Washington Administrative Code

The board may grant a variance from requirements of chapter 246-262 WAC if, in the sole discretion of the board, data and/or research provides sufficient evidence that the RWCF (attraction, device, equipment, procedure, etc.), will adequately protect public health and safety, as …

The board authorizes the department:(1) To review new innovations, and if accepted for use, prepare appropriate amendments to chapter 246-262 WAC.(2) To allow substitution of equipment, facilities, or procedures required by chapter 246-262 WAC when, in the sole discretion of the …

(1) The fee for plan review of a new recreational water contact facility will be $800 base fee plus an hourly rate of $198 for each hour of review beyond four hours.(a) The base fee must be provided to the department prior to initiating plan review.(b) Hourly fees for plan review…

This regulation prescribes the procedure whereby a water district organized under the provisions of chapter 57.04 RCW may apply for and receive an approval and a certification of necessity from the department in accordance with the provisions of RCW 57.08.065 in order to exercise…

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions are applicable:(1) "Approval and a certification of necessity" shall mean an order of the department which gives approval to a water district to establish, maintain, construct and operate a sewer system in a proposed service…

An application for an approval and a certification of necessity must be presented to the department and shall include, but not be limited to, the following considerations:(1) A general statement of the present and future sewage problems in the proposed area of service.(2) A consi…

Prior to the submission of an application to the department for an approval and a certification of necessity, an applicant water district shall:(1) Notify all the contiguous and affected sewer entities in the area in which the water district is proposing to construct and operate …

The department will issue an approval and a certification of necessity to an applicant water district if all of the following conditions are satisfied:(1) The granting of an approval and a certification of necessity will eliminate or alleviate an existing or imminent health probl…

(1) The department's notice of a denial, suspension, modification, or revocation of an approval and certificate of necessity shall be consistent with RCW 43.70.115. An applicant or certificate holder has the right to an adjudicative proceeding to contest the decision.(2) A certif…

The granting of an approval and a certification of necessity by the department shall only constitute approval to establish, maintain, construct, and operate a sewer system within the proposed service area requested in the initial application for an approval and a certification of…

The minimum fee for required written approval and certification of necessity shall be two hundred dollars. If review time exceeds four hours, fifty dollars for each additional hour or part of an hour shall be added to the minimum fee.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.70.040. WSR 91-02…

This section establishes fees for public sewage as regulated under chapter 246-271 WAC.(1) The minimum fee for required review of land application of raw sewage or treatment plant effluent shall be two hundred dollars. If review time exceeds four hours, fifty dollars for each add…

This section establishes fees for on-site sewage systems as regulated under chapter 246-272A WAC.(1) Fees for proprietary product registration are as follows: CategoryBase FeeHourly Fee Treatment or distribution product registration initial application$1,460.00 $365.00 per hour i…

This section establishes fees for large on-site sewage systems (LOSS) as regulated under chapter 246-272B WAC.(1) The following nonrefundable fees apply to engineering and environmental reviews and inspections of LOSS.(a) New and modification project reviews. The owner shall pay …

This section establishes fees for on-site sewage system tanks as regulated under chapter 246-272C WAC.(1) Fees for review and approval of design and construction plans for a prefabricated or cast-in-place on-site sewage system tank are as follows: CategoryBase FeeHourly Fee Revie…

The fees for review and inspection of reclaimed water use projects will be calculated based on a rate of $372 per hour.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.20B.020, 43.70.110, and 43.70.250. WSR 25-22-068, s 246-272-5000, filed 10/31/25, effective 12/1/25. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.70.…

(1) The applicant shall pay to the department, with the application, a $1,278 fee. This includes developing criteria and review procedures, plus up to two hours of product-specific review. Additional review time will be billed at $274 per hour.(2) All fees must be paid prior to t…

(1) The purpose of this chapter is to protect the public health by minimizing:(a) The potential for public exposure to sewage from on-site sewage systems (OSS); and(b) Adverse effects to public health that discharges from OSS may have on ground and surface waters.(2) This chapter…

The local health officers and the department shall administer this chapter under the authority and requirements of chapters 70.05, 70.08, 70.46, 70A.105, 70A.110, and 43.70 RCW. RCW 70.05.060(7) authorizes local health officers to charge fees for the administration of this chapte…

(1) The local health officer:(a) Shall apply this chapter to OSS for treatment, siting, design, installation, and operation and maintenance measures treating sewage and dispersing effluent from residential sources with design flows up to 3,500 gallons per day;(b) May apply this c…

The definitions used in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:(1) "Additive" means a commercial product added to an OSS intended to affect the performance or aesthetics of an OSS.(2) "ANSI" means American National Standards Inst…

(1) The local health officer shall enforce the requirements of this chapter until a local board of health adopts local OSS regulations. A local board of health may adopt and enforce local rules governing OSS when the local regulations are:(a) Consistent with, and at least as stri…

(1) The local health officer for each Puget Sound county shall develop a written local management plan to provide guidance to the local health jurisdiction regarding development and management activities for all OSS within the jurisdiction. The department will review the existing…

(1) Upon the failure of an existing OSS within the service area of a sewer utility, the local health officer shall:(a) Permit the repair or replacement of the OSS only if a conforming OSS can be designed and installed, excluding OSS designed in compliance with or proposing to use…

(1) The department shall maintain standards and guidance for local health officers to permit sewage treatment and distribution technologies.(2) Before the local health officer permits sewage technologies, the sewage technologies must be registered for use as described in this cha…

