WRIA 62 WMP 032305 - Washington State Department of Ecology

March, 2005 -101- 023-1289-003.3040
The WRIA 62 Planning Unit recommends, upon review of the WRIA 62 Watershed Management
Plan (Plan), that Pend Oreille County (as the lead SEPA agency) adopt the statewide
programmatic Watershed Planning EIS and issue a determination of significance (DS) to meet its
responsibility to prepare a SEPA compliant review of the Plan. Adoption of the statewide
programmatic Watershed Planning EIS is addressed with this Chapter (Chapter 7) of the Plan.
After adoption of the statewide programmatic Watershed Planning EIS, there is a fourteen (14)
day waiting period before an action can be taken to approve the Plan (WAC 197-11-630).
7.2 SEPA and Watershed Planning
The State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) (Chapter 43.21C RCW) was enacted by the State
legislature to ensure that State and local agencies consider likely environmental consequences of
proposed actions during decision-making processes concerning such activities. These consequences
are considered during the SEPA review process.
Under SEPA rules, non-project actions are defined as governmental actions involving decisions on
policies, plans, and programs. Such actions can include the adoption or amendment of policies,
programs, and plans, such as Watershed Plans under Chapter 90.82 RCW. Any non-project action
must be reviewed under SEPA unless specifically exempted.
The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) published a Final Environmental Impact
Statement for Watershed Pla nning under Chapter 90.82 RCW in August 2003 (Ecology, 2003d). A
copy of this statewide programmatic Watershed Planning EIS is available for review at the Pend
Oreille Conservation District office in Newport, WA and on the internet at
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0306013.html. Actions that could be included in local watershed plans
are considered as SEPA “alternatives” in this statewide programmatic Watershed Planning EIS.
Probable significant adverse environmental impacts that may be associated with these “alternatives”
were also discussed in the statewide programmatic Watershed Planning EIS. If actions in a local
watershed plan are consistent with the alternatives listed in the statewide programmatic Watershed
Planning EIS, non-project programmatic SEPA requirements can be fulfilled by the statewide
programmatic Watershed Planning EIS.
There are three SEPA compliance processes associated with actions in the WRIA 62 Plan:
1) Programmatic coverage of the County Watershed Plan approval process.
WRIA 62 WMP 032305
Programmatic coverage of the WRIA 62 Plan is achieved through adoption of the
statewide programmatic Watershed Planning EIS and the issuance of a Determination of
Significance for the WRIA 62 Plan.
2) SEPA compliance related directly to rule-making by the State. The State may accept an
obligation to propose a Water Resource Management rule as an outcome of actions in the
WRIA 62 plan. This SEPA process for rule-making will be implemented by the State when
the action is initiated, and is not the responsibility of the Planning Unit or the lead SEPA
agency for Watershed Planning.
SEPA compliance for rule-making will be accomplished through a separate SEPA process,
lead by the State, at the time the action is implemented.
3) Non-programmatic SEPA for specific actions. Some specific project or non-project actions
recommended in the WRIA 62 Plan, such as the initiation of a specific construction or
management activity, will go through a separate SEPA review of the individual action itself
at the time the action is implemented. The SEPA review completed at the current