AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending Order 98-252, filed 12/16/98, effective 1/16/99)

· WAC 220-110-020 Definitions.

As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(1) "Abandoning an excavation site" means not working an excavation site for forty-eight hours or longer.

(2) "Aggregate" means a mixture of minerals separable by mechanical or physical means.

(3) "Aquatic beneficial plant" means native and nonnative aquatic plants not prescribed by RCW 17.10.010(10), and that are of value to fish life.

(4) "Aquatic noxious weed" means an aquatic weed on the state noxious weed list as prescribed by RCW 17.10.010(10).

(5) "Aquatic plant" means any aquatic noxious weed and aquatic beneficial plant that occurs within the ordinary high water line of waters of the state.

(6) "Artificial materials" means clean, inert materials that you use to construct diversion structures for mineral prospecting.

(7) "Bank" means any land surface above the ordinary high water line that adjoins a body of water and contains it except during floods. Bank also includes all land surfaces of islands above the ordinary high water line that adjoin a body of water and that are below the flood elevation of their surrounding body of water.

(8) "Beach area" means the beds between the ordinary high water line and extreme low tide.

(9) "Bed" means the land below the ordinary high water lines of state waters. This definition shall not include irrigation ditches, canals, storm water run-off devices, or other artificial watercourses except where they exist in a natural watercourse that has been altered by man.

(10) "Bed materials" means naturally occurring material, including, but not limited to, gravel, cobble, rock, rubble, sand, mud and aquatic plants, found in the beds of state

waters. Bed materials may be found in deposits or bars above the wetted perimeter of water bodies.

(11) "Biodegradable" means material that is capable of being readily decomposed by biological means, such as by bacteria.

(12) "Bioengineering" means project designs or construction methods which use live woody vegetation or a combination of live woody vegetation and specially developed

natural or synthetic materials to establish a complex root grid within the existing bank which is resistant to erosion, provides bank stability, and maintains a healthy riparian environment with habitat features important to fish life. Use of wood structures or

limited use of clean angular rock may be allowable to provide stability for establishment of the vegetation.

(13) "Bottom barrier or screen" means synthetic or natural fiber sheets of material used to cover and kill plants growing on the bottom of a watercourse.

(14) "Boulder" means a stream substrate particle larger than ten inches in diameter.

(15) "Bulkhead" means a vertical or nearly vertical erosion protection structure placed parallel to the shoreline consisting of concrete, timber, steel, rock, or other permanent

material not readily subject to erosion.

(16) "Classify" means to sort aggregate through a screen, grizzly, or similar device to remove the larger material and concentrate the remaining aggregate.

(17) "Cofferdam" means a temporary enclosure used to keep water from a work area.

(18) "Complete written application" means any document that serves as application for a written hydraulic project approval under WAC 220-110-030 which is signed and dated by the applicant and authorized agent, and contains general plans for the overall project, complete plans and specifications for the proposed construction or work waterward of the MHHW line in salt water, or waterward of the ordinary high water line in fresh water, complete plans and specifications for the proper protection of fish life, and notice of compliance with any applicable requirements of the State Environmental Policy Act, unless otherwise provided for in chapter 77.55 RCW.

(19) "Concentrator" means a device used to physically or mechanically separate and enrich the valuable mineral content of aggregate.

(20) "Control" means level of treatment of aquatic noxious weeds as prescribed by RCW 17.10.010(5).

(21) "Crevicing" means removing aggregate from cracks and crevices using hand-held mineral prospecting tools or water pressure.

(22) "Department" means the Washington department of fish and wildlife.

(23) "Diver-operated dredging" means the use of portable suction or hydraulic dredges held by SCUBA divers to remove aquatic plants.

(24) "Drawdown" means decreasing the level of standing water in a watercourse to expose bottom sediments and rooted plants.

(25) "Dredging" means removal of bed material using other than hand-held tools.

(26) "Early infestation" means an aquatic noxious weed whose stage of development, life history, or area of coverage makes one hundred percent control and eradication as prescribed by RCW 17.10.010(5) likely to occur.

(27) "Emergency" means an immediate threat to life, public or private property, or an immediate threat of serious environmental degradation, arising from weather or stream flow conditions, other natural conditions, or fire.

(28) "Entrained" means the entrapment of fish into a watercourse diversion without the presence of a screen, into high velocity water along the face of an improperly designed screen, or into the vegetation cut by a mechanical harvester.

(29) "Equipment" means any device powered by internal combustion; hydraulics; electricity, except less than one horsepower; or livestock used as draft animals, except saddle horses; and the lines, cables, arms, or extensions associated with the device.

(30) "Eradication": See "control."

(31) "Established ford" means a crossing place in a watercourse that was in existence and annually used prior to 1986 or subsequently permitted by the department, and((,)) has

identifiable approaches on the banks.

