2015 FILE PHOTO — State Sens. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, left, Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, and John Braun, R-Centralia, listen as a woman testifies about statewide flooding issues at a Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing in Olympia.
Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, left, talks with Pe Ell representative to the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority J. Vander Stoep prior to the start of a Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing on Monday afternoon in Olympia.
Washington state senators listen as members of the public testify about statewide flooding issues during a work session at a Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing on Monday afternoon in Olympia.
Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, center-left, prepares for the start of a Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing in Olympia on Monday afternoon.
People talk in the back of a hearing room during a Senate Ways and Means Committee meeting in Olympia on Monday afternoon.
Washington state senators listen as members of the public testify about statewide flooding issues during a work session at a Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing on Monday afternoon in Olympia.
Introduced: Braun, Hatfield Among Sponsors for Legislation That Could Fund Local Flood Projects
By Dameon Pesanti
dpesanti@chronline.com
On Monday, the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee considered a draft version of a bill aimed at controlling floods, managing polluted stormwater runoff and building water supply infrastructure around the state.
Senate Bill 5628 sets up criteria to evaluate and prioritize projects within those three categories and would create three new grant programs funded via property assessments to pay for them.
It’s a version of state Rep. Richard DeBolt’s proposal for a $4 billion piece of legislation that combines Chehalis River Basin flood projects with other projects throughout the state.
The draft version of the bill states that, “pollution from runoff and development, flooding from storms, and cycles of drought have created a crisis that threatens clean and abundant supplies of water across our state and the safety of our citizens and communities. The intent of this chapter is to address this crisis through immediate action.”
Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, and Sen. Brian Hatfield, D-Raymond, are among the primary sponsors.
State officials say about two-thirds of the assessed properties in the state would pay $35 while highly developed parcels would pay up to $500.
Government properties would be included in the assessments. As it currently stands, timberlands and certain agricultural properties would not be included for assessment.
The financial impacts are not yet clear, but preliminary estimates put the annual revenue total at between $180 and $200 million per year for the first few years.
The bill as it currently stands requires a minimum 20 percent local match on the federal share of payment for projects.
Projects would be judged on a criteria of improving availability and reliability of water supplies for instream and out-of-stream uses; reducing the risk of flooding; protecting against damage caused by floods and protecting or restoring naturally functioning areas where floods occur; and reducing storm water pollution from existing infrastructure and development.
The Department of Ecology would administer grant applications and reassess the rankings every two years.
The Ways and Means Committee discussed the bill during a work session last week before doing so again and taking public comment yesterday.
“I appreciate willingness to come together and try to address the issues across the state,” Washington State Treasurer James McIntire said during his address to the committee. “I want to commend the group for coming up with a proposal that doesn’t issue state debt. … We can do this, I think, on a pay as you go basis.”
He gave several recommendations to improving the bill, including adding criteria to the grant programs, putting a cap on funding levels for each projects and including some type of “project readiness” component to criteria.
Several groups spoke in favor of the bill, including officials from King County, the Department of Ecology, The Nature Conservancy and American Rivers.
The Sierra Club spoke against the bill, as did the North Cascades Conservation Council.
Lewis County Commissioner Edna Fund and Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority alternate J. Vander Stoep were in attendance but did not give public comment.
