WSR 98-07-082

PROPOSED RULES

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

[Filed March 17, 1998, 4:31 p.m.]

Original Notice.

Exempt from preproposal statement of inquiry under RCW 34.05.310(4).

Title of Rule: WAC 246-290-900 Water system evaluation and project review and approval fees and 246-292-160 Water works certification fees

Purpose: The proposed amendments will raise fees described in WAC 246-290-990 and 246-292-160 by the FY98 fiscal growth factor of 4.05%

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 43.20B.020

Summary: The increases in service fees and operator certification fees are necessary to meet increased program costs due to a 3% cost of living adjustment in salaries in July of 1997 as well as costs associated with fulfilling the operator certification requirements mandated in the reauthorized federal Safe Drinking Water Act

Reasons Supporting Proposal: This fee increase is necessary to continue public health activities at current levels

Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting: Tom Jaenicke, 7171 Cleanwater Lane, Building 3, (360) 236-3094; Implementation: Peggy Johnson, 7171 Cleanwater Lane, Building 3, (360) 236-3101; and Enforcement: Linda Chapman, 7171 Cleanwater Lane, Building 3, (360) 236-3156

Name of Proponent: Department of Health, governmental.

Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.

Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: The fees contained in WAC 246-290-990 cover a wide range of services and vary according to the service performed and water system size. Therefore, the rule's effect on a given water system will depend on the size of the water system and the type of service provided by the program. Table 1, below, shows how select fees for water systems of size 100 to 500 services would be affected by a 4.05 percent increase. The operator certification fees in WAC 246-292-160 enable the department to run an operator certification program that ensures that systems operate under appropriate standards and that water works operators are adequately educated and trained. Tables 2 and 3 demonstrate how the certification fees in WAC 246-292-160 would increase for water systems and individual operators.

Table 1. Various service fees under WAC 246-290-990.

Table 2. Annual system certification fees under WAC 246-292-160.

Table 3. Water works operator fees under WAC 246-292-160.

Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: The proposal increases fees and also clarifies that sanitary surveys are among the services for which the program charges an hourly rate

No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. This amendment proposal is a fee increase. A small business economic impact statement is not required for rules that set or adjust fees pursuant to legislative standards, but an agency economic impact analysis has been prepared.

RCW 34.05.328 does not apply to this rule adoption. A significant rule analysis is not required for rules that set or adjust fees or rates pursuant to legislative standards.

Hearing Location: Conference Room A & B, Building 3, Airdustrial Center, 7171 Cleanwater Lane, Tumwater, WA 98504, on April 22, 1998, at 10:00 a.m

Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Tom Jaenicke by April 15, 1998, TDD (800) 833-6388

Submit Written Comments to: Tom Jaenicke, Department of Health, P.O. Box 47822, Olympia, WA 98504, FAX (360) 236-2252, by April 22, 1998

Date of Intended Adoption: May 1, 1998

March 17, 1998

Bruce Miyahara

Secretary

OTS-2073.1

AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 97-12-032, filed 5/30/97, effective 6/30/97)

WAC 246-290-990  Water system evaluation and project review and approval fees. (1) The fees for the review and approval of water system plans, project reports, construction documents, existing systems, and related evaluations required under chapters 246-290, 246-291, 246-293, and 246-295 WAC shall be as follows:

(a) Water system plans required under WAC 246-290-100, 246-291-140, 246-293-220, and 246-293-230.

(b) Satellite management agency (SMA) plans for Group A and Group B water systems required under WAC 246-295-040.

Note: SMAs owning water systems and submitting planning documents to the department for review shall be charged only the SMA fee.

(c) New plan elements required under WAC 246-290-100, 246-290-135, and 246-291-140 including:

(i) Conservation; and

(ii) Wellhead protection, shall be reviewed separately by the department and the fee assessed shall reflect the time spent for this review and shall be calculated based on ((eighty-one)) eighty-four dollars per hour. After the initial submittal, updated information shall be reviewed as part of the updated water system plan and the review fee shall be included in the applicable updated plan review fee listed under (a) or (b) of this subsection.

(d) Project reports required under WAC 246-290-110 and design reports required under WAC 246-291-120.

(e) Special reports or plans required under WAC 246-290-115, 246-290-230, 246-291-230, 246-290-250, 246-290-470, 246-290-636, 246-290-654, and 246-290-676 including:

(i) Corrosion control recommendation report;

(ii) Corrosion control study;

(iii) Plan to cover uncovered reservoirs;

(iv) Predesign study;

(v) Uncovered reservoir plan of operation;

(vi) Tracer study plan;

(vii) Surface water or GWI treatment facility operations plan; or

(viii) Filtration pilot study, shall be reviewed by the department and the fee assessed shall reflect the time spent for this review and shall be calculated based on ((eighty-one)) eighty-four dollars per hour.

(f) Construction documents required under WAC 246-290-120 and design reports required under WAC 246-291-120.

