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By COOKSON BEECHER Capital Press Staff Writer, The Capital Press , 6/15/2000
OLYMPIA - Existing and ongoing agriculture will not be subject to the state's new shoreline guidelines, say Ecology officials.
Last year, when the department released proposed revisions to the state's Shoreline Management Act, the proposal included setbacks of up to 200 feet from the high watermark.
Fearful that they were facing yet another government assault on their property, farmers and timber owners joined other private property owners in protest.
The public outcry had the department tabling the proposal until the Legislature had time to review the matter.
And though legislators debated various options, they failed to adopt any changes.
That threw the ball back into Ecology's court.
This time around, the department used the more than 2,500 comments it received on its earlier proposal to craft a new set of guidelines.
In the section about agriculture in the agency's 166-page proposal, it specifically says new shoreline master program provisions should not apply retroactively to existing agricultural uses.
Those existing uses include, but are not limited to, the production of horticultural, viticultural, floricultural, livestock, dairy, apiary, vegetable or animal products or of berries, grain , hay, straw, turf, seed, or Christmas trees.
The definition of existing and ongoing agriculture also includes the operation and maintenance of farm and stock ponds, drainage ditches or irrigation systems, as well as the normal maintenance and repair of existing structures, facilities and lands currently under production or cultivation.
Gordon White, Ecology program manager, said farmers will be able to rotate crops or even switch from livestock farming to crop farming or vice versa without worrying about falling under the new set of shoreline guidelines.
However, new development, clearing and grading in support of agricultural uses will need to be located and designed to avoid impacts to shoreline environments.
In addition, master shoreline programs will be required to include standards for setbacks, water quality protection, environmental impacts and vegetation conservation when they are linked to new agricultural development, clearing and grading in a shoreline jurisdiction.
Agricultural land enrolled in state, county or federal setaside programs will be viewed as existing, ongoing agriculture.
This provision is intended to ensure that master program provisions do not prevent agriculture from being resumed after the period of the setaside program.
Jay Gordon, a dairy farmer in the Chehalis area who has been conferring with Ecology officials about the draft, said the guidelines are getting close but aren't there yet.
He has questions about the way the words "shall" and "should" are used in the part about agriculture.. He would like the "shoulds" that pertain to existing and ongoing agriculture to be changed to "shalls," thus ensuring that the agency won't go back and change things later on.
And while many farmers will be relieved to learn that existing and ongoing agriculture has been excluded from the agency's proposed revisions, there are those - including members of the state Grange - who warn that slapping revised shoreline guidelines on new agricultural operations would be a disincentive for people wanting to move into the state and begin farming.
But White pointed out that the shorelines guidelines are just one set of regulations that affect land practices along waterways. Other state and federal agencies also regulate land practices, especially those that could harm fish.
"Farmers need to pay attention to the Agriculture, Fish and Water process," he said, referring to buffer-related negotiations taking place among members of the agriculture community, state and federal officials, environmentalists and tribal representatives.
Ecology official Sheryl Hutchison pointed out that the shorelines guidelines are designed to do more than to protect fish. They're also designed to make sure that shorelines are protected from activities that would hurt other landowners.
"Farmers will benefit because they won't see some of their land washed away because of erosion and slides caused by activities going on farther upstream," she said. "Their financial investment is protected when there are shoreline guidelines in place that protect their property."
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The public-comment period on the proposal will last from June 7 through Aug. 7. People may submit comments in writing via regular mail or the Internet. Written comments must be submitted by 5 p.m., Aug. 7. They can be sent to: Shoreline Rule, Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, Wash., 98504-7600.
People may also comment during the public hearings.
Here are the eight public hearings scheduled across the state. Each meeting will begin with a question-and-answer period at 5:30 p.m., followed by a formal public hearing at 7 p.m.
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The guidelines will be available during the public hearings or can be obtained by calling 888-211-3641.
They can also be reviewed via the Internet at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/SMA/guidelines/newguid.htm.
The part referring to agriculture is on page 66 of the report, or page 75 of the document on the agency's web page.
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The act was passed by the Legislature in 1971 and adopted by the public in a 1972 referendum.
It has not been revised since then.
The goal of the act is to prevent the inherent harm that comes with the uncoordinated and piecemeal development of the state's shorelines.
The Act applies to more than 20,000 miles of shorelines: 2,300 miles of lake shores, 16,000 miles of streams, and 2,400 miles of marine shoreline.
Cities and counties are the primarily regulators of the act but the state has the authority to review local programs and permit decisions.
Ecology's proposed revision was set in motion by the Legislature in 1995. ***
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