35.15.100 Application requirements

35.15.100 Application requirements.

(1) Applications for new aquaculture use/development shall provide all of the information required in CCC 35.50.150 plus any additional information that may be required pursuant to the critical areas regulations in Chapter 35.35 CCC.

(2) Prior to approving a permit for a new aquaculture use or development, the Administrator shall require a visual analysis prepared by the applicant/proponent describing effects on nearby uses and aesthetic qualities and visual aesthetics of the shoreline. The analysis shall include any proposed mitigation related to visual and character of area effects.

(3) In areas adjacent to navigation lanes with high wind or wave energy, the Administrator may require a plan to address and mitigate the potential for net pens to be swept from moorings into navigation lanes.

(4) An application for net pens and in-water finfish aquaculture shall include:

(a) An operation plan that includes information and projections for:

(i) Anticipated harvest cycles and potential plans for future expansion or change in species grown or harvest practices;

(ii) Improvements at the site (e.g., pens, booms, etc.) and their relationship to the natural features (e.g., bathymetry, shorelines, etc.);

(iii) Number, types, and dimensions of structures, apparatus, or equipment;

(iv) The number and duration of barges or vessels that will be permanently or temporarily moored at the site;

(v) Species cultured;

(vi) Fish size at harvest;

(vii) Annual production;

(viii) Average and maximum stocking density;

(ix) Source of eggs, juveniles, and broodstock;

(x) Type of feed used and feeding methods;

(xi) Chemical use (e.g., antifouling, antibiotics, etc.);

(xii) Predator control methods;

(xiii) Anticipated levels of noise, light, and odor and plans for minimizing their impacts; and

(xiv) How prevention of marine debris accumulation will be addressed and what site operational management practices will be implemented.

(b) Baseline site characterization survey to include:

(i) Bathymetric survey (bottom features).

(ii) Hydrographic survey (current velocity and direction, drogue tracking, vertical profiles of temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen).

(iii) Ecological survey, including underwater video or photographic survey, of bottom substrate, features, vegetation and habitats.

(iv) Baseline benthic survey of sediment chemistry and infauna sampling.

(c) Potential impacts to animals, plants, and water quality due to the discharge of wastewater from any related upland development.

(d) Proof of application for an aquatic lands lease from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources or proof of lease or ownership if bedlands are privately owned.

(e) Department of Health Shellfish Certification Number.

(f) Department of Fish and Wildlife commercial aquatic farm or noncommercial, personal consumption designation.

(g) Proof of application for any permits required by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Health, or other agency.

(h) Estimates of high, average, and low volumes of waste to be produced, including catastrophic events.

(i) Analysis of the short- and long-term impacts of anchoring systems on benthic environments.

(j) Evaluation of potential for entanglement of marine mammals in mooring lines.

(k) A detailed sampling and analysis plan that would be used to assess fish health, potential for disease transmission to wild salmon stocks, and benthic and water quality impacts associated with net pen operations. The sampling and analysis plan should describe statistical analyses that would be employed to evaluate collected information.

(l) Evaluation of net pen survivability under worst-case (e.g., 100-year storm) conditions for the proposed location.

(m) A plan for how net pens will be routinely inspected for structural integrity during the lifetime of their operation.

(n) A contingency plan in the event of fish release following structural failure. This plan would include both the initial emergency response and measures to capture released fish.

(5) An application for commercial geoduck aquaculture shall include:

(a) A narrative description and timeline for all anticipated geoduck planting and harvesting activities;

(b) A baseline ecological survey of the proposed site, including surveys of existing shellfish resources, potential finfish habitat, substrate composition, and aquatic vegetation;

(c) Management practices that address impacts from mooring, parking, noise, lights, litter, and other activities associated with geoduck planting and harvesting operations;

(d) Whether the proposal involves placing nursery tanks, holding pools or other impervious materials directly on the intertidal sediments;

(e) Whether the proposal involves the use of motorized vehicles, such as trucks, tractors and forklifts below the ordinary high water mark;

(f) Specific periods when limits on activities are necessary to protect priority habitats and associated species and avoid conflicts with neighboring uses;

(g) Any required alterations to the natural conditions of the site, including significant removal of vegetation or rocks and regrading of the natural slope and sediments;

(h) Whether the proposal involves marking of property corners such that they are visible at low tide during planting and harvesting;

(i) The proposed use of predator exclusion devices with minimal ecological adverse impacts and timing of planned removal of such devices as soon as they are no longer needed for predator exclusion;

(j) Planned methods of minimizing turbid runoff during harvest;

(k) The number and duration of barges or vessels that will be moored or beached at the site as well as duration limits;

(l) Whether the proposal will affect public rights to navigation over the surface of the water;

(m) How prevention of marine debris accumulation will be addressed and what site operational management practices will be implemented including worker training and regular removal of equipment, tools, extra materials, and all wastes;

(n) Where the site contains existing public access to publicly owned lands, consider recommendations from the Department of Natural Resources or other landowning agencies regarding protection of the existing public access; and

(o) Proposed mitigation measures to achieve no net loss of ecological functions consistent with Chapter 35.40 CCC, Mitigation and No Net Loss.

(6) Cumulative Impact Analysis – Expanded Requirements. Applicants proposing complex projects, such as multispecies farms, farms on shorelines of statewide significance, farms that have the potential to harm habitat, community recreation use or significant degradation of views and aesthetic values, farms within low-energy shorelines areas including but not limited to bays, coves and estuaries and areas situated adjacent to identified critical areas; farms proposed in areas adjacent to existing aquaculture activities; or when the proposal is the first of its kind in the areas shall be required to provide additional baseline information that may include:

(a) Aquatic and benthic organism diversity and abundance;

(b) Sediment compaction;

(d) Multilevel current flow date;

(e) Water quality;

(f) Analysis of flushing rates;

(g) An analysis of impacts of farms within water bodies or within the vicinity of the proposal; and

(h) An analysis of visual, aesthetic impacts, and real estate impacts of farms proposed adjacent to residential and high intensity residential shoreline environmental designations.

(7) The County will accept documentation that has been submitted by the project applicant to State and federal permitting agencies to satisfy application requirements of this section and Program.