(g) Existing system approval required under WAC 246-290-140 and 246-291-130. For the purpose of this subsection the department shall determine whether a system is expanding or nonexpanding.

(h) Monitoring waivers requested under WAC 246-290-300.

(i) Other evaluations and approvals. As applicable, these fees will be charged in addition to the basic fees assessed under (a) through (h) of this subsection.

(2) To determine the appropriate fee for a noncommunity system, calculate the service equivalent by taking the average population served each day of operation and dividing by twenty-five for a transient noncommunity (TNC) system and two and one-half for nontransient noncommunity (NTNC) system. Use the number of service equivalents to find out what Group A size category to look under and submit the appropriate fee. (All noncommunity systems are Group A systems as described in WAC 246-290-020.)

(3) Additional review and approval fees may be assessed as follows:

(a) The basic fee covers an evaluation, or the review of an initial submittal and one resubmittal if required. If additional resubmittals are required, an additional twenty-five percent of the original fee will be assessed for each additional resubmittal. For water system plan and SMA plan preparation the basic fee also covers a preplanning conference. When the department is asked to participate in other meetings involving the plan such as community meetings, public hearings, or meetings with elected officials, the department is authorized to charge additional fees at the rate of ((eighty-one)) eighty-four dollars per hour;

(b) Fees for department project approval based on local technical review will be determined on a case-by-case basis as outlined in the applicable memorandum of understanding between the department and the respective local agency;

(c) Fees for services which the department determines are not described under subsection (1) of this section, will be calculated based on a rate of ((eighty-one)) eighty-four dollars per hour.

Examples of these services include, but are not limited to:

(i) Review and inspection of water reuse projects;

(ii) Collection of water quality samples requested by purveyor; ((or))

(iii) Review of alternate technologies requested by purveyor, manufacturer or authorized representative; or

(iv) Sanitary surveys, including the annual on-site inspections required for systems under the WAC 246-290-690(3) to assess watershed control and disinfection treatment.

(d) Additional fees assessed by the department shall be billed to the purveyor using an itemized invoice.

(4) If the legislature revises the water system operating permit fee under RCW 70.119A.110 to incorporate into it one or more fees for service currently assessed separately under this section, and the purveyor has paid that consolidated fee, the department shall not assess or collect a separate fee under this section for any such service.

(5) All fees required under this section except as noted in subsection (3) of this section, shall be submitted prior to the department's approval. Payment of fees shall be in the form of a check or money order made payable to: The Department of Health. Payment of a fee shall not guarantee approval of the submitted document or evaluation request.

(6) Purveyors unable to determine the appropriate fee payment to submit should contact the department.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.20B.020. 97-12-032, § 246-290-990, filed 5/30/97, effective 6/30/97; 95-20-079, § 246-290-990, filed 10/4/95, effective 11/4/95; 93-01-006 (Order 315), § 246-290-990, filed 12/3/92, effective 1/3/93. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.70.040. 91-02-049 (Order 121), recodified as § 246-290-990, filed 12/27/90, effective 1/31/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.20A.055. 87-14-066 (Order 2493), § 440-44-048, filed 7/1/87; 83-14-038 (Order 1980), § 440-44-048, filed 6/30/83.]

OTS-2074.1

AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 94-04-004, filed 1/20/94, effective 2/20/94)

WAC 246-292-160  Water works certification fees. (1) Operator fees:

(a) Applicable fees shall be as indicated in Table 2;

Table 2

water works operator fees

* The annual renewal fee and late fee for a wtpo, wdm, wds and ccs certification shall be ((twenty-five)) twenty-six dollars regardless of the number of classifications held.

(b) A late fee shall be assessed to operators failing to submit the required fee within the time period specified on the renewal form; and

(c) The fee for application for reciprocity shall be one hundred four dollars per classification.

(2) Group A system fees:

(a) Applicable fees shall be as indicated in Table 3.

Table 3

annual system certification fees

* Systems designated by the department as approved satellite management agencies (smas) shall pay a fee based on total services in all systems owned by the sma.

(b) Group A system fees shall be paid in conjunction with the system's annual operating permit fee required in chapter 246-294 WAC.

(c) A late fee shall be assessed against any system not submitting the applicable fee to the department within the designated time period. The late fee shall be based on the water system's classification and shall be an additional ten percent of the applicable system fee or ((twenty-five)) twenty-six dollars, whichever is greater.

(d) The system fee for issuance of a temporary certificate shall be ((fifty)) fifty-two dollars for each temporary position.

(3) Fees shall be nonrefundable and transfers of fees shall not be allowed.

(4) Payment of fees required under this chapter shall be in the form of a check or money order made payable to the department of health and shall be mailed to Department of Health, P.O. Box 1099, Olympia, Washington 98507-1099, or such successor organization or address as designated by the department.

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.119 RCW. 94-04-004, § 246-292-160, filed 1/20/94, effective 2/20/94.]

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