AN ACT Relating to water pollution control; amending RCW 90.48.460 and 90.48.190; adding new sections to chapter 90.48 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. It is the intent of the legislature to provide the department of ecology with the necessary resources to adequately administer federal and state water quality discharge permits, and to encourage persons and entities to engage in industrial pretreatment programs, public education programs, technical assistance programs, and comprehensive monitoring programs that exceed state permitting requirements in effect on the effective date of this section. In doing this, the legislature intends to improve water quality state-wide by enhancing the ability of the department of ecology to adequately inspect dischargers into state ground and surface waters and implement water pollution control laws.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The department of ecology shall establish and charge, in accordance with a fee schedule adopted by rule, reasonable annual fees for permits issued by the department under RCW 90.48.160, 90.48.162, and 90.48.260. The department shall establish an initial fee schedule under this section by March 31, 1988, and thereafter shall adjust the fee schedule no more often than once every two years. Fees shall be assessed prospectively on an annual basis under sections 2 through 8 of this act, beginning July 1, 1988. The total of fees collected under this section shall not exceed administrative expenses, as defined in section 3 of this act, less adjustments specified in section 8 of this act, subject also to the limitations contained in section 4 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. It is the intent of the legislature that the department recover its administrative expenses for operating all aspects of the state and federal water quality discharge permit system except adjustments specified in section 8 of this act and those expenses that are directly related to enforcement. Accordingly, for purposes of sections 2 through 8 of this act, "administrative expenses" means the costs incurred by the department in:

(1) Processing permit applications and modifications;

(2) Monitoring and evaluating compliance with permits;

(3) Conducting inspections;

(4) Securing laboratory analysis of samples taken during inspections;

(5) Reviewing required plans and documents directly related to operations of permittees;

(6) Monitoring compliance with delegated pretreatment programs; and

(7) Supporting the overhead expenses that are directly related to each of the preceding activities.

Administrative expenses shall not include costs related to processing of penalties and notices of violation, inspections that extend beyond routine compliance monitoring, criminal investigations, nor the overhead expenses that are directly related to these activities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The department of ecology is authorized to collect under section 2 of this act an amount not to exceed 5.1 million dollars for fiscal year 1989, 6.8 million dollars for fiscal year 1990, 7.3 million dollars for fiscal year 1991, and 8.3 million dollars for fiscal year 1992 and each fiscal year thereafter. These authorizations shall be construed to be in constant 1987 dollars and the actual limit on the amount collected shall be adjusted up or down based on the gross national product implicit price deflator as determined by the department. These authorizations shall also be adjusted up or down each year in proportion to the ratio of the number of permits in effect as of January 1 of the given year divided by the number of permits in effect as of January 1, 1987. These authorizations shall be decreased by an amount equivalent to the adjustments provided under section 8 of this act. The fee for a permit issued under RCW 90.48.162, for a discharge of less than 50,000 gallons per day, shall not exceed one hundred dollars.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. All fees collected under section 2 of this act shall be deposited in the water quality permit account, which is hereby created in the state treasury. Money in the account collected from fees shall be expended exclusively by the department of ecology for the purposes of administering permits issued by the department under RCW 90.48.160, 90.48.162, and 90.48.260, subject to appropriation. Other funds deposited into this account may be used for the purposes of this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Beginning in 1989, the department of ecology shall submit a report to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature by January 31 of each year describing the actions it has taken over the past calendar year to improve the administrative efficiency of the federal and state water quality permit systems. This report shall include detailed information on the fees collected and actual administrative expenses incurred during the preceding fiscal year and shall show anticipated administrative expenses for the current fiscal year and following fiscal year. The report shall list the individual permit fees assessed during the past calendar year and explain the relationship between the rate of individual permit fees and the directly related expenses incurred by the department of ecology in administering individual permits. In reporting administrative expenses incurred, the department shall provide a breakdown of expenses related to each activity included in the definition of administrative expenses in section 3 of this act, provided that this information may be provided for the permit program in the aggregate and for categories of permits. The department shall also include information on the actual and anticipated expenses related to enforcement and any other permit program activities excluded from the definition of administrative expenses in section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The department of ecology shall ensure that indirect dischargers do not pay twice for the administrative expenses of a permit. Accordingly, the department of ecology shall not assess fees for permits issued by a city, town, or municipal corporation under RCW 90.48.165.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. In establishing any fee schedule under section 2 of this act, the department shall consider the economic impact of fees on small dischargers and provide appropriate adjustments. It is the intent of the legislature that the costs of any such adjustments not be shifted to other dischargers, but be borne by the general fund.

Sec. 9. Section 4, chapter 249, Laws of 1985 and RCW 90.48.460 are each amended to read as follows:

The department of ecology shall collect administrative expenses from any person or entity requesting action of the department pertaining to the processing of applications for permits provided in RCW 90.48.160, 90.48.162, and 90.48.260. For the purposes of this section, "administrative expenses" shall mean the total actual costs incurred by the department in processing such permit applications.

This section shall expire on June 30, 1988.

Sec. 10. Section 4, chapter 71, Laws of 1955 as amended by section 17, chapter 13, Laws of 1967 and RCW 90.48.190 are each amended to read as follows:

A permit shall be subject to termination upon thirty days' notice in writing if the commission finds:

(1) That it was procured by misrepresentation of any material fact or by lack of full disclosure in the application;

(2) That there has been a violation of the conditions thereof;

(3) That a material change in quantity or type of waste disposal exists; or

(4) That an applicant or permittee has failed to pay required fees under RCW 90.48.460 or section 2 of this 1987 act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Sections 2 through 8 of this act are each added to chapter 90.48 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.