Washington Administrative Code

The following activities of the department of fish and wildlife are exempted:(1) The establishment of seasons, catch limits or geographical areas for fishing or shellfish removal.(2) Hydraulic project approvals where there is no other agency with jurisdiction (besides the departm…

All department of social and health services and department of health actions are exempted, except the following:(1) The adoption or amendment by the department of any regulations incorporating general standards for issuance of licenses authorizing the possession, use and transfe…

All department of agriculture actions are exempted, except for the following:(1) The approval of any application for a commercial registered feedlot, quarantined registered feedlot under chapter 16.36 RCW, or chapters 16-28 and 16-30 WAC.(2) The issuance or amendment of any regul…

The following activities of the department of ecology shall be exempt:(1) Review of comprehensive solid waste management plans under RCW 70.95.100 and 70.95.110.(2) Granting or denial of certification of consistency pursuant to the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1…

The following activities of the department of transportation shall be exempt:(1) Approval of the annual highway safety work program involving the highway-related safety standards pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 402;(2) Issuance of road approach permits and right of way rental agreements;(3…

All utilities and transportation commission actions are exempted, except the following:(1) Issuance of common carrier motor freight authority under chapter 81.80 RCW that would authorize a new service, or extend an existing transportation service in the fields of petroleum and pe…

The following activities of the department of commerce shall be exempt:(1) The provisions of business consulting and advisory services that include tourist promotion under RCW 43.31.050.(2) The promotion and development of foreign trade under RCW 43.31.370.(3) The furnishing of t…

Except for building construction (the majority of which is undertaken through the department of enterprise services), all activities of the following state agencies are exempted:(1) Office of the attorney general.(2) Office of the auditor.(3) Department of employment security.(4)…

Actions that must be undertaken immediately or within a time too short to allow full compliance with this chapter, to avoid an imminent threat to public health or safety, to prevent an imminent danger to public or private property, or to prevent an imminent threat of serious envi…

(1) Except for the preceding section, agencies may create additional exemptions in their procedures only after receiving approval from the department of ecology under this section.(2) An agency may petition the department to adopt additional exemptions or to delete existing exemp…

The purpose of this part is to:(1) Require each agency to adopt its own rules and procedures to carry out SEPA and ensure that agency rules and procedures shall have the force and effect of law and shall be consistent with these uniform statewide rules.(2) Require agencies to inc…

(1) The act and these rules allow agencies to condition or deny proposals if such action is based upon policies identified by the appropriate governmental authority. These policies must be incorporated into regulations, plans, or codes formally designated by the agency (or approp…

(1) Each agency is required by the act and this section to adopt its own rules and procedures for implementing SEPA. (RCW 43.21C.120.) Agencies may revise or add to their SEPA procedures at any time. Agencies may adopt these rules (chapter 197-11 WAC) by reference, and shall meet…

(1)(a) Agency SEPA policies and procedures shall implement and be consistent with the rules in this chapter. Unless optional or permissive (see WAC 197-11-704), all of the provisions of this chapter are mandatory, and agency procedures shall incorporate these rules and criteria.(…

(1) Each county/city may select certain categorical exemptions that do not apply in one or more critical areas designated in a critical areas ordinance adopted under GMA (RCW 36.70A.060). The selection of exemptions that will not apply may be made from the following subsections o…

Agency SEPA procedures shall designate or provide a method of designating the responsible official with speed and certainty (WAC 197-11-906 (1)(d)). This designation may vary depending upon the nature of the proposal. The responsible official shall carry out the duties and functi…

Each agency shall develop internal procedures, manuals, or guidance for providing responses to consultation requests from other agencies pertaining to threshold investigations, the scoping process, or EISs. Such procedures shall ensure that the agency will comply with the require…

(1) Except for the costs allowed by this chapter (see, for example, sections WAC 197-11-080, 197-11-100, 197-11-340 (3)(a), 197-11-420(4), 197-11-440 (2)(l), 197-11-504, 197-11-508, 197-11-570, 197-11-600 (3)(c) pertaining to the cost of preparing environmental documents), these …

(1) Agency SEPA procedures shall apply to any proposal initiated after the effective date of the lead agency's SEPA procedures or those of the agency proposing the action.(2) For proposals made before the effective date of revised lead agency SEPA procedures, the revised procedur…

Chapter 197-10 WAC, the original SEPA guidelines, has not been repealed because the existing guidelines of many agencies adopt portions of chapter 197-10 WAC by reference. Chapter 197-10 WAC also continues to apply for the next one hundred eighty days if an agency has not adopted…

If an agency fails to adopt rules, ordinances, resolutions, or regulations implementing SEPA within the one hundred eighty-day time period required by RCW 43.21C.120, the rules in this chapter shall be applied as practicable to the actions of such agency.[Statutory Authority: RCW…

The following agencies shall be regarded as possessing special expertise relating to those categories of the environment under which they are listed:(1) Air quality.(a) Department of ecology.(b) Department of natural resources (only for burning in forest areas).(c) Department of …

The rules for deciding when and how an agency is the lead agency (WAC 197-11-050) are contained in this part. The method and criteria for lead agency selection are in WAC 197-11-924. Lead agency rules for different types of proposals as well as for specific proposals are in WAC 1…

(1) The first agency receiving an application for or initiating a nonexempt proposal shall determine the lead agency for that proposal, unless the lead agency has been previously determined, or the agency receiving the proposal is aware that another agency is determining the lead…

