(1) The department shall maintain a fish passage barrier removal board. The board must be composed of a representative from the department, the department of transportation, cities, counties, the governor’s salmon recovery office, tribal governments, and the department of natural resources. The representative of the department must serve as chair of the board and may expand the membership of the board to representatives of other governments, stakeholders, and interested entities.

(2)(a) The duty of the board is to identify and expedite the removal of human-made or caused impediments to anadromous fish passage in the most efficient manner practical through the development of a coordinated approach and schedule that identifies and prioritizes the projects necessary to eliminate fish passage barriers caused by state and local roads and highways and barriers owned by private parties.

(b) The coordinated approach must address fish passage barrier removals in all areas of the state in a manner that is consistent with a recognition that scheduling and prioritization is necessary.

(c) The board must coordinate and mutually share information, when appropriate, with:

(i) Other fish passage correction programs, including local salmon recovery plan implementation efforts through the governor’s salmon recovery office;

(ii) The applicable conservation districts when developing schedules and priorities within set geographic areas or counties; and

(iii) The recreation and conservation office to ensure that barrier removal methodologies are consistent with, and maximizing the value of, other salmon recovery efforts and habitat improvements that are not primarily based on the removal of barriers.

(d) Recommendations must include proposed funding mechanisms and other necessary mechanisms and methodologies to coordinate state, tribal, local, and volunteer barrier removal efforts within each water resource inventory area and satisfy the principles of RCW 77.95.180. To the degree practicable, the board must utilize the database created in RCW 77.95.170 and information on fish barriers developed by conservation districts to guide methodology development. The board may consider recommendations by interested entities from the private sector and regional fisheries enhancement groups.

(e) When developing a prioritization methodology under this section, the board shall consider:

(i) Projects benefiting depressed, threatened, and endangered stocks;

(ii) Projects providing access to available and high quality spawning and rearing habitat;

(iii) Correcting the lowest barriers within the stream first;

(iv) Whether an existing culvert is a full or partial barrier;

(v) Projects that are coordinated with other adjacent barrier removal projects; and

(vi) Projects that address replacement of infrastructure associated with flooding, erosion, or other environmental damage.

(f) The board may not make decisions on fish passage standards or categorize as impassible culverts or other infrastructure developments that have been deemed passable by the department.

Findings—1997 c 389: See note following RCW 77.95.100.

Severability—Effective date—1995 c 367: See notes following RCW 77.95.150.