The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) “Aquatic conveyance” means transportable personal property having the potential to move an aquatic invasive species from one aquatic environment to another. Aquatic conveyances include but are not limited to vessels and associated equipment, float planes, construction equipment, fish tanker trucks, hydroelectric and irrigation equipment, personal fishing and hunting gear, and materials used for aquatic habitat mitigation or restoration.

(2) “Aquatic invasive species” means an invasive species of the animal kingdom with a life cycle that is at least partly dependent upon fresh, brackish, or marine waters. Examples include nutria, waterfowl, amphibians, fish, and shellfish.

(3) “Aquatic plant” means a native or nonnative emergent, submersed, partially submersed, free-floating, or floating-leaved plant species that is dependent upon fresh, brackish, or marine water ecosystems and includes all stages of development and parts.

(4) “Certificate of inspection” means a department-approved document that declares, to the extent technically or measurably possible, that an aquatic conveyance does not carry or contain an invasive species. Certification may be in the form of a decal, label, rubber stamp imprint, tag, permit, locking seal, or written statement.

(5) “Clean and drain” means to remove the following from areas on or within an aquatic conveyance to the extent technically and measurably possible:

(a) Visible native and nonnative aquatic animals, plants, or other organisms; and

(b) Raw water.

(6) “Commercial vessel” means a management category of aquatic conveyances:

(a) Required to have valid marine documentation as a vessel of the United States or similar required documentation for a country other than the United States; and

(b) Not subject to vessel registration requirements under chapter 88.02 RCW or ballast water requirements under chapter 77.120 RCW.

(7) “Cryptogenic species” means a species that scientists cannot commonly agree are native or nonnative or are part of the animal kingdom.

(8) “Decontaminate” means, to the extent technically and measurably possible, the application of a treatment to kill, destroy, remove, or otherwise eliminate all known or suspected invasive species carried on or contained within an aquatic conveyance or structural property by use of physical, chemical, or other methods. Decontamination treatments may include drying an aquatic conveyance for a time sufficient to kill aquatic invasive species through desiccation.

(9) “Detect” means the verification of invasive species’ presence as defined by the department.

(10) “Eradicate” means, to the extent technically and measurably possible, to kill, destroy, remove, or otherwise eliminate an invasive species from a water body or property using physical, chemical, or other methods.

(11) “Infested site management” means management actions as provided under RCW 77.135.070 that may include long-term actions to contain, control, or eradicate a prohibited species.

(12) “Introduce” means to intentionally or unintentionally release, place, or allow the escape, dissemination, or establishment of an invasive species on or into a water body or property as a result of human activity or a failure to act.

(13) “Invasive species” means nonnative species of the animal kingdom that are not naturally occurring in Washington for purposes of breeding, resting, or foraging, and that pose an invasive risk of harming or threatening the state’s environmental, economic, or human resources. Invasive species include all stages of species development and body parts. They may also include genetically modified or cryptogenic species.

(14) “Invasive species council” means the Washington invasive species council established in RCW 79A.25.310 or a similar collaborative state agency forum. The term includes the council and all of its officers, employees, agents, and contractors.

(15) “Mandatory check station” means a location where a person transporting an aquatic conveyance must stop and allow the conveyance to be inspected for aquatic invasive species.

(16) “Possess” means to have authority over the use of an invasive species or use of an aquatic conveyance that may carry or contain an invasive species. For the purposes of this subsection, “authority over” includes the ability to intentionally or unintentionally hold, import, export, transport, purchase, sell, barter, distribute, or propagate an invasive species.

(17) “Prohibited species” means a classification category of nonnative species as provided in RCW 77.135.030.

(18) “Property” means both real and personal property.

(19) “Quarantine declaration” means a management action as provided under RCW 77.135.050 involving the prohibition or conditioning of the movement of aquatic conveyances and waters from a place or an area that is likely to contain a prohibited species.

