40.240.100    Exempt Land Uses and Activities

A.    This chapter shall not apply to:

1.    Any treaty or other rights of any Indian tribes.

2.    Lands held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior for Indian tribes or for individual members of Indian tribes, and lands acquired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and administered by the Secretary of the Interior for the benefit of Indian tribes or of individual members of Indian tribes, shall be exempt from regulation. This exemption shall extend to lands selected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as “in lieu” or treaty fishing access sites pursuant to Public Law 79-14 and Public Law 100-581 before or after the effective date of the Management Plan. For those “in lieu” or treaty fishing access sites chosen after the effective date of the Management Plan, the exemption shall commence upon selection by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

3.    Rights to surface or groundwater.

4.    Water transportation activities on the Columbia River or its tributaries. The term “activities” includes those facilities necessary for navigation.

5.    The operation, maintenance and modification of existing transmission facilities of the Bonneville Power Administration.

6.    Laws, rules or regulations pertaining to hunting or fishing.

7.    The operation, maintenance and improvement of navigation facilities at Bonneville Dam pursuant to federal law, except for the off-site disposal of excavation material.

8.    In the GMA, the rights and responsibilities of nonfederal timber landowners under the Washington Forest Practices Act, or under county regulations that supersede those acts.

B.    Neither the Forest Service nor the Gorge Commission may establish any buffer zones or protective perimeters outside the boundaries of the Scenic Area.

(Amended: Ord. 2006-05-04; Ord. 2021-12-02)