King County receives HUD Best Practices Award; Section 7 consultation process honored for compliance with Endangered Species Act

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has honored King County with a HUD Best Practices Award. The award recognizes the County's work in support of federally funded low income housing by streamlining the Section 7 consultation process for compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

"I am extremely proud that King County is being honored with this award," said Sims. "It recognizes an innovative program that not only supports low incoming housing but ensures that they are constructed in a way that protects threatened Chinook salmon. This has been a collaborative effort between King County's ESA Office, the Department of Community and Human Services, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. It is an example of how we can meet the goals of saving salmon and creating low income housing by working together to build a better tomorrow."

King County's Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) administers $12 million in federal Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnerships funds annually. A large portion of the funds are used by nonprofits to develop low-income housing and community facilities that serve low-income residents of unincorporated communities and suburban cities.

Under Section 7 of the ESA, the County is required to conduct a scientific review of federally funded projects to ensure they do not harm chinook salmon or their habitat. This involves rigorous scientific studies to ensure species listed under the ESA are not harmed. County staff developed an environmental checklist for projects to provide an easy method of testing whether a project will have an effect on a listed species. Projects that do not meet the criteria on the checklist must be reviewed in depth by federal agencies. Projects that meet the criteria in the checklist can, however, proceed to construction without additional review.