(20) “Rapid response” means expedited management actions as provided under RCW 77.135.060 triggered when invasive species are detected, for the time-sensitive purpose of containing or eradicating the species before it spreads or becomes further established.

(21) “Raw water” means water from a water body and held on or within property. “Raw water” does not include water from precipitation that is captured in a conveyance, structure, or depression that is not otherwise intended to function as a water body, or water from a potable water supply system, unless the water contains visible aquatic organisms.

(22) “Registered vessel” means a management category of aquatic conveyances required to register as vessels under RCW 88.02.550 or similar requirements for a state other than Washington or a country other than the United States.

(23) “Regulated species” means a classification category of nonnative species as provided in RCW 77.135.030.

(24) “Seaplane” means a management category of aquatic conveyances capable of landing on or taking off from water and required to register as an aircraft under RCW 47.68.250 or similar registration in a state other than Washington or a country other than the United States.

(25) “Small vessel” means a management category of aquatic conveyances including every description of vessel on the water used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on the water, except:

(a) Inner tubes, air mattresses, sailboards, and small rafts or flotation devices or toys customarily used by swimmers;

(b) Vessels meeting registration requirements under chapter 88.02 RCW; and

(c) Seaplanes.

(26) “Water body” means an area that carries or contains a collection of water, regardless of whether the feature carrying or containing the water is natural or nonnatural. Examples include basins, bays, coves, streams, rivers, springs, lakes, wetlands, reservoirs, ponds, tanks, irrigation canals, and ditches.

Findings—2014 c 202: “The legislature finds that:

(1) The state’s fish, wildlife, and habitat are exceptionally valuable environmental resources for the state’s citizens.

(2) The state’s fish, wildlife, and habitat also provide exceptionally valuable economic, cultural, and recreational resources. These include hydroelectric power, agriculture, forests, water supplies, commercial and recreational fisheries, aquaculture, and public access to outdoor recreational opportunities.

(3) Invasive species pose a grave threat to these environmental and economic resources, especially to salmon recovery and state and federally listed threatened and endangered species. Because of the significant harm invasive species can cause, invasive species constitute a public nuisance.

(4) If allowed to become established, invasive species can threaten human health and cause environmental and economic disasters affecting not only our state, but other states and nations.

(5) The risk of invasive species spreading into Washington increases as travel and commerce grows in volume and efficiency.

(6) Prevention of invasive species is a cost-effective, successful, and proven management strategy. Prevention is the state’s highest management priority with an emphasis on education and outreach, inspections, and rapid response.

(7) The integrated management of invasive species through pathways regulated by the department is critical to preventing the introduction and spread of a broad range of such species, including plants, diseases, and parasites.

(8) Washington’s citizens must work together to protect the state from invasive species.

(9) Public and private partnerships, cooperative agreements, and compacts are important for preventing new arrivals and managing existing populations of invasive species, and coordinating these actions on local, state, national, and international levels.

(10) The department requires authority for this mission to effectively counter the unpredictable nature of invasive species’ introductions and spread, enable the utilization of new advances in invasive ecology science, and implement applicable techniques and technology to address invasive species.

(11) An integrated management approach provides the best way for the state to manage invasive species and includes opportunities for creating an informed public, encouraging public involvement, and striving for local, regional, national, and international cooperation and consistency on management standards. An integrated management approach also applies sound science to minimize the chance that invasive species used for beneficial purposes will result in environmental harm.

(12) This chapter provides authority for the department to effectively address invasive species using an integrated management approach.

(13) The department of fish and wildlife currently has sufficient statutory authority to effectively address invasive species risks posed through discharge of ballast water under chapter 77.120 RCW and by private sector shellfish aquaculture operations regulated under chapter 77.115 RCW. The programs developed by the department under these chapters embody the principles of prevention as the highest priority, integrated management of pathways, public-private partnerships, clean and drain principles, and rapid response capabilities.” [ 2014 c 202 § 101.]