Farming Now Falls Under Critical Areas Ordinance Rules

Thursday, Nov. 10 — Farmers Encouraged to Attend Planning Commission Meeting in Friday Harbor

At a meeting on Orcas Island last Friday, Nov. 4, a small group of local agricultural stakeholders met with Peggy Bill and Sara Jones of the County Agricultural Resources Committee (ARC) to discuss participation in the Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) update.

The CAO regulations update is scheduled for a vote before the County Council on March 27, 2012. The Planning Commission, county staff, and the Council are now considering draft ordinances on the separate sections of the CAO, namely:

• General
• Aquifer Recharge Areas
• Geologically Hazardous Areas
• Frequently Flooded Areas
• Wetlands
• Fish and Wildlife Conservation Areas

After years of consideration, last July state legislators approved State Bill 1886  which proposed a ”voluntary stewardship program” to address agricultural concerns  in a  local approach within county CAOs. The County Council then asked the ARC to make a recommendation to the Council about whether to opt into the Voluntary Stewardship program; or follow the regulations in the updated CAO.

The ARC recommended to the County Council on Nov. 1 that it decide by Jan. 22, 2012 to opt into a “Voluntary Stewardship Program,” which will consider for the next three years the rules involved in individual farm “plans” that incorporate farming practices with the CAO.

In San Juan County,  the addition of agriculture as a critical area will be handled by considering all the county as a single watershed, and the agricultural practices and regulations to be defined in the Wetlands portion of the CAO.

At the Orcas meeting, (which followed similar meetings on San Juan and Lopez Islands), Bill introduced the ARC, saying it was composed of  50 percent commercial farmers. The definition of farm includes orchards, dairy farms, haying operations and crop raising; most farms in the county are small farms.

Bill posed the question, “How do we make sure the CAO addresses agricultural activities that occur on wetlands?”

(This update is required for the county to be in compliance with the statewide Growth Management Act, and thus eligible for state grant funds).

State Requirements for Critical Area Ordinances:

• Must consider the best available science, must protect critical areas and ensure no net loss to their functions and values;
• Must give special consideration to preservation and enhancement of anadromous and migratory fisheries;
• Wetlands must be delineated according to the Washington State Department of Ecology Manual.

Voluntary Stewardship

Bill said that the ARC, while recommending county participation in Voluntary Stewardship,  also advises active participation by the agricultural community in the Wetlands section of the CAO update.

Bill asked for feedback on “the most important issues so we can reflect that in our recommendations. How do we put forward policies that  support agriculture and meet state law?”

It was stated that the new rules would go into effect upon adoption by the County, and that prior existing practices would be protected, as long as it was demonstrated that the practice would not have a greater adverse impact on the farm, and that it was consistent with the farm plan.

That policy gave rise to the questions:

•  Who defines adverse impact?
•  How to document the impact?
•  How to prove a problem is not being caused by something else, such as naturally- occurring fecal bird pollution?
•  Who pays for the process?

Bill said that the Voluntary Stewardship Program  allows the ARC to set up a policies that work for the county. First though, the problem must be defined, the impacts weighed and measurement for achieving goals of the program established.

The voluntary program “has opportunities for the agricultural community to develop the program,” Bill said.

Elements of agricultural practices that affect wetlands include:

•  Sedimentation
• Nutrients
• Habitat destruction
• Buffers
• Seasonal streams
• Salmon protection:

Bill said, “We’re hoping to give individual farmers the options to do what’s best for their own lands. Voluntary stewardship will allow us to define those regulations.”

Wetlands

It was noted that 80-90 percent of county farms are impacted by wetlands regulations: “At least, some part of most farms has wetlands on it,” one person said.

Mindy Kayl, an Orcas wetlands consultant and small farmer, said “The agricultural community could set precedent in defining wetlands and coming up with a management plan.” She urged comprehensive mapping and analysis of county wetlands, saying “Nobody knows what we stand to lose until those lines are drawn.”

The draft county wetlands map prepared by Dr. Paul Adamus was criticized as being too complex and not definitive.

Bill said, “We don’t have to do anything until money is made available, which is partly why the ARC thinks we have to follow both paths. What if money is never made available and we have to go back to the CAO process?”

Bill asked the group if they had opinions about the Voluntary Stewardship program vs. the CAO; she asked, “What factors should be addressed no matter which way we go”

The group in attendance brought out distrust of “blanket requirements – for example,  a 300-ft buffer wipes out my entire grazing.”

• They also spoke of the concept of “Best Available Science” adopted by the County in formulating the CAO update.
• Another issue was which county department would govern the use of any funding.
• Prioritization of zoning for future farmlands was also a concern.

George Orser posed the dilemma before farmers, the ARC, the Planning Commission, County government and islands’ residents:  “We want to make it harder for people to come in and degrade the land. ’Farming’ could be chicken houses on an industrial scale.”

“Farming is about adaptation,” Bill said. “There’s no ‘slam-dunk’ here. We need your input so tell us what you think.”

She announced a “heavy series of deadlines,” this week the County Planning Commission will meet on Nov. 10 to talk about wetlands, the CAO and agriculture. CAO documents can be viewed at the county website: sanjuanco.com/cdp/

For further questions, contact the County at 370-7579 or Peggy Bill at peg@sjcarc.org.