AN ACT Relating to permit processing; amending RCW 90.62.020, 90.62.040, 90.62.050, 90.62.060, 90.62.100, 90.62.901, and 43.21C.150; adding a new section to chapter 35.58 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 35.63 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 35A.63 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 36.70 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 58.17 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 64.32 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 90.58 RCW; and adding new sections to chapter 90.62 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. Section 2, chapter 185, Laws of 1973 1st ex. sess. as amended by section 2, chapter 54, Laws of 1977 and RCW 90.62.020 are each amended to read as follows:

For purposes of this chapter the following words mean, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise:

(1) "Board" means the pollution control hearings board.

(2) "Department" means the department of ecology.

(3) "Local government" means a county, city ((or)), town, or special purpose district.

(4) "Permit" means any license, permit, certificate, certification, approval, compliance schedule, or other similar document pertaining to any regulatory or management program related to the protection, conservation, or use of, or interference with, the natural resources of land, air or water in the state, which is required to be obtained from a state agency or local government prior to constructing or operating a project in the state of Washington. Permit shall also mean a substantial development permit under RCW 90.58.140 and any permit, required by a local government for a project, that the local government has chosen to process pursuant to RCW 90.62.100(2) as now or hereafter amended. Nothing in this chapter shall relate to a permit issued by the department of labor and industries or by the utilities and transportation commission((~~; nor to the granting of proprietary interests in publicly owned property such as sales, leases, easements, use permits and licenses~~)).

(5) "Person" means any individual, municipal, public, or private corporation, or other entity however denominated, including a state agency and county.

(6) "Processing" and "processing of applications" mean the entire process to be followed in relation to the making of decisions on an application for a permit and review thereof as provided in RCW 90.62.040 through 90.62.080.

(7) "Project" means any new activity or any expansion of or addition to an existing activity, fixed in location, for which permits are required prior to construction or operation from (a) two or more state agencies as defined in subsection (8) of this section, or (b) one or more state agencies and a local government, if the local government is processing permits or requests for variances or rezones or changes in a comprehensive plan pursuant to the procedure established by the provisions of this chapter, as provided by RCW 90.62.100(2) as now or hereafter amended. Such construction or operation may include, but need not be limited to, industrial and commercial operations and developments. For the purpose of part (a) of this subsection, the submission of plans and specifications for a hydraulic project or other work to the departments of fisheries and game pursuant to RCW 75.20.100 shall be considered to be an application for a permit required by one state agency.

(8) "State agency" means any state department, commission, board, or other agency of the state however titled. For the limited purposes of this chapter only, "state agency" shall also mean (a) any local or regional air pollution control authority established under chapter 70.94 RCW and (b) any local government when said government is acting in its capacity as a decision maker on an application for a permit pursuant to RCW 90.58.140.

Sec. 2. Section 4, chapter 185, Laws of 1973 1st ex. sess. as amended by section 3, chapter 54, Laws of 1977 and RCW 90.62.040 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Any person proposing a project may submit a master application to the department requesting the issuance of all permits necessary prior to the construction and operation of the project in the state of Washington. The master application shall be on a form furnished by the department and shall contain precise information as to the location of the project, and shall describe the nature of the project including any discharges of wastes proposed therefrom and any uses of, or interferences with, natural resources contemplated.

(2) Upon receipt of a properly completed master application, the department shall immediately notify in writing each state agency and local government having a possible interest in the master application arising from requirements pertaining to a permit program under its jurisdiction. The notification from the department shall be accompanied by a copy of the master application together with the date by which the agency shall respond to the notice. Each notified agency and local government shall respond in writing to the department within the specified date, not exceeding fifteen days from receipt, as determined by the department, advising (a)(i) whether the agency or local government does or does not have an interest in the master application, and (a)(ii) if the response to (a)(i) of this subsection is affirmative, the permit program or programs under the agency's or local government's jurisdiction to which the project described in the master application is pertinent, the variance, rezone, or comprehensive plan change that would be necessary, and whether, in relation to the master application, a public hearing as provided in RCW 90.62.050 and 90.62.060 would or would not be of value taking into consideration the overall public interest. Each notified state agency or local government which (b)(i) responds within the specified date that it does not have an interest in the master application or (b)(ii) does not respond as required above within the specified date, shall not subsequently require a permit of the applicant for the project described in the master application; provided the bar to requiring a permit subsequently shall not be applicable if the master application provided the notified agency or local government contained false, misleading, or deceptive information, or other information, or lack thereof, which would reasonably lead an agency to misjudge its interest in a master application. This subsection does not prevent local governments from requiring a rezone or amendment to a comprehensive plan if the local government fails to respond that such a change is needed within the fifteen-day period.