(1) Manufacturers shall register a proprietary treatment product with the department using the process described in WAC 246-272A-0120 before a local health officer may permit use of the product.(2) To be eligible for product registration, manufacturers desiring to sell or distrib…

(1) Manufacturers shall register proprietary treatment products with the department by submitting a complete registration application for review and approval in the format provided by the department, including:(a) Manufacturer's name, mailing address, phone number, email address,…

This section establishes the requirements for registering bacteriological reduction processes.(1) Manufacturers shall, for the purpose of product registration as described in WAC 246-272A-0110 and 246-272A-0120:(a) For meeting treatment level BL1, verify bacteriological reduction…

(1) Proprietary distribution products, including gravelless distribution products and subsurface dripline products, must be registered with the department before permitting, sale, and use. To be eligible for registration as described in WAC 246-272A-0145, products must first be c…

(1) Manufacturers shall register their proprietary distribution products with the department by submitting a complete application for review and approval in the format provided by the department, including:(a) Manufacturer's name, mailing address, phone number, email address, and…

(1) A local health officer may issue a PDP for any proprietary treatment component or sequence to be used during a development period. To protect public health during the development period, a complete OSS meeting the requirements of this chapter and the site must already be inst…

(1) A permit is not required for a minor repair. The local health officer may require the owner to submit information regarding any activities defined as a minor repair for recordkeeping purposes.(2) Except for a minor repair, a person proposing the installation, repair, modifica…

(1) OSS must be designed and installed to meet at least the minimum horizontal separations shown in Table IV:Table IVMinimum Horizontal SeparationsItems Requiring SetbackFrom edge of soil dispersal component and reserve areaFrom sewage tank and distribution boxFrom building sewer…

(1) Only professional engineers, designers, or local health officers may perform soil and site evaluations. Soil scientists may only perform soil evaluations.(2) The person evaluating the soil and site shall:(a) Report:(i) A sufficient number of soil logs to evaluate conditions w…

(1) OSS must only be designed by a professional engineer, licensed under chapter 18.43 RCW, or an OSS designer, licensed under chapter 18.210 RCW, except:(a) If at the discretion of the local health officer, a resident owner of a single-family residence not within 200 feet of a m…

Septic tanks must:(1) Have at least two compartments with the first compartment liquid volume equal to one-half to two-thirds of the total liquid volume. This standard may be met by one tank with two compartments or by two single compartment tanks in series.(2) Have the following…

(1) All pump chambers, except pump basins, must be designed to meet the following requirements:(a) Have a minimum volume of 1,000 gallons;(b) Provide an internal volume to account for the design flow, full-time pump submergence, space for sludge accumulation below the pump inlet …

(1) All soil dispersal components, except one using a subsurface dripline product, must be designed to meet the following requirements:(a) Maximum hydraulic loading rates described in Table VIII.Table VIIIMaximum Hydraulic Loading Rate Column AColumn BSoil TypeSoil Textural Class…

(1) The OSS must be designed to facilitate routine operation, monitoring, and maintenance according to the following criteria:(a) For gravity OSS:(i) Sewage tank access for maintenance and inspection at finished grade is required. The local health officer may allow access for mai…

(1) A person may not install or use holding tank sewage systems for residential development or expansion of residences, whether seasonal or year-round, except as set forth under subsection (2) of this section.(2) The local health officer may approve installation of holding tank s…

(1) Only installers may construct OSS, except as noted under subsection (2) of this section.(2) The local health officer may allow the resident owner of a single-family residence to install the OSS for that single-family residence except when:(a) The primary and reserve areas are…

(1) For all activities requiring a permit, the local health officer shall inspect the OSS. The local health officer shall:(a) Visit the OSS site during the site evaluation, construction, or final construction inspection;(b) Either inspect the OSS before cover or allow the designe…

Upon completion of new construction, alteration, or repair of the OSS, the OSS owner shall submit a complete and detailed record drawing to the local health officer that includes at a minimum:(1) Measurements and directions accurate to +/- 1/2 foot, unless otherwise determined by…

(1) The OSS owner is responsible for operating, monitoring, and maintaining the OSS to minimize the risk of failure, and shall:(a) Request assistance from the local health officer upon occurrence of a system failure or suspected system failure;(b) Obtain approval from the local h…

The local health officer shall require annual inspections of OSS serving food service establishments and may require pumping as needed.[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.20.050. WSR 05-15-119, § 246-272A-0275, filed 7/18/05, effective 7/1/07.]

(1) The local health officer may establish a program and requirements for reviewing and approving remediation activities.(2) Remediation must not:(a) Result in damage to the OSS;(b) Result in insufficient soil treatment in the zone between the soil dispersal component and the hig…

(1) When an OSS failure occurs the local health officer shall:(a) Allow an OSS to be repaired using the least costly alternative that meets standards and is likely to provide comparable or better long-term sewage treatment and effluent dispersal outcomes;(b) Permit an OSS meeting…

The local health officer:(1) Shall require the minor repair of a malfunction to a functioning state;(2) May require a permit for a minor repair of a malfunction; and(3) May require the OSS owner to submit information regarding minor repairs of a malfunction.[Statutory Authority: …

(1) The local health officer shall require an OSS and a reserve area in full compliance with the new construction standards specified in this chapter for an OSS expansion.(2) A local health officer may allow expansion of an existing OSS within 200 feet of a marine shoreline that …

Persons permanently abandoning a sewage tank, seepage pit, cesspool, or other sewage container shall:(1) Have the septage removed by an approved pumper; and(2) Perform one of the following:(a) Remove and dispose of sewage tanks and other components in a manner approved by the loc…