(32) "Excavation site" means the pit, furrow, or hole from which you remove aggregate in order to process and recover minerals.

(33) "Extreme low tide" means the lowest level reached by a receding tide.

(34) "Farm and agricultural land" means those lands identified as such in RCW 84.34.020.

(35) "Filter blanket" means a layer or combination of layers of pervious materials (organic, mineral, or synthetic) designed and installed in such a manner as to provide drainage, yet prevent the movement of soil particles due to flowing water.

(36) "Fish life" means all fish species, including but not limited to food fish, shellfish, game fish, and other nonclassified fish species and all stages of development of those

species.

(37) "Fishway" means any facility or device that is designed to enable fish to effectively pass around or through an obstruction without undue stress or delay.

(38) "Food fish" means those species of the classes Osteichthyes, Agnatha, and Chondrichthyes that shall not be fished for except as authorized by rule of the director of the Washington department of fish and wildlife.

**(39) "Frequent scour zone" means the area between the wetted perimeter and the toe of the slope, comprised of aggregate, boulders, or bedrock. Organic soils are not present in the frequent scour zone.

(40) "Freshwater area" means those state waters and associated beds below the ordinary high water line that are upstream of river mouths including all lakes, ponds, and streams.

(41) "Game fish" means those species of the class Osteichthyes that shall not be fished for except as authorized by rule of the Washington fish and wildlife commission.

(42) "Ganged equipment" means two or more pieces of mineral prospecting equipment coupled together to increase efficiency. An example is adding a second sluice to a high-banker within the flow of water and aggregate.

(43) "General provisions" means those provisions that are contained in every HPA.

(44) "Gold and Fish pamphlet" means a document that details the rules for conducting small-scale and other prospecting and mining activities, and which serves as the hydraulic project approval for certain mineral prospecting and mining activities in

Washington State.

(45) "Habitat improvement structures or stream channel improvements" means natural or human-made materials placed in or next to water bodies to make existing conditions better. Rock flow deflectors, engineered logjams, and artificial riffles are examples.

(46) "Hand cutting" means the removal or control of aquatic plants with the use of hand-held tools or equipment, or equipment that is carried by a person when used.

(47) "Hand-held mineral prospecting tools" means:

(a) Tools that you hold by hand and are not powered by internal combustion, hydraulics, or pneumatics. Examples include metal detectors, shovels, trowels, rakes, hammers, pry bars, hand operated winches, and battery-operated pumps specific to prospecting; and

(b) Vac-Pacs.

(48) "Hatchery" means any water impoundment or facility used for the captive spawning, hatching, or rearing of fish and shellfish.

(49) "High-banker" means a stationary concentrator that you can operate outside the wetted perimeter of the body of water from which the water is removed, using water supplied by hand or by pumping. A high-banker consists of a sluice box, hopper, and water supply. You supply aggregate to the high-banker by means other than suction dredging. This definition excludes rocker boxes.

See Figure 1.

(50) "High-banking" means using a high-banker to recover minerals.

(51) "Hydraulic project" means construction or performance of other work that will use, divert, obstruct, or change the natural flow or bed of any of the salt or fresh waters of the state.

Hydraulic projects include forest practice activities, conducted pursuant to the forest practices rules (Title 222 WAC) that involve construction or performance of other work in or across the ordinary high water line of:

(a) Type 1-3 waters; or

(b) Type 4 and 5 waters with identifiable bed or banks where there is a hatchery water intake within two miles downstream; or

(c) Type 4 and 5 waters with identifiable bed or banks within one-fourth mile of Type 1-3 waters where any of the following conditions apply:

(i) Where the removal of timber adjacent to the stream is likely to result in entry of felled trees into flowing channels;

(ii) Where there is any felling, skidding, or ground lead yarding through flowing water, or through dry channels with identifiable bed or banks with gradient greater than twenty percent;

(iii) Where riparian or wetland leave trees are required and cable tailholds are on the opposite side of the channel;

(iv) Where road construction or placement of culverts occurs in flowing water;

(v) Where timber is yarded in or across flowing water;

(d) Type 4 and 5 waters with identifiable bed or banks that are likely to adversely affect fish life, where the HPA requirement is noted by the department in response to the forest practice application.

Hydraulic projects and associated permit requirements for specific project types are further defined in other sections of this chapter.

(52) "Hydraulic project approval" (HPA) means:

(a) A written approval for a hydraulic project signed by the director of the department of fish and wildlife, or the director's designates; or

(b) A verbal approval for an emergency hydraulic project from the director of the department of fish and wildlife, or the director's designates; or

(i) A "Gold and Fish" pamphlet issued by the department, which identifies and authorizes specific minor hydraulic project activities for mineral prospecting and placer mining; or

(ii) An "Irrigation and Fish" pamphlet issued by the department, which identifies and authorizes specific minor hydraulic project activities; or

(iii) An "Aquatic Plants and Fish" pamphlet and any supplemental approvals to it issued by the department, which identifies and authorizes specific aquatic noxious weed and aquatic beneficial plant removal and control activities.

