Title 79 — Title 79 PUBLIC LANDS

(1) When the department decides to sell any valuable materials situated within or upon any state-owned aquatic lands, it is the duty of the department to fix the date, place, and time of sale, and no sale shall be had on any day that is a legal holiday.(2) The department shall gi…

The department shall print a list of valuable materials contained within or upon state-owned aquatic lands, giving appraised value, character of the land, and such other information as may be of interest to prospective buyers. The lists must be issued at least four weeks prior to…

The department is authorized to expend any sum in additional advertising of the sale as is determined to be in the best interests of the state.[ 2005 c 155 s 803. FORMERLY PART OF RCW 79.90.190.]

Any sale that has been offered, and for which there are no bids received, shall not be reoffered until it has been readvertised as specified in RCW 79.140.010 through 79.140.030. If all sales cannot be offered within the specified time on the advertised date, the sale shall conti…

All sales of valuable materials shall be at public auction or by sealed bid to the highest responsible bidder, on the terms prescribed by law and as specified in the notice provided, and no land or materials shall be sold for less than their appraised value. However:(1) When valu…

(1) To determine the "highest responsible bidder" under RCW 79.140.050, the department shall be entitled to consider, in addition to price, the following:(a) The financial and technical ability of the bidder to perform the contract;(b) Whether the bid contains material defects;(c…

(1) Sales by public auction under this chapter shall be conducted under the direction of the department, by its authorized representative. The department's representatives are referred to as auctioneers.(2) On or before the time specified in the notice of sale each bidder shall d…

(1) A sale of valuable materials shall be confirmed if:(a) No affidavit showing that the interest of the state in such a sale was injuriously affected by fraud or collusion, is filed with the department's Olympia office within ten days from the receipt of the report of the auctio…

The department is authorized and empowered to confer with and enter into any agreements with the public authorities of the state of Oregon, which in the judgment of the department will assist the state of Washington and the state of Oregon in securing the maximum revenues for san…

When gravel, rock, sand, silt, or other material from any state-owned aquatic lands is removed by any public agency or under public contract for channel or harbor improvement, or flood control, use of the material may be authorized by the department for a public purpose on land o…

In no case shall any valuable materials situated within or upon any tidelands, shorelands, or beds of navigable waters belonging to the state, be offered for sale unless the same shall have been appraised by the department of natural resources within ninety days prior to the date…

When valuable materials are sold separate from state-owned aquatic lands and the purchase price is paid in full, the department shall cause a bill of sale, signed by the commissioner and attested by the seal of the commissioner's office, setting forth the time within which the ma…

The department, upon application by any person or when determined by the department to be in the best interest of the state, may enter into a contract or lease providing for the removal and sale of rock, gravel, sand, and silt, or other valuable materials located within or upon b…

Each application made pursuant to RCW 79.140.150 shall set forth the estimated quantity and kind of materials desired to be removed and shall be accompanied by a map or plat showing the area from which the applicant wishes to remove the materials. The department may in its discre…

The department may inspect and audit books, contracts, and accounts of each person removing rock, gravel, sand, or silt pursuant to any lease or contract under RCW 79.140.150 and 79.140.160 and make such other investigation and secure or receive any other evidence necessary to de…

Whenever, pursuant to RCW 79.15.300, the department enters into a contract for the sale and removal of rock, gravel, sand, or silt out of a riverbed, the department shall, when establishing a royalty, take into consideration flood protection value to the public that will arise as…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the department may issue permits and leases for prospecting, placer mining contracts, and contracts for the mining of valuable minerals and specific materials, except rock, gravel, sand, silt, coal, or hydrocarbons, upon a…

The department is authorized to execute option contracts for prospecting purposes and leases for the mining and extraction of coal from any state-owned aquatic lands or from which it may acquire title, or from any aquatic lands sold or leased by the state the minerals of which ha…

(1)(a) The legislature finds and declares that an extraordinary volume of material washed down onto beds of navigable waters and shorelands in the Toutle river, Coweeman river, and portions of the Cowlitz river following the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980.(b) The legislatur…

See RCW 79.105.001.

The legislature finds that the public health and safety is threatened by an increase in the amount of plastic garbage being deposited in the waters and on the shores of the state. To address this growing problem, the commissioner appointed the marine plastic debris task force whi…

As used in this chapter:(1) "Department" means the department of natural resources.(2) "Action plan" means the marine plastic debris action plan of October 1988 as presented to the commissioner by the marine plastic debris task force.[ 2005 c 155 s 902; 1989 c 23 s 2. Formerly RC…

The department shall have the authority to coordinate implementation of the action plan with appropriate state agencies including the parks and recreation commission and the departments of ecology and fish and wildlife. The department is authorized to adopt, in consultation with …

The department may enter into intergovernmental agreements with federal or state agencies and agreements with private parties deemed necessary by the department to carry out the provisions of this chapter.[ 1989 c 23 s 4. Formerly RCW 79.97.040, 79.81.040.]

