(1)(a) The legislature finds and declares that an extraordinary volume of material washed down onto beds of navigable waters and shorelands in the Toutle river, Coweeman river, and portions of the Cowlitz river following the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980.

(b) The legislature further finds that the owners of private lands located near the impacted rivers were authorized to sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of any dredge spoils removed from the river between the years of 1980 and 1995 without the necessity of any charge by the department.

(c) The legislature further finds that the dredging activities following the eruption of Mount St. Helens are no longer adequate to protect engineered structures on the affected rivers or the public health and safety of the communities located in proximity to the affected rivers. Future river dredging will be necessary as part of managing the post-eruption state of the rivers, and with the commencement of new dredging activities, the underlying conditions leading to the previous authority for private landowners to dispose of the dredged materials without the necessity of any charge by the department are replicated.

(d) The legislature further finds that just as between the years of 1980 and 1995, the dredge spoils placed upon adjacent publicly and privately owned property in the affected areas, if further disposed, will be of nominal value to the state and that it is in the best interests of the state to allow further disposal without charge.

(2) All dredge spoil or materials removed from the state-owned beds and shores of the Toutle river, Coweeman river, and that portion of the Cowlitz river from two miles above the confluence of the Toutle river to its mouth deposited on adjacent public and private lands before December 31, 2035, as a result of dredging the affected rivers for navigation and flood control purposes that as of June 10, 2010, have not been sold, transferred, or otherwise disposed of by owners of the lands, may be sold, transferred, or otherwise disposed of by owners of the lands without the necessity of any charge by the department and free and clear of any interest of the department.

Retroactive application—2010 c 57: “This act applies to all dredge spoil or materials removed from the state-owned beds and shores of the Toutle river, Coweeman river, and that portion of the Cowlitz river from two miles above the confluence of the Toutle river to its mouth deposited on adjacent public and private lands as a result of dredging the affected rivers for navigation and flood control purposes following the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 that, as of June 10, 2010, have not been sold, transferred, or otherwise disposed of by owners of the lands. To this extent, this act applies retroactively, but in all other respects it applies prospectively.” [ 2010 c 57 § 2.]