Washington Administrative Code

"Applicant" means any person or entity, including an agency, applying for a license from an agency. Application means a request for a license.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-716, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]

"Built environment" means the elements of the environment as specified by RCW 43.21C.110 (1)(f) and WAC 197-11-444(2), which are generally built or made by people as contrasted with natural processes.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-7…

"Categorical exemption" means a type of action, specified in these rules, which does not significantly affect the environment (RCW 43.21C.110 (1)(a)); categorical exemptions are found in Part Nine of these rules. Neither a threshold determination nor any environmental document, i…

"Closed record appeal" means an administrative appeal held under chapter 36.70B RCW that is on the record to a county/city body or officer, including the legislative body, following an open record hearing on a project permit application when the appeal is on the record with no or…

"Consolidated appeal" means the procedure requiring a person to file an agency appeal challenging both procedural and substantive compliance with SEPA at the same time, as provided under RCW 43.21C.075 (3)(b) and the exceptions therein. If an agency does not have an appeal proced…

"Consulted agency" means any agency with jurisdiction or expertise that is requested by the lead agency to provide information during the SEPA process.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-724, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]

"Cost-benefit analysis" means a quantified comparison of costs and benefits generally expressed in monetary or numerical terms. It is not synonymous with the weighing or balancing of environmental and other impacts or benefits of a proposal.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. W…

(1) "County/city" means a county, city, or town. In this chapter, duties and powers are assigned to a county, city, or town as a unit. The delegation of responsibilities among the various departments of a county, city, or town is left to the legislative or charter authority of th…

"Decision maker" means the agency official or officials who make the agency's decision on a proposal. The decision maker and responsible official are not necessarily synonymous, depending on the agency and its SEPA procedures (WAC 197-11-906 and 197-11-910).[Statutory Authority: …

"Department" means the Washington state department of ecology.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-732, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]

"Determination of nonsignificance" (DNS) means the written decision by the responsible official of the lead agency that a proposal is not likely to have a significant adverse environmental impact, and therefore an EIS is not required (WAC 197-11-310 and 197-11-340). The DNS form …

"Determination of significance" (DS) means the written decision by the responsible official of the lead agency that a proposal is likely to have a significant adverse environmental impact, and therefore an EIS is required (WAC 197-11-310 and 197-11-360). The DS form is in WAC 197…

"EIS" means environmental impact statement. The term "detailed statement" in RCW 43.21C.030 (2)(c) refers to a final EIS. The term "EIS" as used in these rules refers to draft, final, or supplemental EISs (WAC 197-11-405).[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order…

"Environment" means, and is limited to, those elements listed in WAC 197-11-444, as required by RCW 43.21C.110 (1)(f). Environment and environmental quality refer to the state of the environment and are synonymous as used in these rules and refer basically to physical environment…

"Environmental checklist" means the form in WAC 197-11-960. Rules for its use are in WAC 197-11-315.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-742, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]

"Environmental document" means any written public document prepared under this chapter. Under SEPA, the terms environmental analysis, environmental study, environmental report, and environmental assessment do not have specialized meanings and do not refer to particular environmen…

"Environmental review" means the consideration of environmental factors as required by SEPA. The "environmental review process" is the procedure used by agencies and others under SEPA for giving appropriate consideration to the environment in agency decision making.[Statutory Aut…

"Expanded scoping" is an optional process that may be used by agencies to go beyond minimum scoping requirements.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-750, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]

"Impacts" are the effects or consequences of actions. Environmental impacts are effects upon the elements of the environment listed in WAC 197-11-444.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-752, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]

"Incorporation by reference" means the inclusion of all or part of any existing document in an agency's environmental documentation by reference (WAC 197-11-600 and 197-11-635).[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-754, filed 2/10/84, effe…

(1) "Lands covered by water" means lands underlying the water areas of the state below the ordinary high water mark, including salt waters, tidal waters, estuarine waters, natural water courses, lakes, ponds, artificially impounded waters, and wetlands. As specified in Part Nine …

"Lead agency" means the agency with the main responsibility for complying with SEPA's procedural requirements (WAC 197-11-050 and 197-11-922). The procedures for determining lead agencies are in Part Ten of these rules. "Lead agency" may be read as "responsible official" (WAC 197…

"License" means any form of written permission given to any person, organization, or agency to engage in any activity, as required by law or agency rule. A license includes all or part of an agency permit, certificate, approval, registration, charter, or plat approvals or rezones…

"Local agency" or "local government" means any political subdivision, regional governmental unit, district, municipal or public corporation, including cities, towns, and counties and their legislative bodies. The term encompasses but does not refer specifically to the departments…

"Major action" means an action that is likely to have significant adverse environmental impacts. "Major" reinforces but does not have a meaning independent of "significantly" (WAC 197-11-794).[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-764, file…

"Mitigated DNS" means a DNS that includes mitigation measures and is issued as a result of the process specified in WAC 197-11-350.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-766, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]

