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A Motion authorizing the executive director to proceed with writing and issuing a request for proposal to hire a consultant to prepare a SEPA programmatic environmental impact statement for the Lower Green River Corridor Plan.
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WHEREAS, the King County Flood Control Zone District ("District") is embarking on corridor planning for approximately twenty-one river miles of the lower Green River affecting the cities of Auburn, Kent, Tukwila and Renton as well as unincorporated King County; and
WHEREAS, the lower Green River study area includes flood risk reduction facilities in multiple jurisdictional ownerships and is surrounded by mixed land uses, including commercial, residential, industrial, recreational and agricultural; and
WHEREAS, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe has identified river water temperature, lack of shade, and lack of juvenile rearing habitat, as significant risks to fish populations that are protected by the Endangered Species Act; and
WHEREAS, Water Resource Inventory Area 9 is responsible for planning related to improving salmon habitat in the lower Green River; and
WHEREAS, the Lower Green River Corridor Plan ("LGRCP") is a follow-up plan to the Interim System-Wide Improvement Framework ("Interim SWIF") submitted to the United States Army Corps of Engineers for acceptance in February 2016; and
WHEREAS, the Interim SWIF was written to maintain eligibility for flood damage repairs under the federal PL 84-99 Program, but did not address multiple objectives; and
WHEREAS, the District desires to prepare a SEPA programmatic environmental impact statement ("EIS") to establish a shared vision and goals for the lower Green River corridor related to flood risk reduction, habitat, recreation, agriculture, and other values that may be developed in open collaboration with stakeholders; develop a coordinated set of performance and development guidelines and standards to implement the vision and goals; identify altern...

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