(3) The department shall send application forms relating to permit programs identified in affirmative responses under subsection (2) of this section to the applicant within five working days of the date specified by the department pursuant to subsection (2) of this section with a direction to complete and return them to the department within a reasonable time as specified by the department.

(4) When such applications, properly completed, have been returned to the department, each of the applications shall be transmitted to the appropriate state agency or local government for the performance of its responsibilities of decision making in accordance with the procedures of this chapter. No such completed applications shall be accepted by the department for transmittal unless they are accompanied by (a) the certification of local government provided for in RCW 90.62.100 ((~~as now or hereafter amended~~)), or (b) a statement of the local government indicating that such certification would require rezoning, a change in a comprehensive plan, the granting of a variance, or issuance of a conditional use permit, and ((~~the local government~~)) a statement of the applicant indicating that the applicant has chosen to utilize the procedures provided by this chapter to process the request for the change or rezoning or variance or the application for the conditional use permit ((~~as provided by RCW 90.62.100(2) as now or hereafter amended~~)).

(5) For the purpose of establishing priority dates upon water right permits and certificates issued pursuant to rulings on applications under chapters 90.03 and 90.44 RCW and processed under this chapter, the priority date shall be the date of submitting the master application to the department or the county office as provided in RCW 90.62.120(2).

Sec. 3. Section 5, chapter 185, Laws of 1973 1st ex. sess. as amended by section 4, chapter 54, Laws of 1977 and RCW 90.62.050 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The department, within a reasonable time after transmittal under RCW 90.62.040(4), shall cause a notice to be published at the applicant's expense once each week on the same day of the week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation within each county in which the project is proposed to be constructed or operated. The notice shall describe the nature of the master application including, with reasonable specificity, the project proposed, its location, the various permits applied for, and the agency having jurisdiction over each such permit. Except as provided in RCW 90.62.050(2), the notice shall also state the time and place of the public hearing (to be held not less than fifteen days after the date of last publication of the notice). It shall further state that a copy of the master application and a copy of all permit applications for the project are available for public inspection in the office for environmental permit applications of each county in which the project is proposed to be constructed or operated, as well as at the Olympia office and appropriate regional office of the department, together with such other locations as the department may designate.

(2) If the responses received by the department from state agencies under RCW 90.62.040(2) unanimously state the position that a public hearing in relation to a master application would not be of value taking into consideration the overall public interest, and the department, after a careful evaluation, taking into consideration all interests involved, including the opportunities for members of the public to present views, concludes likewise, the provisions of subsection (1) of this section pertaining to the time and place of a public hearing shall not be included in the notice. In place thereof the notice shall state that members of the public may present relevant views and supporting materials in writing to the department in relation to any of the permits applied for within twenty days after the last date of publication of the notice in a newspaper.

(3) In each case in which other statutes require a local government to conduct a hearing, a hearing shall be conducted pursuant to this section.

Sec. 4. Section 6, chapter 185, Laws of 1973 1st ex. sess. as last amended by section 2, chapter 179, Laws of 1982 and RCW 90.62.060 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Except as provided in RCW 90.62.050(2), prior to any final decision on any permit applications relating to a project subject to the procedures of this chapter, a public hearing shall be held in the county in which all or a major part of the proposed project is to be constructed or operated, such hearing to be held pursuant to notice made under RCW 90.62.050(1). At any such hearing the applicant may submit any relevant information and material in support of his applications, environmental impact information may be presented, and members of the public may present relevant views and supporting materials in relation to any or all of the applications being considered.

(2) Each agency having an application for a permit before it as described in the notice in RCW 90.62.050(1) shall be represented at the public hearing by its chief administrative officer or his designee. The director of the department, or a hearing officer duly appointed by him, shall chair the hearing; however, the representative of any agency (other than the department) within whose jurisdiction a specific application lies shall conduct the portion of the hearing pertaining to submission of information, views, and supporting materials which are relevant to that application. The chairman may, when appropriate, continue a hearing from time to time and place to place. The hearing shall be recorded in any manner suitable for transcription as determined by the department.

(3) No provisions of chapter 34.04 RCW shall apply to the hearing provided for by this section. Said hearing shall be conducted for the purpose of obtaining information for the assistance of the agencies but shall not be considered a trial or adversary proceeding.

