The Washington State Conservation Commission is seeking public comment on proposed new rules regarding the election and replacement of conservation district supervisors. The rule proposes several changes to the election process to make conservation district elections more transparent and accessible to members of the public.

The Commission is taking public comments on the proposed rules beginning September 1, 2010 through September 28, 2010. There are several methods the public can comment on the rule including by email. The Washington State Conservation Commission is required by statute to adopt procedures for conservation district elections. The proposed rules establish procedures for how individuals enter and exit the office of conservation district supervisor, for the conduct of elections by conservation districts, to clarify statutory language, and to provide statewide consistency in the election and replacement of conservation district supervisors.

Public comments may be submitted to the Commission in any of the following ways:

· Provide comments at the public hearings.

· E-mail your comments to the Commission at Commission@scc.wa.gov.

· Fax comments to the Commission at (360) 407-6215.

· Mail comments to:

Washington State Conservation Commission

Attn: Bill Eller

P.O. Box 47721

Olympia, WA 98504-7721.

The Commission will hold two public hearings to gather comments. The first public hearing is in Lacey on September 21, 2010 at 6 p.m. in the main auditorium (R0A-34/36), Department of Ecology Headquarters Building, 300 Desmond Drive, Lacey, WA 98503. The second public hearing is in Spokane on September 23, 2010 at 6 p.m. in the conference room of the Spokane Conservation Commission, 210 North Havana, Spokane, WA 99202.

The Commission will review and respond to all comments through a responsiveness summary prepared by October 15. The formal comment period ends September 28, 2010. Comments must be received by 5:00 pm. The Commission expects to adopt the new rules no later than October 22, 2010.

More information about proposed conservation district elections rule is available online at http://www.scc.wa.gov/.