(53) "Job site" means the space of ground including and immediately adjacent to the area where work is conducted under the authority of an HPA. For mineral prospecting and placer mining projects, the job site includes the excavation site.

(54) "Joint aquatic resources project application" or "JARPA" means a form provided by the department and other agencies, which an applicant submits when requesting a written HPA for a hydraulic project.

(55) "Lake" means any natural or impounded body of standing freshwater, except impoundments of the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

(56) "Large woody material" means trees or tree parts larger than four inches in diameter and longer than six feet, and rootwads, wholly or partially waterward of the ordinary high water line.

(57) "Mean higher high water" or "MHHW," means the tidal elevation obtained by averaging each day's highest tide at a particular location over a period of nineteen years. It is measured from the MLLW .= 0.0 tidal elevation.

(58) "Mean lower low water" or "MLLW," means the 0.0 tidal elevation. It is determined by averaging each day's lowest tide at a particular location over a period of nineteen years. It is the tidal datum for vertical tidal references in the saltwater area.

(59) "Mechanical harvesting and cutting" means the partial removal or control of aquatic plants with the use of aquatic mechanical harvesters, which cut and collect aquatic plants, and mechanical cutters, which only cut aquatic plants.

(60) "Mineral prospect" means to excavate, process, or classify aggregate using hand-held mineral prospecting tools and mineral prospecting equipment.

(61) "Mineral prospecting equipment" means any natural or manufactured device, implement, or animal (other than the human body) that you use in any aspect of prospecting for or recovering minerals.

(62) "Mini high-banker" means a high-banker with a riffle area of three square feet or less. See Figure 2.

(63) "Mini-rocker box" means a rocker box with a riffle area of three square feet or less. See Figure 3.

(64) "Mining" means the production activity that follows mineral prospecting.

(65) "Mitigation" means actions that shall be required as provisions of the HPA to avoid or compensate for impacts to fish life resulting from the proposed project activity.

The type(s) of mitigation required shall be considered and implemented, where feasible, in the following sequential order of preference:

(a) Avoiding the impact altogether by not taking a certain action or parts of an action;

(b) Minimizing impacts by limiting the degree or magnitude of the action and its implementation;

(d) Reducing or eliminating the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action;

(e) Compensating for the impact by replacing or providing substitute resources or environments; or

(f) Monitoring the impact and taking appropriate corrective measures to achieve the identified goal.

For projects with potentially significant impacts, a mitigation agreement may be required prior to approval.

Replacement mitigation may be required to be established and functional prior to project construction.

(66) "Natural conditions" means those conditions that arise in or are found in nature. This is not meant to include artificial or manufactured conditions.

(67) "No-net-loss" means:

(a) Avoidance or mitigation of adverse impacts to fish life; or

(b) Avoidance or mitigation of net loss of habitat functions necessary to sustain fish life; or

Mitigation to achieve no-net-loss should benefit those organisms being impacted.

(68) "Ordinary high water line" means the mark on the shores of all waters that will be found by examining the bed and banks and ascertaining where the presence and action of waters are so common and usual and so long continued in ordinary years, as to mark upon the soil or vegetation a character distinct from that of the abutting upland((:)), provided that in any area where the ordinary high water line cannot be found, the ordinary high water line adjoining saltwater shall be the line of ((mean higher high water)) MHHW, and the ordinary high water line adjoining freshwater shall be the elevation of the mean annual flood.

(69) "Pan" means an open metal or plastic dish that you operate by hand

to separate gold or other minerals from aggregate by washing the aggregate. See Figure 4.

(70) "Panning" means using a pan to wash aggregate.

(71) "Person" means an individual or a public or private entity or organization. The term "person" includes local, state, and federal government agencies, and all business organizations.

(72) "Placer" means a glacial or alluvial deposit of gravel or sand containing eroded particles of minerals.

(73) "Pool" means a portion of the stream with reduced current velocity, often with water deeper than the surrounding areas.

(74) "Power sluice" means "high-banker."

(75) "Power sluice/suction dredge combination" means a machine that can be used as a power sluice, or with minor modifications, as a suction dredge. See Figure 5.

(76) "Process aggregate" or "processing aggregate" means the physical or mechanical separation or enrichment of the valuable mineral content within aggregate.

(77) "Prospecting" means the exploration for minerals and mineral deposits.

(78) "Protection of fish life" means prevention of loss or injury to fish or shellfish, and protection of the habitat that supports fish and shellfish populations.

