How are complete proposals submitted and generally reviewed? The board on geographic names is responsible for establishing official Washington state geographic names. A geographic name becomes official after the board approves a recommendation made by the committee on geographic names. The committee on geographic names considers name proposals that are submitted to it rather than acting on its own motion.

(1) Timing and form of geographic name proposals:

(a) Proponents may submit geographic name proposals to the committee on geographic names at any time throughout the year. The committee has two regularly scheduled committee meetings each year. To be considered at an upcoming regular committee meeting, the proposal must be received at least thirty days prior to that meeting.

(b) Proposals should be submitted on the Committee on Geographic Names' Proposal Form and be electronically submitted to bogn@dnr.wa.gov or mailed to:

Washington State Committee on Geographic Names

P.O. Box 47030

Olympia, WA 98504

(c) Proposals should be consistent with the form and substance expressed in this chapter and may be returned or ultimately denied for being inconsistent. The committee may accept for consideration proposals on a United States Board of Geographic Names Form when the proposal is forwarded by the U.S. board.

(2) Adequacy of proposal information: The burden to gather and submit information regarding a proposal is on the proponent. Proponents are encouraged to contact the landowner or agency that the geographic feature is located on.

(a) The committee may, in its discretion, request proponents to submit more information and defer further committee action pending receipt.

(b) The committee and staff may, at their discretion, independently pursue information related to any proposal.

(3) Committee denial or recommendation to approve: The committee may deny a proposal at any meeting, or recommend its approval after the proposal has been considered at two or more meetings and the committee has conducted careful deliberation of all available information. The factors to be considered by the committee are described elsewhere in this chapter, especially WAC 332-160-040 and 332-160-050. If the committee decides to recommend approval to the board, all proposal materials and the committee's recommendation to approve will be forwarded onto the Washington state board on geographic names.

(4) Board on geographic names review and decision: The board of natural resources will indicate (agenda/other notice) when it will consider geographic name proposals in its capacity as the board on geographic names. The board will consider the information forwarded by the committee on geographic names and may entertain additional statements on specific proposals consistent with the board of natural resources business rules. After deliberation on a proposal, the board on geographic names may approve a proposal or refer a proposal back to the committee on geographic names for further consideration. Upon referring a proposal back to the committee, the board may include instructions for the committee to seek additional information or to reconsider its recommendation to approve in light of other information/issues/proposals. The board on geographic names' approval of a proposal is final and is not subject to administrative review. Proposals to name a geographic feature that has been named by the board on geographic names will only be considered by either the committee or the board under the circumstances described in WAC *** .