HomeMy WebLinkAbout060326 email - Jurisdictional Guardrails for Proposed Federal Land TransfersALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
To: The Boards of County Commissioners for Clallam and Jefferson Counties
Regarding: Jurisdictional Guardrails for Proposed Federal Land Transfers
Submitted By: The Environmental Coalition of Pierce County
Date: June 4, 2026
___________________________________________________
The Deed Restrictions needed for Blind Spot
The proposed federal land transfer package contains a critical regulatory blind spot that threatens decades of local conservation efforts. When land enters sovereign federal trust status,
state and local authorities lose all police powers over that acreage. If Congress passes this transfer without explicit statutory conditions, the Washington State Growth Management
Act (GMA) and Shoreline Management Act (SMA) will immediately cease to apply at the property line.
This creates a regulatory cliff.
Natural ecosystems and wildlife do not recognize shifting political boundaries. An unregulated or under-regulated nearshore directly threatens the contiguous refuge ecosystem. Sovereign
trust status fundamentally exempts tribal lands from state environmental laws, which will invalidate local Shoreline Master Program (SMP) protections at the refuge boundary line.
Ecosystems require continuous, uniform regulatory management across geographic borders to survive. The Boards of Commissioners must condition any formal letters of support on the inclusion
of a binding federal deed restriction that forces the recipient to adopt and enforce equivalent state GMA and SMA standards.
The Legal Necessity for Regulatory Consistency
Demanding a uniform regulatory baseline across boundaries is not a novel concept; it is the baseline law of Washington State. The legislature explicitly recognized that fragmented environmental
rules destroy ecosystems and codified two strict consistency mandates:
* The Shoreline Management Mandate: RCW 90.58.110 explicitly requires adjacent local jurisdictions to maintain consistent shoreline regulations to prevent fragmented, conflicting
environmental management along shared waters. [^1]
* The Growth Management Mandate: RCW 36.70A.100 mandates that comprehensive land-use plans must be fully coordinated and consistent with neighboring lands sharing common geographic
borders. [^2]
Allowing a jurisdictional black hole to open along the Dungeness nearshore directly violates the spirit of these state consistency laws.
Precedent:
The Blyn Sewer Expansion Project
A glaring local warning sign regarding urban growth boundaries occurred during the Blyn tribal facilities sewer expansion project. The state Growth Management Act explicitly prohibits
the extension of urban sewer line connections outside designated Urban Growth Areas (UGAs) to prevent rapid, uncoordinated commercial sprawl into rural and resource lands. [^3]
The Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe bypassed standard county GMA zoning controls by routing wastewater directly through a municipal interlocal agreement with the City of Sequim to service
the 7 Cedars Casino and resort complex. [^4] If federal trust status is granted over newly transferred lands without explicit conservation parameters, the state and counties will lose
all remaining legal leverage to enforce critical shoreline and growth limits along these sensitive marine corridors.
Maintaining the Existing Regulatory Baseline
This request is not a radical or adversarial hurdle for the Tribe. The Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe has already proven that it can successfully operate commercial aquaculture operations
while complying fully with local environmental rules.
When the Tribe sought to resume commercial oyster farming within Dungeness Bay, they operated within standard county protocols. They applied for and secured a formal Clallam County Shoreline
Substantial Development Permit. [^5] Under that county-enforced SMA jurisdiction, their operations were successfully bound to strict environmental guardrails:
* Limiting intensive aquaculture gear to protect native eelgrass and benthic (sea-bottom) habitats.
* Enforcing prohibitions on mechanical harvesting and artificial beach frosting.
* Mandating strict vessel speed reductions and noise limits to protect migratory birds within the adjacent national wildlife refuge.
Because the Tribe already complies with these exact shoreline standards on its existing aquaculture leases, requiring a federal deed restriction to maintain the exact same regulatory
baseline on newly acquired lands is a entirely reasonable, common-sense measure to protect our shared environment.
The Board must protect its tax base, its infrastructure, and its ecosystems. We urge the Board to not sign a letter of support until these deed restrictions are written directly into
the text of the bill.
Thank You,
Kirk Kirkland
Environmental Coalition of Pierce County
253 761 6693 | kirkkirkland9@gmail.com <mailto:kirkkirkland9@gmail.com>
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