(1) When an agency initiates a proposal, it is the lead agency for that proposal. If two or more agencies share in the implementation of a proposal, the agencies shall by agreement determine which agency will be the lead agency. For the purposes of this section, a proposal by an …

When the proposal involves both private and public activities, it shall be characterized as either a private or a public project for the purposes of lead agency designation, depending upon whether the primary sponsor or initiator of the project is an agency or from the private se…

For proposed private projects for which there is only one agency with jurisdiction, the lead agency shall be the agency with jurisdiction.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-930, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]

For proposals for private projects that require nonexempt licenses from more than one agency, when at least one of the agencies requiring such a license is a county/city, the lead agency shall be that county/city within whose jurisdiction is located the greatest portion of the pr…

When a proposed private project requires nonexempt licenses only from a local agency other than a county/city and one or more state agencies, the lead agency shall be the local agency.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-934, filed 2/10/8…

(1) For private projects which require licenses from more than one state agency, but require no license from a local agency, the lead agency shall be one of the state agencies requiring a license, based upon the following order of priority:(a) Department of ecology.(b) Department…

Notwithstanding the lead agency designation criteria contained in WAC 197-11-926 through 197-11-936, the lead agency for proposals within the areas listed below shall be as follows:(1) For all governmental actions relating to energy facilities for which certification is required …

For any proposal for a private project where a city or town with a population of under five thousand or a county with a population under eighteen thousand would be the lead agency under WAC 197-11-928 through 197-11-938, and when one or more state agencies are agencies with juris…

Any agency may assume lead agency status if all agencies with jurisdiction agree.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order DE 83-39), § 197-11-942, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]

Two or more agencies may by agreement share or divide the responsibilities of lead agency through any arrangement agreed upon. In such event, however, the agencies involved shall designate one of them as the nominal lead agency, which shall be responsible for complying with the d…

(1) If the agencies with jurisdiction are unable to determine which agency is the lead agency under the rules, any agency with jurisdiction may petition the department for a determination. The petition shall clearly describe the proposal in question, and include a list of all lic…

(1) An agency with jurisdiction over a proposal, upon review of a DNS (WAC 197-11-340) may transmit to the initial lead agency a completed "Notice of assumption of lead agency status." This notice shall be substantially similar to the form in WAC 197-11-985. Assumption of lead ag…

If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this chapter or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. WSR 84-05-020 (Order …

(1) These rules shall become effective April 4, 1984.(2) These rules shall apply to agency decision making under SEPA when one of the following occurs:(a) An agency adopts policies, procedures, and practices for this chapter (WAC 197-11-902 and 197-11-904); or(b) One hundred eigh…

ENVIRONMENTAL CHECKLISTPurpose of checklist:The State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), chapter 43.21C RCW, requires all governmental agencies to consider the environmental impacts of a proposal before making decisions. An environmental impact statement (EIS) must be prepared for …

adoption of existing environmental documentAdoption for (check appropriate box) □ DNS □ EIS □other . . . .Description of current proposal . . . .. . . .Proponent . . . .Location of current proposal . . . .. . . .. . . .Title of document being adopted . . . .Agency that prepared d…

determination of nonsignificanceDescription of proposal . . . .. . . .. . . .Proponent . . . .Location of proposal, including street address, if any . . . .. . . .. . . .Lead agency . . . .The lead agency for this proposal has determined that it does not have a probable significa…

determination of significanceand request for comments on scope of eisDescription of proposal . . . .. . . .. . . .Proponent . . . .Location of proposal . . . .. . . .Lead agency . . . .EIS Required. The lead agency has determined this proposal is likely to have a significant adve…

notice of assumption of lead agency statusDescription of proposal . . . .. . . .. . . .Proponent . . . .Location of proposal . . . .Initial lead agency . . . .New lead agency . . . .The initial lead agency concluded that this proposal was not likely to have significant adverse im…

notice of actionNotice is given under SEPA, RCW 43.21C.080, that (name of agency or entity) . . . . . . . . took the action described in (2) below on (date) . . . .1. Any action to set aside, enjoin, review, or otherwise challenge such action on the grounds of noncompliance with …

The environmental and land use hearings office has reviewed its authorized activities and found them all to be exempt under the provisions of WAC 197-11-800 (11)(b). This section is adopted for compliance with the State Environmental Policy Act, chapter 43.21C RCW and WAC 197-11-…

The Public Records Act (act), chapter 42.56 RCW, applies to the environmental and land use hearing office (ELUHO), a state agency, and the boards within that agency. The purpose of these rules is to establish the procedures ELUHO, and the boards, will follow in order to provide f…

(1) "Environmental and land use hearing office (ELUHO)" means the single state agency comprised of the pollution control hearings board, the shorelines hearings board, and the growth management hearings board. Where appropriate, the term ELUHO also refers to the employees of the …

(1) The environmental land use hearing office (ELUHO) is a single quasi-judicial environmental, land use and adjudicatory agency comprised of three boards: The pollution control hearings board, created in RCW 43.21B.010, the shoreline hearings board, created in RCW 90.58.170, and…

(1) Hours for inspection of records. Public records are available for inspection and copying during normal business hours of ELUHO, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., excluding legal holidays. Records must be inspected at the offices of ELUHO or the offices of the boa…

(1) Any person wishing to inspect or copy public records of ELUHO or the boards of ELUHO should make the request in writing on ELUHO's request form, or by letter, fax, or email addressed to the public records officer and include the following information:(a) Name of requestor;(b)…