Title 79 — Title 79 PUBLIC LANDS

This act is intended to make technical amendments to certain codified statutes that deal with the department of natural resources. Any statutory changes made by this act should be interpreted as technical in nature and not be interpreted to have any substantive policy implication…

The legislature finds that state-owned aquatic lands are a finite natural resource of great value and an irreplaceable public heritage. The legislature recognizes that the state owns these aquatic lands in fee and has delegated to the department the responsibility to manage these…

The purpose of RCW 79.105.060, 79.105.230, 79.105.280, and 79.105.010 through 79.105.040 is to articulate a management philosophy to guide the exercise of the state's ownership interest and the exercise of the department's management authority, and to establish standards for dete…

The management of state-owned aquatic lands shall be in conformance with constitutional and statutory requirements. The manager of state-owned aquatic lands shall strive to provide a balance of public benefits for all citizens of the state. The public benefits provided by state-o…

Nothing in *this chapter or RCW 79.120.040 or 79.120.060 shall modify or affect any existing legal rights involving the boundaries of, title to, or vested property rights in aquatic lands or waterways. Nothing in *this chapter shall modify, alter, or otherwise affect the applicab…

The department shall foster the commercial and recreational use of the aquatic environment for production of food, fibre, income, and public enjoyment from state-owned aquatic lands and from associated waters, and to this end the department may develop and improve production and …

The definitions in this section apply throughout chapters 79.105 through 79.145 RCW unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Aquatic lands" means all tidelands, shorelands, harbor areas, and the beds of navigable waters.(2) "Beds of navigable waters" means those lands l…

The department shall prepare, and furnish to applicants, blank forms of applications for the purchase of state-owned tidelands or shorelands, otherwise permitted by RCW 79.125.200 to be sold, and the purchase of valuable material situated thereon, and the lease of state-owned tid…

Any person desiring to purchase any state-owned tidelands or shorelands, otherwise permitted under RCW 79.125.200 to be sold, or to purchase any valuable material situated thereon, or to lease any state-owned aquatic lands, shall file with the department an application, on the pr…

The department may cause any state-owned aquatic lands to be surveyed for the purpose of ascertaining and determining the area subject to sale or lease.[ 2005 c 155 s 108; 1982 1st ex.s. c 21 s 18. Formerly RCW 79.90.120.]

The department may review and reconsider any of its official acts relating to state-owned aquatic lands until such time as a lease, contract, or deed is made, executed, and finally issued, and the department may recall any lease, contract, or deed issued for the purpose of correc…

All contracts of purchase of state-owned tidelands or shorelands, otherwise permitted under RCW 79.125.200 to be sold, and all leases of state-owned tidelands, shorelands, or beds of navigable waters issued by the department shall be assignable in writing by the contract holder o…

(1) After deduction for management costs as provided in RCW 79.64.040 and payments to towns under RCW 79.115.150(2), all moneys received by the state from the sale or lease of state-owned aquatic lands and from the sale of valuable material from state-owned aquatic lands shall be…

Any applicant to purchase or lease any state-owned aquatic lands, or any valuable materials on state-owned aquatic lands, and any person whose property rights or interest will be affected by the sale or lease, feeling himself or herself aggrieved by any order or decision of the b…

(1) The department may not allow nonnative marine finfish aquaculture as an authorized use under any new lease or other use authorization.(2) The department may not renew or extend a lease or other use authorization in existence on June 7, 2018, where the use includes nonnative m…

(1) The department may require the payment of a use and occupancy fee in lieu of a lease where improvements have been placed without authorization on state-owned aquatic lands.(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the assertion of public ownership rights in an…

(1) The management of state-owned aquatic lands shall preserve and enhance water-dependent uses. Water-dependent uses shall be favored over other uses in state-owned aquatic land planning and in resolving conflicts between competing lease applications. In cases of conflict betwee…

The department may lease state-owned tidelands that are in front of state parks only with the approval of the state parks and recreation commission. The department may lease bedlands in front of state parks only after the department has consulted with the state parks and recreati…

Use for public parks or public recreation purposes shall be granted without charge if the state-owned aquatic lands and improvements are available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis and are not managed to produce a profit for the operator or a concessionair…

Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, annual rent rates for the lease of state-owned aquatic lands for water-dependent uses shall be determined as follows:(1)(a) The assessed land value, exclusive of improvements, as determined by the county assessor, of the upland tax pa…

(1) Until June 30, 1989, the log storage rents per acre shall be the average rents the log storage leases in effect on July 1, 1984, would have had under the formula for water-dependent leases as set out in RCW 79.105.240, except that the aquatic land values shall be thirty perce…

(1) For leases in effect on October 1, 1984, the rent shall remain at the annual rate in effect on September 30, 1984, until the next lease anniversary date, at which time rent established under RCW 79.105.240 or 79.105.250 shall become effective. If the first rent amount establi…

Leases for nonwater-dependent uses of state-owned aquatic lands shall be charged the fair market rental value of the leased lands, determined in accordance with appraisal techniques specified by rule. However, rents for nonwater-dependent uses shall always be more than the amount…

Rents and fees for the mining or other recovery of mineral or geothermal resources shall be established through competitive bidding, negotiations, or as otherwise provided by statute.[ 2005 c 155 s 151. FORMERLY PART OF RCW 79.90.500.]

