(1) Application. An application to provide service otherwise forbidden by the ten-mile restriction in RCW 47.60.120 shall include a request for waiver of that restriction.

(2) Notice—Protests. The commission shall send a notice of each application for waiver of the ten-mile restriction pursuant to WAC 480-51-030. Interested persons shall have twenty days from the date of mailing of the notice in which to file a protest with the commission stating opposition to the waiver petition and application. Protests should set forth specifically the grounds upon which they are made and contain a concise statement of the interest of the protestant in the proceeding.

(3) Standards. In determining whether to grant or deny a waiver, the commission shall consider, but is not limited to, the impact of the waiver on:

(a) Transportation congestion mitigation;

(b) Air quality improvement; and

(c) The Washington state ferry system.

(4) Resolution—Hearing. The commission shall act upon a request for a waiver of the ten-mile restriction within ninety days after the conclusion of the hearing. The commission may in its discretion separate the request for a waiver of the ten-mile restriction from other issues in the application when necessary to comply with the statutory ninety-day deadline.

(5) Effective period of waiver.

(a) A waiver granted to an applicant or certificate holder under RCW 47.60.010(3) shall be effective for a period of five years from the date of grant of the waiver.

(b) Pursuant to RCW 47.60.010(3), the waiver shall automatically become permanent unless appealed to the commission, or unless reviewed by the commission upon its own motion, no later than thirty days after the fifth anniversary of the effective date of the waiver as set forth in (a) of this subsection. The commission will issue no notice of the expiration date of the five-year period. The burden of proof to show that the waiver should not become permanent shall be upon the party who files the appeal or upon the commission, if the review is on the commission's own motion. Persons who may appeal include the department of transportation, affected cities and counties, and any interested party. An interested party, for the purposes of this rule, means any party to the proceeding in which the application was granted, any person certificated to provide service possessing overlapping authority, and any applicant for overlapping authority.

(c) Upon receipt of an appeal of a waiver and the holder's answer, if any, the commission shall set the matter for adjudication. The commission may, in its discretion, on the request of a party, or on its own motion, order a brief adjudicative proceeding on the appeal. WAC 480-07-610 governs applications for and procedures in brief adjudicative proceedings.

(6) Certificates containing waiver. Certificates granted in conjunction with the grant of a waiver shall include the following proviso:

"Pursuant to RCW 47.60.010(3), the waiver of the ten-mile restriction granted in this certificate is effective until (DATE). This waiver shall become permanent if not appealed within thirty days after this date."