(79) "Purple loosestrife" means Lythrum salicaria and Lythrum virgatum as prescribed in RCW 17.10.010(10) and defined in RCW 17.26.020 (5)(b).

(80) "Redd" means a nest made in gravel, consisting of a depression dug by a fish for egg deposition, and associated gravel mounds. See Figure 6.

(81) "Riffle" means the bottom of a concentrator containing a series of interstices or grooves to catch and retain a mineral such as gold.

(82) "River or stream." See "watercourse."

(83) "Rocker box" means a nonmotorized concentrator consisting of a hopper attached to a cradle and a sluice box that you operate with a rocking motion. See Figure 7.

(84) "Rotovation" means the use of aquatic rotovators which have underwater rototiller-like blades to uproot aquatic plants as a means of plant control.

(85) "Saltwater area" means those state waters and associated beds below the ordinary high water line and downstream of river mouths.

(86) "Shellfish" means those species of saltwater and freshwater invertebrates that shall not be taken except as authorized by rule of the director of the department of fish and wildlife. The term "shellfish" includes all stages of development and the bodily parts of shellfish species.

(87) "Slope" means:

(a) Any land surface above the frequent scour zone and wetted perimeter that adjoins a body of water. Slope also includes land surfaces of islands above the frequent scour zone that adjoin a body of water; or

(b) A stretch of ground forming a natural or artificial incline.

(88) "Sluice” means a trough equipped with riffles across its bottom, which you use to recover gold and other minerals with the use of flowing water. See Figure 8.

(89) "Spartina" means Spartina alterniflora, Spartina anglica, Spartina x townsendii, and Spartina patens as prescribed in RCW 17.10.010(10) and defined in RCW 17.26.020 (5)(a).

(90) "Special provisions" means those conditions that are a part of the HPA, but are site- or project-specific, and are used to supplement or amend the technical provisions.

(91) "Spiral wheel" means a battery powered rotating pan that you use to recover gold and minerals with the help of water. See Figure 9.

(92) "Stream-bank stabilization" means those projects, which prevent or limit erosion, slippage, and mass wasting, including, but not limited to, bank resloping, log and debris relocation or removal, planting of woody vegetation, bank protection (physical armoring of banks using rock or woody material, or placement of jetties or groins), gravel removal, or erosion control.

(93) "Suction dredge" means a machine that you can use to move submerged aggregate via hydraulic suction. You process the aggregate through an attached sluice box for the recovery of gold and other minerals. See Figure 10.

(94) "Suction dredging" means using a suction dredge for the recovery of gold and other minerals.

(95) "Supplemental approval" means a written addendum issued by the department to an Aquatic Plants and Fish pamphlet HPA for approved exceptions to conditions of that pamphlet HPA or for any additional authorization by the department when required by the pamphlet HPA. See "hydraulic project approval."

(96) "Tailings" means the waste material that remains after you process aggregate for minerals.

(97) "Technical provisions" means those conditions that are a part of the HPA and apply to most projects of that nature.

(98) "Toe of the bank" means the distinct break in slope between the stream bank or shoreline and the stream bottom or marine beach or bed, excluding areas of sloughing. For steep banks that extend into the water, the toe may be submerged below the ordinary high water line. For artificial structures, such as jetties or bulkheads, the toe refers to the base of the structure, where it meets the stream bed or marine beach or bed.

(99) "Toe of the slope" means the base or bottom of a slope at the point where the ground surface abruptly changes to a significantly flatter grade.

(100) "Unstable slope" means a slope with visible evidence of slumping, sloughing or other movement. Evidence of unstable slopes includes landslides, uprooted or tilted trees, exposed soils, water-saturated soils, and mud, or the recent erosion of soils and sediment. Woody vegetation is typically not present on unstable slopes.

(101) "Vac-Pac" means a motorized, portable vacuum used for prospecting. See Figure 11.

(102) "Viable" means that any plant or plant part is capable of taking root or living when introduced into a body of water.

(103) "Watercourse" and "river or stream" means any portion of a channel, bed, bank, or bottom waterward of the ordinary high water line of waters of the state, including areas in which fish may spawn, reside, or ((through which they may)) pass, and tributary waters with defined bed or banks, which influence the quality of fish habitat downstream. This includes watercourses which flow on an intermittent basis or which fluctuate in level

during the year and applies to the entire bed of such watercourse whether or not the water is at peak level. This definition does not include irrigation ditches, canals, storm water run-off devices, or other entirely artificial watercourses, except where they exist in a natural watercourse that has been altered by humans.

(104) "Water right" means a certificate of water right, a vested water right or a claim to a valid vested water right, or a water permit, pursuant to Title 90 RCW.