If water-dependent and nonwater-dependent uses occupy separate portions of the same leased parcel of state-owned aquatic land, the rental rate for each use shall be that established for the use by this chapter, prorated in accordance with the proportion of the whole parcel that e…

If a parcel leased for water-dependent uses is used for an extended period of time, as defined by rule of the department, for a nonwater-dependent use, the rental for the nonwater-dependent use shall be negotiated with the department.[ 1984 c 221 s 13. Formerly RCW 79.90.510.]

(1) Except as agreed between the department and the lessee prior to construction of the improvements, rent shall not be charged under any lease of state-owned aquatic lands for improvements, including fills, authorized by the department or installed by the lessee or its predecess…

The manager shall, by rule, provide for an administrative review of any state-owned aquatic land rent proposed to be charged. The rules shall require that the lessee or applicant for release file a request for review within thirty days after the manager has notified the lessee or…

For any lease for a term of more than one year, the department may require that the rent be secured by insurance, bond, or other security satisfactory to the department in an amount not exceeding two years' rent. The department may require additional security for other lease prov…

If the annual rent charged for the use of a parcel of state-owned aquatic lands exceeds four thousand dollars, the lessee may pay on a prorated quarterly basis. If the annual rent exceeds twelve thousand dollars, the lessee may pay on a prorated monthly basis.[ 1984 c 221 s 17. F…

The interest rate and all interest rate guidelines shall be fixed by rule adopted by the board and shall not be less than six percent per annum.[ 2005 c 155 s 155; 1991 c 64 s 2; 1984 c 221 s 18. Formerly RCW 79.90.535.]

The department shall adopt such rules as are necessary to carry out the purposes of RCW 79.105.010, 79.105.030, 79.105.050, 79.105.210, 79.105.220, 79.105.240 through 79.105.260, 79.105.270, 79.105.290 through 79.105.350, 79.105.400, 79.105.420, 79.130.070, and 79.135.100, specif…

The department may exchange state-owned tidelands and shorelands with private and other public landowners if the exchange is in the public interest and will actively contribute to the public benefits established in RCW 79.105.030. The board shall adopt rules which establish crite…

(1) The department is authorized to accept gifts of aquatic land within the state, including tidelands, shorelands, harbor areas, and the beds of navigable waters, which shall become part of the state-owned aquatic land base. Consistent with RCW 79.105.030, the department must de…

(1) Upon request of a port district, the department and port district may enter into an agreement authorizing the port district to manage state-owned aquatic lands abutting or used in conjunction with and contiguous to uplands owned, leased, or otherwise managed by a port distric…

(1) The abutting residential owner to state-owned shorelands, tidelands, or related beds of navigable waters, other than harbor areas, may install and maintain without charge a dock on the areas if used exclusively for private recreational purposes and the area is not subject to …

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 pro…

The aquatic land dredged material disposal site account is established in the state treasury. The account shall consist of funds appropriated to the account; funds transferred or paid to the account pursuant to settlements; court or administrative agency orders or judgments; gift…

The department shall estimate the costs of site management and environmental monitoring at aquatic land dredged material disposal sites and may, by rule, establish fees for use of the sites in amounts no greater than necessary to cover the estimated costs. All such revenues shall…

After consultation with the director of commerce, the department may enter into agreements, leases, or other conveyances for archaeological activities on state-owned aquatic lands. The agreements, leases, or other conveyances may contain those conditions as are required for the d…

When administering funds under this chapter, the *interagency committee for outdoor recreation shall give preference only to Puget Sound partners, as defined in RCW 90.71.010, in comparison to other entities that are eligible to be included in the definition of Puget Sound partne…

(1)(a) A city with a population between twenty thousand and twenty-five thousand on June 12, 2008, and that currently operates a publicly owned marina may enter into a reduced fee lease authorizing the city to use state-owned aquatic lands for the purpose of operating a publicly …

When administering funds under this chapter, the recreation and conservation funding board shall give preference only to an evergreen community recognized under RCW 76.15.090 in comparison to other entities that are eligible to receive evergreen community designation. Entities no…

This act shall take effect on October 1, 1984.[ 1984 c 221 s 32. Formerly RCW 79.90.902.]