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<br />Kittitas County Board of County Commissioners Shoreline Master Program Adopting Ordinance <br />Kittitas County Shoreline Master Program Exhibit D | March 2016 | Page 263 of 339 <br /> <br />17B.05.020F Wetlands – designation, mapping, delineation, and categorization. <br />1. Designation: Wetlands are those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground <br />water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances <br />do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. <br />Wetlands generally include, but are not limited to, swamps, marshes, bogs, ponds, and <br />similar areas. Wetlands do not include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from <br />non-wetland sites, including, but not limited to, irrigation and drainage ditches, grass-lined <br />swales, canals, detention facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, farm ponds, and <br />landscape amenities, or those wetlands created after July 1, 1990, that were unintentionally <br />created as a result of the construction of a road, street, or highway. Wetlands may include <br />those artificial wetlands intentionally created from non-wetland areas to mitigate the <br />conversion of wetlands. <br />2. Mapping: The approximate location and extent of wetlands are shown on maps maintained <br />by the County. These maps are useful as a guide for project applicants, and/or property <br />owners but do not provide a conclusive or definitive indication of wetland presence or extent. <br />Other wetlands may exist that do not appear on the maps, and some wetlands that appear <br />on the maps may not meet all of the wetland designation criteria. <br />3. Delineation: Wetlands shall be identified and delineated by a qualified wetlands professional <br />in accordance with the most current approved federal wetland delineation manual and <br />applicable regional supplements. This professional shall field stake, flag or mark the on-site <br />wetland boundary to aid the County in reviewing the development proposal. The County <br />may require the on-site wetland boundary to be surveyed by a professional land surveyor. <br />The County may require an applicant to identify the approximate location or presence of any <br />wetlands within three hundred (300) feet of a proposed development site. Wetlands that <br />occur or extend beyond the boundaries of the development site, onto adjoining properties, <br />do not need to be flagged or formally delineated but their general location must be disclosed <br />in order to assess wetland buffer impacts. <br />4. Categorization and rating: Wetlands shall be rated based on categories that reflect the <br />functions and values of each wetland. Wetlands shall be identified, rated, categorized, and <br />delineated by a qualified wetland professional in accordance with the current version of the <br />Washington State Wetland Rating System for Eastern Washington, the procedure outlined <br />in WAC 173-22-035, and the appropriate rating forms approved by the Washington State <br />Department of Ecology. These categories are generally defined as follows: <br />a. Category I wetlands: Category I wetlands are those that represent a unique or rare <br />wetland type, are more sensitive to disturbance than most wetlands, are relatively <br />undisturbed and contain ecological attributes that are impossible or too difficult to <br />replace within a human lifetime, and provide a high level of functions. The following <br />types of wetlands are Category I: <br />i. Alkali wetlands; <br />ii. Wetlands that are identified by scientists of the Washington State Department of <br />Natural Resources Natural Heritage Program as high quality, relatively undisturbed <br />wetlands, or wetlands that support state threatened or endangered plant species; <br />iii. Bogs and calcareous fens; <br />iv. Mature and old-growth forested wetlands over a ¼ acre in size with slow growing <br />trees; <br />v. Forest wetlands with stands of Aspen; <br />vi. Wetland scoring between twenty-two and twenty-seven (22-27) points or more (out <br />of twenty seven (27)) in the Eastern Washington Wetland Rating System. <br />b. Category II wetlands: Category II wetlands are difficult, though not impossible, to <br />replace, and provide high levels of some functions. These wetlands occur more