(105) "Waters of the state" or "state waters" means all salt waters and fresh waters waterward of ordinary high water lines and within the territorial boundaries of the state.

(106) "Water type" means water categories as defined in WAC 222-16-030 of the forest practice rules and regulations.

(107) "Weed rolling" means the use of a mechanical roller designed to control aquatic plant growth.

(108) "Wetted perimeter" means the areas of a watercourse covered with flowing or nonflowing water.

(109) "Woody vegetation" means perennial trees and shrubs having stiff stems and bark. Woody vegetation does not include grasses, forbs, or annual plants.

· WAC 220-110-030 Hydraulic project approvals--Procedures.

(1) A person shall obtain an HPA before conducting a hydraulic project.

(2) Receipt by the department of any one of the following documents constitutes an

application for a written HPA:

(a) A joint aquatic resources permit application (JARPA) submitted to the department;

(b) A forest practice application submitted to the department of natural resources, if the hydraulic project is part of a forest practice as defined in WAC 222-16-010; or

(c) A section 10 or 404 public notice circulated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers or United States Coast Guard.

(3) You shall request a written HPA by submitting a complete written application to the department. You shall request a pamphlet HPA by following the procedures in WAC 220-110-031. Your application for a written HPA shall contain general plans for the overall project, complete plans and specifications for the proposed construction or work waterward of the MHHW line in salt water, or waterward of the ordinary high water line in fresh water, complete plans and specifications for the proper protection of fish life, and notice of compliance with any applicable requirements of the State Environmental Policy Act, unless otherwise provided for in chapter 77.55 RCW. You and your agent must sign and date the application.

(4) The department shall grant or deny approval within forty-five calendar days of the receipt of a complete written application.

The department shall strive to issue HPAs in less than thirty days.

The forty-five day requirement shall be suspended if:

(a) The site is physically inaccessible for inspection;

(b) You or your agent remains unavailable or unable to arrange for a timely field evaluation of the proposed project after ten working days of the department's receipt of the application;

(d) The department is issuing a permit for a storm water discharge and is complying with the requirements of RCW 77.55.161(3)(b)

(e) The department is reviewing the application as part of a multiagency permit streamlining effort and all participating permitting agencies and the permit applicant agree to an extended timeline longer than forty-five calendar days.

(5) Immediately upon determination that the forty-five day period is suspended, the department shall notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for the delay.

(6) The department or the county legislative authority may determine an imminent danger exists. The county legislative authority shall notify the department, in writing, if it determines that an imminent danger exists. In cases of imminent danger, the department shall issue an expedited written permit, upon request, for work to remove any obstructions, repair existing structures, restore banks, protect fish resources, or protect property.

(7) The department may issue an expedited written HPA in those instances where normal processing would result in significant hardship for the applicant, or unacceptable environmental damage would occur.

(8) Expedited HPA requests require a complete written application and shall take precedence over other nonemergency applications. These will be issued within fifteen calendar days of receipt of a complete written application. The provisions of the State

Environmental Policy Act, chapter 43.21C RCW, are not required for expedited written HPAs.

(9) The county legislative authority or the department may declare an emergency or continue an existing declaration of an emergency where there is an immediate threat to life, the public, property, or of environmental degradation. Upon the declaration of an emergency, the department shall grant verbal approval immediately upon request for a stream crossing, or work to remove any obstructions, repair existing obstructions, restore streambanks, protect fish life, or protect property threatened by the stream or a change in the stream flow. The verbal approval shall be obtained prior to commencing emergency work and the department must issue a written HPA reflecting the conditions of the verbal approval within thirty days. The provisions of the State Environmental Policy Act, chapter 43.21C RCW, are not required for emergency HPAs.

(10) The department may accept written or verbal requests for time extensions, renewals, or alterations of an existing HPA. The request must be processed within forty-five calendar days of receipt of the request. Approvals of such requests shall be in writing. Transfer of an HPA to a new permittee requires written request by the original permittee or their agent and such request shall include the HPA number. This written request shall be in a form acceptable to the department and shall include a statement that the new permittee agrees to be bound by the conditions in the HPA. The new permittee shall not conduct any project activities until the department has issued approval.

(11) Each HPA is usually specific to a watercourse, stating the exact location of the project site, and usually consists of general, technical, and special provisions.

(12) The written HPA, or clear reproduction, shall be on the project site when work is being conducted and shall be immediately available for inspection.

(13) The department may grant HPAs for a period of up to five years. Permittees shall

demonstrate substantial progress on construction of that portion of the project relating to the (HPA) within two years of the date of issuance. The following types of HPAs issued under RCW 77.55.021 shall remain in effect without the need for periodic renewal, provided the permittee notifies the department before commencing work each year:

(a) Work of a seasonal nature that diverts water for irrigation or stock watering purposes; and

(b) Stream-bank stabilization projects if the problem causing the erosion occurs on an annual or more frequent basis as demonstrated by the applicant. Evidence of erosion may include, but is not limited to, history of permit application, approval, or photographs. Periodic floodwaters by themselves do not constitute a problem that requires an HPA.

