Washington Administrative Code

(1) All wells shall be cased to protect or minimize damage to the environment, surface and groundwaters, geothermal resources and health and property. The department shall approve proposed well spacing and well casing programs or prescribe such modifications to the programs as th…

Blowout prevention and related control equipment shall be installed, tested immediately thereafter, and properly maintained ready for use until drilling operations are completed. Certain components, such as packing elements and ram rubbers, shall be of high temperature resistant …

The properties, use and testing of drilling fluids and the conduct of related drilling procedures shall be such as are necessary to prevent the blowout of any well. Sufficient drilling fluid materials to ensure well control shall be maintained in the field area readily accessible…

All wells shall be logged with an induction electric log or equivalent from total depth to the shoe of the conductor casing. The department may grant an exception to this requirement when well conditions make it impractical or impossible to meet the above requirements.[Statutory …

No person shall remove casing or any portion thereof from any well without first obtaining prior written approval from the department. In the request to remove casing, the applicant must describe the condition of the well, the proposed casing to be removed, all casing in the hole…

The owner or operator who proposes to drill, redrill, or deepen a well for geothermal resources shall file with the department a good and sufficient bond in the sum of fifteen thousand dollars for each well or a fifty thousand dollar blanket bond for one or more wells being drill…

Termination and/or cancellation of any bond will not be permitted until the well, or wells, for which the bond has been issued have been properly abandoned or another valid bond for such well or wells has been submitted therefore and approved by the department. A bond may be canc…

Transfer of jurisdiction over a well to the department of ecology may be permitted provided it has been established that it is not technologically practical to produce electricity commercially or usable minerals cannot be derived from the well and provided, further, the departmen…

Completion and abandonment of any well or wells shall be conditioned upon implementation of adequate procedures to protect the environmental and esthetic qualities of the drill site, access roads, and other areas that were disturbed as a result of drilling or related operations.(…

No well shall be plugged and abandoned until the manner and method of plugging have been approved or prescribed by the department. The owner or operator shall give notice to the department of the intention to abandon the well and the date and time abandonment procedures will comm…

Drilling equipment shall not be removed from any well where drilling operations have been suspended before adequate measures have been taken to close the well and protect the surface and subsurface resources including fresh water aquifers. A suspended well shall be mudded and cem…

Every person who acquires the right of ownership or right of operation of a geothermal well or wells shall within ten days notify the department in writing of the newly acquired ownership or right of operation and provide a bond equivalent to the bond supplied by the prior owner …

The owner or operator of any well or wells shall keep or caused to be kept careful and accurate logs, core records, and history of the drilling of the well. The logs and tour reports shall be kept in the local office of the owner or operator and shall be subject during business h…

Deviation surveys shall be taken on all wells during the normal course of drilling at intervals not to exceed 152 meters (500 feet). The department may require a directional survey giving both inclination and azimuth or a dipmeter to be obtained on all wells. In calculating all s…

Sufficient notice shall be given in advance to the department of the date and time when the owner or operator expects to run casing, test casing, conduct a drill stem test, or log a well in order that the department may have a representative on the drill site as a witness.[Statut…

The owner or operator shall place in a conspicuous location near the well site a sign setting forth the name of the owner or operator, lease name, well number, permit number, and the quarter-quarter section or lot, township, and range of the well location. Such well designation s…

The department will approve proposed well spacing programs or prescribe such modifications to the programs as it determines necessary for proper development, giving consideration to such factors as:(1) Topography of the area;(2) Geologic conditions of the reservoir;(3) Minimum nu…

Department representatives shall have the right to enter upon any lands and examine such records related to the drilling, redrilling, deepening, or the completion, or the abandonment of, or production from any geothermal well to ensure compliance with the Geothermal Resources Act…

The owner or operator shall provide pits and/or sumps of adequate capacity and design to retain all fluids and materials necessary to the drilling, production, and related operations on the well. No contents of pits and/or sumps shall be allowed to:(1) Contaminate streams, artifi…

The following definitions shall apply to these rules:(1) "The act" means the Washington Surface Mining Act, chapter 78.44 RCW.(2) "Buffers" are synonymous with screening as used in the act.(3) "Completed application" means receipt and approval by the department of all information…

(1) The department may delegate enforcement of surface mine reclamation to a county: Provided, That the county agrees to:(a) Enforce all provisions of the act, these rules, and the approved reclamation plan;(b) Continuously employ enough qualified mine regulatory personnel to ach…

(1) For reclamation permits issued after July 1, 1994, approval of mining and of the subsequent use of the mine site shall be verified with a Form SM-6; except that such approval may not be required for mines on state or federal lands. The Form SM-6 must be signed by a responsibl…

(1) After July 1, 1994, the department shall not issue a reclamation permit until the applicant has:(a) Met all requirements of these rules and the act;(b) Provided documentation of SEPA review sufficient for the department to determine that the impacts of the proposal can be ade…

The department may refuse to issue a reclamation permit or revised reclamation permit only if the applicant:(1) Fails to provide a complete application;(2) Provides a proposal that the department determines should be denied pursuant to RCW 43.21C.060 and WAC 332-41-665; or(3) Is …

The department shall have the right to inspect any property at any time as it determines is necessary to ensure there is compliance with the act, these rules, and the reclamation plan. Inspections shall be limited to those lands and the permit holder's records that pertain to sur…

