RCW 43.21A.470 Yakima enhancement project—Duties—Request for congressional authorization for pipeline.

(1) The director of the department of ecology shall:

(a) Continue to participate with the federal government in its studies of the Yakima enhancement project and of options for future development of the second half of the Columbia Basin project;

(b) Vigorously represent the state's interest in said studies, particularly as they relate to protection of existing water rights and resolution of conflicts in the adjudication of the Yakima river within the framework of state water rights law and propose means of resolving the conflict that minimize adverse effects on the various existing uses;

(c) As a cooperative federal and nonfederal effort, work with members of the congressional delegation to identify and advance, subject to the limitations in subsection (2) of this section, for federal authorization elements of the Yakima enhancement project which: Have general public support and acceptable cost-sharing arrangements, meet study objectives, and otherwise have potential for early implementation; and

(d) In developing acceptable cost-sharing arrangements, request federal recognition of state credit for expenditures of moneys from Washington state utility ratepayers.

(2) In the interest of promoting cooperation between all interested parties and to effectuate the efficient and satisfactory implementation of the Yakima enhancement project, the state requests that Congress authorize the construction of a pipeline between Keechelus Lake and Kachess Lake as one of the elements of early implementation of the Yakima enhancement project for the purpose of supplying the water which is demanded for and caused by the operation of the fish passage facilities at the Easton Dam. The department, in concert with other state agencies, shall work diligently to assure that the pipeline element is included in the federal legislation.

[ 1987 c 517 § 1; 1986 c 316 § 3.]