The department is the designated agency to coordinate implementation of the action plan and is authorized to hire such employees as are necessary to coordinate the action plan among state and federal agencies, the private sector, and interested public groups and organizations. Th…

The department is authorized to accept, receive, disburse, and administer grants or funds or gifts from any source including private individuals, public entities, and the federal government to supplement the funds appropriated to carry out the purposes of this chapter.[ 2005 c 15…

The legislature finds that the utilization of forest biomass materials located on state lands will assist in achieving the purposes of the forest biomass energy demonstration project under RCW 43.30.835, facilitate and support the emerging forest biomass market and clean energy e…

(1) The department may maintain a list of all potential sources of forest biomass on state lands for the purposes of identifying and making forest biomass, as defined in RCW 79.02.010, available for sale, exploration, collection, processing, storage, stockpiling, and conversion i…

(1) The department is authorized to enter forest biomass supply contracts on terms and conditions acceptable to the department for terms of up to five years, except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, for the purpose of providing a supply of forest biomass during the t…

The department is authorized to lease state lands for the purpose of the sale, exploration, collection, processing, storage, stockpiling, and conversion of biomass into energy or biofuels, the development of a biorefinery, or for any other resource use derived from biomass if the…

(1) For the purpose of improving forest health on state trust lands, and to better clarify the relationship of forest biomass with the by-products of forest health and fuel reduction treatments that have been traditionally utilized for other products, the department of natural re…

(1) The legislature finds that since the 1980s, about seventeen percent of Washington's commercial forests have been converted to other land uses.(2) The legislature further finds that as these forests vanish, so do the multiple benefits they provide to our communities such as lo…

(1) If deemed practicable by the commissioner, the department is authorized to create and manage, consistent with the provisions of this chapter, a discrete category of natural resource lands in a nonfiduciary community forestland trust. The department is authorized to assemble, …

(1) The department must identify lands for inclusion into the community forest trust, and manage the resulting community forest trust lands, in furtherance of goals that must be identified by the department prior to the creation of a community forest.(2) In addition to any goals …

(1)(a) Except as limited by RCW 79.155.070, the department is authorized to acquire by purchase, gift, donation, grant, transfer, or other means other than eminent domain fee interest or a partial interest, including conservation easements, in lands or other real property suitabl…

(1) The department shall, if it establishes a community forest trust program, develop criteria to be used for the identification and prioritization of forestland that is suitable for potential inclusion in the community forest trust due to its ability to most closely satisfy the …

(1) The department shall, if it establishes a community forest trust program, submit biennially to the office of financial management and the appropriate committees of the legislature a prioritized list that identifies nominated parcels of state land or state forestland that are …

(1) The department must, prior to using the authority provided in RCW 79.155.040 to acquire land for inclusion in a community forest, obtain from the local community a commitment to preserving the land as a working forest.(2) Following initial agreement between potential local co…

(1) All lands transferred into community forest trust status must be managed in accordance with a postacquisition management plan developed by the department consistent with this section.(2) After exercising the authority provided in RCW 79.155.040 to acquire land for inclusion i…

(1) Any revenue produced on community forest trust lands must be allocated as follows:(a) All costs incurred by the department in managing the parcel must be fully reimbursed; and(b) After the department's management costs are reimbursed, any remaining revenue must then be priori…

By September 1, 2014, and periodically, but at least once every ten years thereafter, the department shall provide to the board a review and update of the community forest trust program. The review must include updates on the performance of the community forest trust statewide an…

(1) The commissioner may establish and maintain a statewide advisory committee to assist the department in the implementation of this chapter.(2) If a statewide advisory committee is established, the commissioner shall appoint a balanced representation of interests on the committ…

(1) The commissioner may, if deemed practicable and beneficial by the commissioner, cooperate with interested local governments in establishing community forest districts or local working forest districts that are compatible with the goals identified in this chapter for the commu…

The authorities granted under Title 79 RCW for the management of state lands apply to the community forest trust to the extent consistent with the purposes of chapter 216, Laws of 2011. The department may develop management procedures deemed necessary by the department to impleme…

The state treasurer, on behalf of the department, must distribute to counties for all lands acquired from private landowners for the purposes of this chapter an amount in lieu of real property taxes equal to the amount of tax that would be due if the land were taxable as open spa…

The community forest trust account is created in the state treasury. All moneys received for the acquisition, sale, management, and administration of the department's duties under this chapter for community forest trust lands including, but not limited to, proceeds from the sale …

(1) The legislature finds that nearshore habitat is amongst the most important for threatened and endangered species of salmon, yet nearshore habitat in populated areas is often negatively impacted by man-made structures. There is a growing problem where aquatic or overwater stru…

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Aquatic lands" means all tidelands, shorelands, harbor areas, and the beds of navigable waters, including lands owned by the state and lands owned by other public or p…

(1) To the extent not granted under other statutes, the department is granted authority to purchase, or acquire through gift, exchange, or other transfer, lands and facilities to carry out the purposes of this title. Following purchase or acquisition, the department also has the …

(1) Derelict aquatic structures will be disposed of by the department or an approved contractor in any appropriate and environmentally sound manner.(2) Preference must be given to the least costly, environmentally sound, reasonable disposal option. Any disposal operations must be…