not arbitrarily shut down
permitted facilities due to a malfunction.
However, Eng rossed House Bill 2957,
sponsored by Rep. Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen,
ultimately passed the Legislature having
been amended to match Senate Bill 6086,
sponsored by Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas
Isla nd. The leg islat ion proh ibit s t he
Department of Natural Resources from
permitting another net pen after the lease
of the existing pens expires. AWB members
expect to see continued discussion and
potential litigation of the issue. Other bills
included House bills 2260, 2418, 2956, 2984
and Senate Bill 6086
HB 2285
concerning marbled
murrelet reporting
Passed/AWB Neutral
The marbled murrelet is a small seabird that
lives within 50 miles of saltwater coast and
nests in old-growth trees. It’s a federally
Favorable outcome for
Washington businesses
threatened species, but when the state’s
1997 Habitat Conservation Plan for spotted
owl and marbled murrelet was developed,
the Board of Natural Resources chose not
to set aside additional public trust lands
from harvest specifically for the murrelet
until an additional study was done. That
study concluded in October 2017, and the
Department of Natural Resources will
submit its plan for how many acres of forest
to remove from production to the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service for approval with
Endangered Species Act requirements.
Lawmakers debated several amendments
to budgets to require economic analysis,
and there were nearly two hours of House
Floor debate on House Bill 2285 arguing
for stronger study. An option that sets aside
fewer acres does a better job of protecting
t he state’s f iducia r y dut y to its tr ust
beneficiaries through public forestry, which
represents a value of about $400 million to
the trusts and about $10 million annually
to the beneficiaries. This corresponds to
about 1,300 jobs. All employers, even those
not involved in the forestry sector, play a
role in protecting asset-producing public
natural resources, which can only produce
revenue to support small towns and schools
when the private sector can collaborate in
their development. The current situation
removes that possibility, and places five
r ura l counties at risk of ba nkr uptcy.
The topic of marbled murrelet was an
extremely controversial issue throughout
the legislative session and was described
as a re-litigation of the past 40 years of
spot ted owl reg ulations da mag ing to
Washington state’s once-vibrant rural mill
communities. HB 2285, sponsored by Rep.
Missed Opportunities
special edition 2018 29