EMERGENCY RULES
FISH AND WILDLIFE
Effective Date of Rule: Immediately.
Purpose: The purpose of WAC 220-52-04000G, is to raise the price of crab pot buoy tags from $.90 to $1.25 per tag. RCW 77.70.430 allows the department to charge a fee to holders of a Dungeness crab - Puget Sound or coastal fishery license, in order to reimburse the department for the production of the tags and the administration of the buoy-tag program.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 220-52-040.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.12.047, 77.04.020, and 77.70.430.
Under RCW 34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds that immediate adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or general welfare, and that observing the time requirements of notice and opportunity to comment upon adoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest.
Reasons for this Finding: Despite raising the price of buoy tags last year from $.70 per tag to $.90 per tag, revenue was not enough to recover more than $50,000 in buoy-tag program expenses. Buoy tags are made of petroleum byproducts, and the cost of oil has increased significantly. Staff, shipping, and handling costs are approximately $50,242 each year. The department needs to increase the price of buoy tags from $.90 per tag to $1.25 per tag this year to meet budget expectations for the 2009-11 biennium. Department representatives met with members of the commercial crabbing industry on August 14, 2009, and received their approval for the price increase. There is insufficient time to adopt permanent rules.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: August 20, 2009.
Philip Anderson
Director
(1) Crab buoy tags: The department will issue crab pot buoy tags to the owner of each commercial crab fishery license upon payment of an annual buoy tag fee of one dollar and twenty-five cents ($1.25) per crab pot buoy tag. Prior to setting gear, each Puget Sound crab license holder must purchase 100 tags, and each coastal crab fisher must purchase 300 or 500 tags, depending on the crab pot limit assigned to the license. Only department-issued crab buoy tags may be used, and each crab pot is required to have a buoy tag.
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