(4) Upon completion of the public hearing, or after a rezone or comprehensive plan decision is made in any case in which a rezone by a local legislative authority or a comprehensive plan amendment is required, the chairman, after consultation with the agency representatives, shall establish the date by which all agencies shall forward their final decisions on applications before them to the department: PROVIDED, That this date shall not be more than ((one hundred twenty days after completion of the public hearing, unless the chairman and the applicant mutually agree upon a later date: PROVIDED FURTHER, That subsequent to the hearing the chairman and the applicant may agree, prior to the expiration of the one-hundred twenty day period or the agreed upon later date, that the date for agencies to forward their final decisions may be extended. If such agreement is reached, the affected agencies shall be notified in writing by the chairman. Failure of an agency to forward a decision by the established date constitutes unconditional approval by that agency of the application)) sixty days after the conclusion of the hearing held under this section, or the issuance of a local legislative authority decision on a rezone or comprehensive plan amendment, or the issuance of a final environmental impact statement under chapter 43.21C RCW. Every final decision shall set forth the basis for the conclusion reached together with a final order denying the application for a permit or granting it, subject to such conditions of approval as the deciding agency may have power to impose.

(5) In situations where a notice is provided pursuant to RCW 90.62.050(2) and no public hearing is conducted, the department shall, after twenty days after the last notice publication in the newspaper, submit a copy of all views and supporting material received by it to each agency having an application for a permit before it as described in the notice. Concurrently therewith, the department shall notify each agency, in writing, of the date by which final decisions on applications shall be forwarded to the department: PROVIDED, That this date shall not be more than ((one hundred fifty days after the last required publication of notice in the newspaper unless the department and the applicant mutually agree upon a later date: PROVIDED FURTHER, That subsequent to the last required publication, the chairman and the applicant may agree, prior to the expiration of the one-hundred fifty day period or the agreed upon later date, that the date for agencies to forward their final decisions may be extended. If such agreement is reached, the affected agencies shall be notified in writing by the chairman. Failure of an agency to forward a decision by the established date shall constitute unconditional approval by that agency of the application)) sixty days after the last notice publication in the newspaper. Each such final decision shall consist of the same contents as provided for final decisions in RCW 90.62.060(4).

(6) As soon as all final decisions are received by the department from the various participating agencies, as provided in RCW 90.62.060(4) and (5), the department shall incorporate them, without modification, into one document and transmit the same to the applicant either personally or by registered mail.

(7) Each agency having jurisdiction to approve or deny an application for a permit shall have continuing power as vested in it prior to enactment of this chapter to make such determinations. Nothing in RCW 90.62.030 through 90.62.060 shall lessen or reduce such powers, and such sections shall modify only the procedures to be followed in the carrying out of such powers.

(8) An agency may in the performance of its responsibilities of decision making under this chapter, request or receive additional information from an applicant and others prior or subsequent to a public hearing as necessary to the performance thereof.

(9) Failure to rule upon an application and, if applicable, transmit and file that ruling of final decision with the department by the date set by the department as provided in subsections (4) and (5) of this section shall operate as an automatic approval of the application.

(10) Notwithstanding sections 11 through 17 of this 1985 act, if a rezone by a local legislative authority or an amendment to a comprehensive plan is required for a project, after the initial hearing required by this section, additional processing of such rezone or amendment may be conducted as provided in other applicable laws. If such a rezone or amendment is required for a project, no state agency may issue or deny a permit until the legislative authority has granted the rezone or amended the plan.

Sec. 5. Section 10, chapter 185, Laws of 1973 1st ex. sess. as amended by section 8, chapter 54, Laws of 1977 and RCW 90.62.100 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) ((No completed applications returned to the department of ecology pursuant to RCW 90.62.040(3) as now or as hereafter amended shall be accepted by the department for transmittal pursuant to RCW 90.62.040 as now or hereafter amended unless they are accompanied by)) For the purposes of this chapter, a person may apply for a certification from the pertinent local government that the project for which a master application has been submitted is in compliance with all zoning ordinances, and associated comprehensive plans, administered by said local government relating to the location of the project ((~~or are accompanied by the statement described in RCW 90.62.040(4)(b) as now or hereafter amended: PROVIDED, That~~)). If the local government has no such ordinances or plans, the certification from local government shall so state and issue. For purposes of this section, master programs of chapter 90.58 RCW are not zoning ordinances administered by local government. Local governments ((~~are authorized to~~)) shall accept applications for certifications as provided in this section and ((~~are directed to~~)) shall rule upon the same expeditiously to insure the purposes of this chapter are accomplished fully. Upon certification, the local government may not change such zoning ordinances so as to affect the proposed project until the procedures of this chapter, including any board or court reviews, are completed. The provisions of the state environmental policy act relating to the preparation of detailed impact statements shall not be applicable to the action approving or denying certifications authorized in this section.