(14) An HPA shall be denied when, in the judgment of the department, the project will result in direct or indirect harm to fish life, unless conditioning the HPA or modifying the proposal can assure adequate mitigation. If approval is denied, the department shall provide the applicant, in writing, a statement of the specific reason(s) why and how the proposed project would adversely affect fish life.

(15) Protection of fish life shall be the only grounds upon which the department may deny or condition an HPA.

(16) The department may place specific time limitations on project activities in HPAs to protect fish life.

(17) HPAs do not exempt the applicant from obtaining other appropriate permits and following the rules or regulations of local, federal, and other Washington state agencies.

(18) The department shall administer this chapter ((shall be conducted)) in compliance with SEPA, chapter 43.21C RCW, and chapters 197-11, 220-100, and 232-19 WAC.

(19) The department may, after consultation with the permittee, modify an HPA due to

changed conditions. The modification becomes effective unless appealed to the department or the hydraulic appeals board as specified in RCW 77.55.021(4), 77.55.301(5), WAC 220-110-340 and 220-110-350.

· WAC 220-110-031 Pamphlet hydraulic project approvals--Procedures.

(1) In those instances where a pamphlet is the equivalent of a hydraulic project approval (HPA) as defined in WAC 220-110-020 (52), a person shall obtain a pamphlet HPA issued by the department, which identifies and authorizes specific minor hydraulic project activities before conducting a hydraulic project.

(2) You may submit requests for pamphlet HPAs to the department verbally or in writing.

(3) The department may grant exceptions to a pamphlet HPA if you apply for a written HPA as described in WAC 220-110-030, or for supplemental approvals to the Aquatic Plants and Fish pamphlet HPA as defined in WAC 220-110-020 (52) and 220-110-020.

(95). Exceptions to a pamphlet HPA shall require written authorization by the department.

(4) You may submit applications for Aquatic Plants and Fish pamphlet supplemental

approvals verbally or in writing to the department.

(a) Your supplemental approval application shall specify the requested exception or request for additional authorization and shall include your name, address and phone number. You shall sign and date written applications.

(b) The department shall grant or deny a request for a supplemental approval within forty-five calendar days of the receipt of a request for supplemental approval.

(5) Except as provided in WAC 220-110-201, you shall have the pamphlet HPA, and any

supplemental approvals to it on the job site when work is being conducted and shall make them immediately available for inspection upon request.

(6) Pamphlet HPAs do not exempt you from obtaining other appropriate permits and following the rules and regulations of local, federal, and other Washington state agencies.

· WAC 220-110-200 Mineral prospecting

WAC 220-110-201 through 220-110-206 set forth the rules necessary to protect fish life that apply to mineral prospecting and placer mining projects

Timing limitations for projects conducted under authority of the Gold and Fish pamphlet are found in WAC 220-110-206. A copy of the current Gold and Fish pamphlet is available from the department, and it contains the rules which you must follow when mineral prospecting under its authority. You may request exceptions to the Gold and Fish pamphlet by applying for an individual written HPA as indicated in WAC 220-110-031. The department may incorporate mitigation measures necessary to address site-specific conditions and protect fish life when authorizing individual written HPAs for mineral prospecting. The department may prohibit activities when prospecting and mining impacts adversely affect fish habitat for which no proven mitigation methods are available. The department may apply saltwater provisions to written HPAs for tidally

influenced areas upstream of river mouths and the mainstem Columbia River downstream of Bonneville Dam where applicable.

· WAC 220-110-201 mineral prospecting without timing restrictions.

You may mineral prospect year-round in all waters of the state, except lakes or salt waters. You must follow the rules listed below, but you do not need to have the rules with you or on the job site.

(1) You may use only hand-held mineral prospecting tools and the following mineral prospecting equipment when mineral prospecting without timing restrictions:

(a) Pans;

(b) Spiral wheels;

(c) Sluices, concentrators, mini rocker boxes, and mini highbankers with riffle areas totaling three square feet or less, including ganged equipment.

(2) You may not use vehicle-mounted winches. You may use one motorized winch and one hand-operated winch to move boulders and large woody material that is not embedded, and additional cables, chains, or ropes to stabilize them.

(3) You may not disturb fish life or redds. If you observe or encounter fish life, redds, or actively spawning fish when collecting or processing aggregate, you must relocate your

operations.

(4) Rules for excavating:

(a) You may excavate only by hand or with hand-held mineral prospecting tools.

(b) You may not excavate, collect, or remove aggregate from within the wetted perimeter. See Figures 1 and 2.

(c) Only one excavation site per individual is allowed. However, you may use a second excavation site as a settling pond. Multiple individuals may work within a single excavation site.

(d) You may not stand within, or allow aggregate to enter, the wetted perimeter when collecting or excavating aggregate.

(e) You must fill all excavation sites and level all tailing piles prior to moving to a new excavation site or abandoning an excavation site. If you move boulders, you must return them, as best as you can, to their approximate, original location.

(f) You may not undermine, move, or disturb large woody material embedded in the slopes or located wholly or partially within the wetted perimeter. You may move large woody material and boulders located entirely within the frequent scour zone, but you

must keep them within the frequent scour zone. You may not cut large woody material. See Figure 2.

(g) You may not undermine, cut, or disturb live, rooted woody vegetation of any kind.

(h) You may not excavate or collect aggregate from an unstable slope, the toe of the slope, or a portion of the slope that delivers, or has the potential to deliver, sediment to the wetted perimeter or frequent scour zone. See Figures 3 and 4.

(5) Rules for processing aggregate:

(a) You may not stand within the wetted perimeter when processing aggregate.

(b) You may not level or disturb tailing piles that remain within the wetted perimeter after processing aggregate.

(c) You must classify aggregate at the collection or excavation site prior to processing, if you collected or excavated it outside the frequent scour zone.

(d) You may process only classified aggregate within the wetted perimeter when using a sluice.

(e) You may not process directly on redds or disturb incubating fish life. You may not allow tailings, or a visible sediment plume (visibly muddy water), to enter redds or areas where fish life are located within the bed.

(f) The maximum width of a sluice, measured at its widest point, including attachments, shall not exceed twenty-five percent of the width of the wetted perimeter at the point of placement.

(g) You may process with a sluice only in areas within the wetted perimeter that are composed solely of boulders and bedrock.

You must separate sluice locations by at least fifty feet. You may not place structures within the wetted perimeter to check or divert the water flow.

(h) You may operate mini high-bankers or other concentrators only outside the wetted perimeter. You may only supply water to this equipment by hand or by a battery-operated pump with a screened intake. You may not allow visible sediment or muddy water to enter the wetted perimeter. A second excavation site may be used as a settling pond.

(i) Under RCW 77.57.010 and 77.57.070, any device you use for pumping water from fish-bearing waters must be equipped with a fish guard to prevent passage of fish into a pump intake. To prevent fish life from entering the system, you must screen the pump intake with either:

(i) Six one-hundredths inch (eighteen gauge) woven wire mesh with openings no greater than eighty-seven one-thousandths inches;

(ii) A perforated plate with openings no greater than ninetyfour one-thousandths inch (three thirty-seconds inch); or

(iii) A profile bar with openings no greater than one and seventy-five one-hundredths millimeter (sixty-nine one-thousandths inch).

The screened intake shall consist of a structure with sufficient surface area to ensure that the velocity through the screen is less than four-tenths feet per second. You must maintain screens to prevent injury to or entrapping fish life, and you must keep screens in place whenever water is withdrawn through a pump intake.

For every cubic foot per second (cfs) of water drawn through the pump, you must have at least two and one-half square feet of screen with holes of the correct size and spacing. Check the ratings plate on your pump or in the operator's manual to determine the maximum listed capacity. Size your screen according to that capacity, even if you don't normally run the pump that high. Be sure to use the pump intake rating and not the dredge capacity or water volume through the sluice.

Here are some helpful formulas and standards:

One cubic foot per second (cfs) equals four hundred fifty gallons per minute (gpm).

Minimum screen area .= (Maximum pump intake volume in cfs) ÷ (four-tenths feet per second velocity through screen).

Screen must be at least two and one-half square feet per cfs of pump intake capacity.

The following example may help you calculate the minimum screen area for your pump intake:

Example:

! Your dredge pump manufacturer rates its maximum capacity at 250 gpm.

! By dividing 250 gpm by 450 gpm, you know that your pump draws 0.56 cfs.

(j) You may not excavate or process aggregate within four hundred feet of any fishway, dam, or hatchery water intake.

(k) You may not disturb existing habitat improvement structures or stream channel improvements.

(l) If at any time, as a result of project activities, you observe a fish kill or fish life in distress, you must immediately cease operations and notify the Washington department of fish and wildlife, and the Washington military department emergency management division, of the problem. You may not resume work until the Washington department of fish and wildlife gives approval. The Washington department of fish and wildlife may require additional measures to mitigate the prospecting impacts.

· WAC 220-110-202 Mineral prospecting with timing restrictions.

You may mineral prospect only in the waters, during the times, and with the mineral prospecting equipment limitations identified in WAC 220-110-206. You must follow the rules listed below, and you must have the rules with you or on the job site.