"Mitigation" means:(1) Avoiding the impact altogether by not taking a certain action or parts of an action;(2) Minimizing impacts by limiting the degree or magnitude of the action and its implementation, by using appropriate technology, or by taking affirmative steps to avoid or …

"Natural environment" means those aspects of the environment contained in WAC 197-11-444(1), frequently referred to as natural elements, or resources, such as earth, air, water, wildlife, and energy.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-77…

"NEPA" means the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 USCA 4321 et seq.; PL 91-190), that is like SEPA at the federal level. The federal NEPA regulations are located at 40 C.F.R. 1500 et seq.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-7…

"Nonproject" means actions which are different or broader than a single site specific project, such as plans, policies, and programs (WAC 197-11-704).[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-774, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]

"Open record hearing" means a hearing held under chapter 36.70B RCW and conducted by a single hearing body or officer authorized by the county/city to conduct such hearings, that creates the county's/city's record through testimony and submission of evidence and information, unde…

"Phased review" means the coverage of general matters in broader environmental documents, with subsequent narrower documents concentrating solely on the issues specific to the later analysis (WAC 197-11-060(5)). Phased review may be used for a single proposal or EIS (WAC 197-11-0…

"Preparation" of an environmental document means preparing or supervising the preparation of documents, including issuing, filing, printing, circulating, and related requirements (see WAC 197-11-700(2)).[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-1…

"Private project" means any proposal primarily initiated or sponsored by an individual or entity other than an agency.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-780, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]

"Probable" means likely or reasonably likely to occur, as in "a reasonable probability of more than a moderate effect on the quality of the environment" (see WAC 197-11-794). Probable is used to distinguish likely impacts from those that merely have a possibility of occurring, bu…

"Proposal" means a proposed action. A proposal includes both actions and regulatory decisions of agencies as well as any actions proposed by applicants. A proposal exists at that stage in the development of an action when an agency is presented with an application, or has a goal …

"Reasonable alternative" means an action that could feasibly attain or approximate a proposal's objectives, but at a lower environmental cost or decreased level of environmental degradation. Reasonable alternatives may be those over which an agency with jurisdiction has authority…

"Responsible official" means that officer or officers, committee, department, or section of the lead agency designated by agency SEPA procedures to undertake its procedural responsibilities as lead agency (WAC 197-11-910).[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order…

"SEPA" means the State Environmental Policy Act (chapter 43.21C RCW), which is also referred to as the act. The "SEPA process" means all measures necessary for compliance with the act's requirements.[Statutory Authority: 1995 c 347 (ESHB 1724) and RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 97-21-030 (O…

(1) "Scope" means the range of proposed actions, alternatives, and impacts to be analyzed in an environmental document (WAC 197-11-060(2)).(2) To determine the scope of environmental impact statements, agencies consider three types of actions, three types of impacts, and three ty…

"Scoping" means determining the range of proposed actions, alternatives, and impacts to be discussed in an EIS. Because an EIS is required to analyze significant environmental impacts only, scoping is intended to identify and narrow the EIS to the significant issues. The required…

(1) "Significant" as used in SEPA means a reasonable likelihood of more than a moderate adverse impact on environmental quality.(2) Significance involves context and intensity (WAC 197-11-330) and does not lend itself to a formula or quantifiable test. The context may vary with t…

"State agency" means any state board, commission, department, or officer, including state universities, colleges, and community colleges, that is authorized by law to make rules, hear contested cases, or otherwise take the actions stated in WAC 197-11-704, except the judiciary an…

"Threshold determination" means the decision by the responsible official of the lead agency whether or not an EIS is required for a proposal that is not categorically exempt (WAC 197-11-310 and 197-11-330 (1)(b)).[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39…

"Underlying government action" means the governmental action, such as zoning or permit approvals, that is the subject of SEPA compliance.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-799, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]

The proposed actions contained in Part Nine are categorically exempt from threshold determination and EIS requirements, subject to the rules and limitations on categorical exemptions contained in WAC 197-11-305.Note:The statutory exemptions contained in chapter 43.21C RCW are not…

The exemptions in WAC 197-11-820 through 197-11-875 relate only to the specific activities identified within the named agencies. These exemptions are in addition to the preceding sections of this part and are subject to the rules and limitations of WAC 197-11-305. The categorical…

All licenses issued by the department of licensing are exempted, except the following:(1) Camping club promotional permits under chapter 19.105 RCW.(2) Motor vehicle wrecker licenses under chapter 46.80 RCW; WAC 197-11-800 (13)(i) shall apply to allow possible exemption of renewa…

All licenses issued by the department of labor and industries are exempted, except the issuance of any license for the manufacture of explosives or the adoption or amendment by the department of any regulations incorporating general standards respecting the issuance of licenses a…

The following actions and licenses of the department of natural resources are exempted:(1) Forest closures, shutdowns and permit suspensions due to extreme unusual fire hazards.(2) Operating permits to use power equipment on forest land.(3) Permits to use fuse on forest land.(4) …