(1) The department may issue orders and notices as described in the act and these rules. Before issuing the initial order related to a specific violation, the department shall attempt to hold a conference with the miner or permit holder. The purpose of the conference is to determ…

The department may grant an extension of the applicable compliance timetables if failure to comply with the permit, rules, or the act resulted from circumstances clearly beyond the control of the miner or permit holder. The extension may be granted for up to eighteen months. Howe…

(1) If a miner or permit holder fails to comply with the act, these rules, the permit, the reclamation plan, or any order or emergency order of the department, the miner or permit holder may be subject to a civil penalty for each violation based upon the schedule of fines set for…

In setting the amount of a civil penalty imposed under RCW 78.44.087, the department shall consider the following base penalty schedule:(1) Category I. Fines of two hundred fifty dollars may be levied for each violation of the following:(a) Failure to post the reclamation plan at…

Fines shall be calculated using the following steps:(1) The base penalty shall be the minimum fine in each category as set forth in WAC 332-18-05004.(2) The department may adjust the fine by multiplying the Category II and III base penalties by factors specific to the incident, m…

(1) Penalties imposed under this section shall become due and payable thirty days after receipt of a notice imposing the fine unless the miner or permit holder files an appeal.(2) Thirty days after the miner or permit holder is notified that administrative review of penalties is …

If the penalty and/or applicable interest are not paid to the department within thirty days after these become due and payable, the attorney general, upon the request of the department, may bring an action in superior court to recover the penalty or interest. In all such actions,…

A person has standing to obtain review of a department action concerning surface mining under chapter 78.44 RCW only if that person is aggrieved by the department's action. A person is aggrieved only when all three of the following conditions are present:(1) The department's acti…

(1) The performance security required by RCW 78.44.087 may be in the form of a corporate surety bond executed in favor of the department by a corporation authorized to do business in the state of Washington under Title 48 RCW.(2) After July 1, 1995, performance bonds required by …

The performance security required by RCW 78.44.087 may be in the form of a bank letter of credit.(1) The department will accept a bank letter of credit under RCW 78.44.087 only if the letter of credit is established in an amount equal to the estimated cost of completing reclamati…

(1) A permit holder or landowner may use a blanket performance security for multiple surface mines if authorized by DNR under RCW 78.44.350 and this rule. The amount must equal the sum of the estimated reclamation cost calculated by DNR for the two covered surface mines with the …

(1) The department shall approve permit transfers under the provisions of RCW 78.44.171 if the new permit holder provides the following documents:(a) A revised reclamation plan together with:(i) Written approval of all persons having a possessory interest in the land;(ii) A revis…

The general objectives of the department in its management of state-owned range lands is to provide for the maximum utilization of the range resource consistent with the principles of multiple use and proper land conservation measures. Coincident with these general objectives, th…

Management of state lands for grazing purposes will be based upon that grazing capacity which permits maximum forage utilization and seeks to maintain or improve to "good" condition range as defined by the soil conservation service. Grazing capacity will be established after cons…

For purposes of this chapter:(1) "Carrying capacity" is the acreage required to adequately provide forage for an animal unit (AU) for a specified period without inducing deterioration of vegetation condition or soil;(2) "Range condition" is the relation between current and potent…

No person shall hold a permit on state land until they have attained the age of eighteen. The applicant must have two years of experience in the grazing or handling of livestock or education in range or livestock management and financial resources to carry out the proposed grazin…

State lands suitable for grazing may be divided into permit range allotments as may be deemed practical by the department. Allotments may include nonstate lands under special arrangements with the owner. For each allotment the department may:(1) Establish the kind and number of l…

The department may issue special use grazing permits on range allotments under the following conditions:(1) Every person must submit an application to the department for a special use grazing permit on state lands or other lands administered in connection therewith;(2) The depart…

A preference establishes eligibility to persons for grazing permits on state range allotments. A permit authorizes the grazing of livestock under specific conditions and expires on a specified date. A preference continues until cancelled or revoked. Preference permits are issued …

Grazing permits transfer no right, title, or interest in any lands or resources held by the department except authorized livestock forage.[Statutory Authority: RCW 79.28.050 and 79.28.040. WSR 83-21-018 (Order 402), § 332-20-191, filed 10/7/83.]

The department may grant preference permits for use of established livestock ranges upon consideration of the following factors:(1) Authorized prior use;(2) Base ranch property;(3) Capacity of the range; and(4) Conversion of a temporary permit.[Statutory Authority: RCW 79.28.050 …

Where new permit range allotments are established or where additional area is added to existing allotments, a temporary grazing permit may be issued for a maximum of five years.A temporary grazing permit will be issued on the basis of the highest cash bonus offer received by seal…

Free use authorization will be for a specific number of animal units and will be incorporated in department permits. Authorization will be given in exchange for grazing use of lands owned or controlled by a permittee and used within a permit range. Such land will be a part of the…

A fee will be charged for the grazing of all livestock on state lands. The grazing fee will be determined by use of a formula indicated below. The fees so established shall be adjusted annually by relation to market prices of livestock for the previous year. Further adjustments i…

All grazing permit fees will be paid in advance of the opening date of grazing periods or as otherwise authorized by the department.[Statutory Authority: RCW 79.28.050 and 79.28.040. WSR 83-21-018 (Order 402), § 332-20-230, filed 10/7/83; Rules (part), filed 12/3/63; Permit Range…