(1) You may use only hand-held mineral prospecting tools and the following mineral prospecting equipment when mineral prospecting with timing restrictions:

(a) Pans;

(b) Spiral wheels;

(c) Sluices, concentrators, mini rocker boxes, and mini highbankers with riffle areas totaling ten square feet or less, including ganged equipment;

(d) Suction dredges that have suction intake hoses with nominal inside diameters of five inches or less as measured at the junction of the nozzle and the hose, or by measuring the inside diameter of the hose. See Figure 1.

(e) Power sluice/suction dredge combinations that have riffle areas totaling ten square feet or less, including ganged equipment, suction intake hoses with nominal inside diameters of five inches or less as measured at the junction of the nozzle and the hose, and pump intake hoses with inside diameters of four inches or less;

(f) High-bankers and power sluices that have riffle areas totaling ten square feet or less, including ganged equipment, and pump intake hoses with inside diameters of four inches or less.

(2) The widest point of a sluice, including attachments, shall not exceed twenty-five percent of the wetted perimeter at the point of placement.

(3) The suction intake hose diameter of suction dredges and power sluice/suction dredge combinations must not exceed the diameter allowed in the listing for the stream or stream reach where you are operating, as identified in WAC 220-110-206.

(4) You may not use vehicle-mounted winches. You may use one motorized winch and one hand-operated winch to move boulders and large woody material that is not embedded, and additional cables, chains, or ropes to stabilize them.

(5) Equipment separation:

(a) With the exception of sluices and rocker boxes with a riffle area exceeding three square feet, suction dredges, power sluice/suction dredge combinations, high-bankers, and power sluices, you may use mineral prospecting equipment as close to other mineral prospecting equipment as desired.

(b) You must separate by a minimum of two hundred feet as measured as a radius from the equipment all sluices and rocker boxes with a riffle area exceeding three square feet, suction dredges, power sluice/suction dredge combinations, high-bankers, and power sluices operating within the wetted perimeter. However, you may locate this equipment closer than two hundred feet if only one piece of equipment is operating. See Figure 2.

(c) You must separate by a minimum of two hundred feet as measured as a radius from the equipment all sluices and rocker boxes with a riffle area exceeding three square feet, suction dredges, power sluice/suction dredge combinations, high-bankers, and power sluices operating outside of the wetted perimeter that discharges tailings or wastewater to the wetted perimeter. However, you may locate this equipment closer than two hundred feet if only one piece of equipment is operating. See Figure 2.

(6) Under RCW 77.57.010 and 77.57.070, any device you use for pumping water from fish-bearing waters must be equipped with a fish guard to prevent passage of fish into a pump intake. To prevent fish life from entering the system, you must screen the pump intake with either:

(a) Six one-hundredths inch (eighteen gauge) woven wire mesh with openings no greater than eighty-seven one-thousandths inches; or

(b) A perforated plate with openings no greater than ninety-four one-thousandths inch (three thirty-seconds inch); or

(c) A profile bar with openings no greater than one and seventy-five one-hundredths millimeter (sixty-nine one-thousandths inch). The screened intake shall consist of a structure with sufficient surface area to ensure that the velocity through the screen is less than four-tenths feet per second. You must maintain screens to prevent injury to or entrapping fish life, and you must keep screens in place whenever water is withdrawn through a pump intake.

Here are some helpful formulas and standards:

One cubic foot per second (cfs) equals four hundred fifty gallons per minute (gpm).

Minimum screen area .= (Maximum pump intake volume in cfs) ÷ (four-tenths feet per second velocity through screen).

Screen must be at least two and one-half square feet per cfs of pump intake capacity.

The following example may help you calculate the minimum screen area for your pump intake:

Example:

! Your dredge pump manufacturer rates its maximum capacity at 250 gpm.

! By dividing 250 gpm by 450 gpm, you know that your pump draws 0.56 cfs.

(7) All equipment fueling and servicing must be done so that petroleum products do not get into the body of water. If a petroleum sheen is observed, you must contact the Washington military department emergency management division. You must immediately stop your activities, remove your equipment from the body of water, and correct the source of the petroleum leak. You may not return your equipment to the water until the problem is corrected. You must store fuel and lubricants outside the frequent

scour zone, and in the shade when possible.

(8) You may work within the wetted perimeter only from one half hour before official sunrise to one-half hour after official sunset. If your mineral prospecting equipment exceeds one-half the width of the wetted perimeter of the stream, you must remove the equipment from the wetted perimeter or move it so that a minimum of fifty percent of the wetted perimeter is free of equipment between one-half hour after official sunset to one-half hour prior to official sunrise.

(9) You may not excavate, collect, or process aggregate within four hundred feet of any fishway, dam, or hatchery water intake.