(2) (a) ((~~Upon receiving an application for~~)) If certification for a project pursuant to subsection (1) of this section((,)) is denied by the local government, the applicant may((~~, at its discretion,~~)) choose to process, pursuant to the procedures provided by this chapter, requests for variances or rezones or comprehensive plan changes or applications for conditional use permits or any other permits, as defined in this chapter, or any combination thereof that may be required by the local government for the project described on a master application. The procedures established by this chapter shall satisfy the procedural requirements for any requests or applications so processed.

(b) The provisions of subsection (2)(a) of this section shall not apply to any permit required by a "state agency" as that term is defined in RCW 90.62.020(8) as now or hereafter amended.

(3) Nothing in this chapter shall modify in any manner whatsoever the applicability or inapplicability of any land use regulation statutes or local zoning ordinances to lands of any state agency.

(4) Approval of an application for certification as provided in this section shall not eliminate any requirements of the Shoreline Management Act of 1971 or any other statutes administered by a local government. A ruling by local government denying an application for certification shall not be appealable under this chapter: PROVIDED, That the denial of ((~~an application for~~)) certification pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall not preclude the use of subsection (2) of this section nor preclude the applicant from filing a permit application under any other available statute or procedure.

Sec. 6. Section 14, chapter 185, Laws of 1973 1st ex. sess. and RCW 90.62.901 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) If any part of this chapter ((~~shall be~~)) is found in conflict with federal requirements which are a condition precedent to the allocation of federal funds authorized to the state, such conflicting part of this chapter is declared to be inoperative to the limited extent of such conflict and with respect to the agencies directly affected, and such findings or determination shall not affect the operation of the remainder of this chapter in its application to the agencies concerned.

(2) The department of ecology, to the limited extent necessary to comply with procedural requirements of federal statutes relating to permit systems operated by the state or federal government, may modify the notice, timing, hearing and related procedural matters provided in this chapter.

Sec. 7. Section 12, chapter 179, Laws of 1974 ex. sess. as amended by section 1, chapter 206, Laws of 1975 1st ex. sess. and RCW 43.21C.150 are each amended to read as follows:

The requirements of RCW 43.21C.030(2)(c) pertaining to the preparation of a detailed statement by branches of government shall not apply when an adequate detailed statement has been previously prepared pursuant to the national environmental policy act of 1969, in which event said prepared statement ((~~may~~)) shall be utilized in lieu of a separately prepared statement under RCW 43.21C.030(2)(c).

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A new section is added to chapter 90.62 RCW to read as follows:

If the concurrent processing of permits would result in an overall savings of time in the review of applications for permits for a project, the department shall invite the appropriate federal agencies to hold hearings jointly with those scheduled under this chapter and to process federal permits concurrently with those being processed under this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A new section is added to chapter 90.62 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The department shall develop and adopt, after close consultation with counties, cities, and towns, not less than three and not more than six model ordinances setting forth alternative procedures to accomplish the purposes of this chapter. Each ordinance adopted under this section shall be by rule. The department is granted maximum flexibility in the development of alternative ordinances so as to achieve to the fullest extent possible the integration of the permit application processing procedures concept of this chapter. The department shall adopt the ordinances, as required by this section, not later than December 31, 1986.

(2) In the implementation of this section, and for the purpose of providing advice to the department, the department shall, within thirty days from the effective date of this act, appoint an advisory committee, not exceeding fifteen members, consisting of local government officials and members of the public generally. Members of the advisory committee shall be reimbursed for travel expenses as provided in RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

(3) In relation to the administrative responsibilities of the department of ecology relating to the conduct of hearings and related procedures under RCW 90.62.060, the department of ecology may delegate all or portions of such responsibilities involving specific projects to a county, city, or town, and may incorporate such delegation concept into model ordinances adopted pursuant to subsection (1) of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. A new section is added to chapter 90.62 RCW to read as follows:

Not later than June 30, 1987, each unit of local government shall adopt an ordinance or resolution for implementing the provisions of this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. A new section is added to chapter 35.58 RCW to read as follows:

When the procedures of chapter 90.62 RCW are used for processing applications for permits or other requests for approvals, the provisions of that chapter prevail over any procedures otherwise provided by this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. A new section is added to chapter 35.63 RCW to read as follows:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. A new section is added to chapter 35A.63 RCW to read as follows:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. A new section is added to chapter 36.70 RCW to read as follows:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. A new section is added to chapter 58.17 RCW to read as follows:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. A new section is added to chapter 64.32 RCW to read as follows:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. A new section is added to chapter 90.58 RCW to read as follows: