CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to the City Light Department; authorizing the General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of City Light to establish and fund an early action Skagit Habitat Enhancement Program in anticipation of new Skagit River Hydroelectric Project license conditions to implement meaningful habitat and watershed improvements in the Skagit River watershed for Endangered Species Act listed species; authorizing the execution of necessary and convenient agreements to implement the early action habitat and watershed improvements in the Skagit River watershed; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.
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WHEREAS, Puget Sound Chinook, steelhead, and bull trout have been listed as threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA); and
WHEREAS, as part of the previous Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relicensing of the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project (FERC Project No. 553) ("Skagit Project"), the City Light Department entered into the Fisheries Settlement Agreement with many of the licensing participants to address Project impacts on fisheries resources and aquatic habitat; and
WHEREAS, the Fisheries Settlement Agreement included substantial financial commitments by the City Light Department to fund mitigation for aquatic habitat impacts, and this mitigation has provided significant benefits to aquatic resources; and
WHEREAS, the City Light Department has also responded to the ESA listings of Puget Sound Chinook, steelhead, and bull trout, in part, through the development and implementation of an Early Action Proposal for Puget Sound Chinook, approved by Resolution 29905; and
WHEREAS, by Ordinance 120618, the City Council authorized the acquisition of various habitat lands in the Skagit and Tolt/Snoqualmie watersheds as part of the Early Action Proposal, and the majority of these properties have been purchased; and
WHEREAS, the existing FER...
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