(1) Definition. A compliance filing is a party's submission in response to a final order that authorizes or requires that party to implement specific terms of that order. A compliance filing may be a single submission (e.g., a revised tariff) or multiple submissions (e.g., periodic reports). A party must strictly limit the scope of its compliance filing to the requirements of the final order to which it relates. A party's filing in response to general commission direction in an order (e.g., filing a new or revised tariff other than the tariffs that initiated the proceeding) is not a compliance filing but is a subsequent filing governed by WAC 480-07-885.

(2) Filing and effective dates. The commission will state in its final order authorizing or requiring a compliance filing the date by which the party must make the compliance filing and the effective date that should appear on any tariff sheets that are required as part of a compliance filing. The commission may delegate to the secretary, by written authorization in individual proceedings, the authority to take appropriate action with respect to a compliance filing. A compliance filing does not become effective automatically on its stated effective date. The commission must approve or accept any compliance filing before it can be effective.

(3) Where to make filings. Parties must make compliance filings in the docket of the final order to which they relate unless the commission has required otherwise in that order. Parties must file and serve such filings consistent with the filing and service requirements in that docket. A party making a compliance filing that includes a tariff also must provide work papers to the other parties that demonstrate the derivation of the proposed rates or charges in that tariff.

(4) Responses. Commission staff must, and any other party in the docket may, file a response to the compliance filing within five business days from the date it is filed or by such other deadline as the commission may establish. Any such response must be limited to the issue of whether the filing complies with the commission order. Except as otherwise provided in this section, commission staff must review the filing to determine its compliance with the order and, at a minimum, file a response in the form of a letter informing the commission of the results of that review.

(5) No dispute. If no party disputes the filing's compliance with the final order, the commission may issue a notice or letter that the filing appears to comply with the order and that allows the filing to become effective.

(6) Dispute. If a party disputes the filing's compliance with the final order, the commission will provide an opportunity to respond. The commission may then enter an order:

(a) Approving the filing;

(b) Rejecting the filing, in whole or in part, for failure to comply with the final order and requiring a revised compliance filing; or

(c) Establishing additional process for commission consideration of the filing.

(7) Subsequent discovery of noncompliance. If the commission allows a compliance filing to become effective but later discovers that the filing does not fully comply with the order authorizing or requiring the filing, the commission may take any necessary and lawful steps to secure full compliance with that order. The commission's erroneous acceptance of a compliance filing does not validate the noncompliant elements of the filing or modify the final order requiring that filing.

(8) Reports. The commission may enter an order that requires a party to report periodically to the commission with respect to designated subject matter. The reports must be submitted under the docket number of the proceeding in which the commission entered the order unless the order specifies otherwise or the commission establishes a different requirement in a subsequent order or notice. Such compliance filings have no stated effective date, do not become effective by operation of law, and require no commission action in response to the filing.

(9) Monetary payments. An order may require a party to pay monetary penalties, either in a single lump sum or periodically over time. No party should file a response to any timely payment made in compliance with the order, and the commission generally will not issue an acknowledgment or approval in response to the payment.