WSR 18-10-007 EXPEDITED RULES DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES [Filed April 20, 2018, 11:28 a.m.] Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: WAC 332-41-910 Designation of responsible official. Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: Addition of assistant division manager to the list of titles authorized to act as State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) responsible official (RO). Reasons Supporting Proposal: Currently the rule allows for only region managers, assistant region managers and division managers, or a superior management level official to be the SEPA RO. Because of the organizational structure of Washington geological survey and aquatic resources divisions, the division managers of those act as ROs for all SEPA proposals for their divisions. This rule change would provide an option for either of these division managers to delegate SEPA RO duties to an assistant division manager. Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapters 43.21C, 34.05 RCW, WAC 197-11-902(2), 197-11-904(1), 197-11-910 and delegation order, November 5, 2001, signature authority to adopt rules. Statute Being Implemented: RCW 43.21C.110. Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision. Name of Proponent: Department of natural resources (DNR), governmental. Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation and Enforcement: Rochelle Goss, 1111 Washington Street S.E., Olympia, WA, 360-902-2117. This notice meets the following criteria to use the expedited adoption process for these rules: Relates only to internal governmental operations that are not subject to violation by a person. Explanation of the Reason the Agency Believes the Expedited Rule-Making Process is Appropriate: The designation of SEPA responsible officials within DNR is strictly a procedural, operational rule, the revision of which does not impact anyone outside of the agency. NOTICE THIS RULE IS BEING PROPOSED UNDER AN EXPEDITED RULE-MAKING PROCESS THAT WILL ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR THE AGENCY TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARINGS, PREPARE A SMALL BUSINESS ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT, OR PROVIDE RESPONSES TO THE CRITERIA FOR A SIGNIFICANT LEGISLATIVE RULE. IF YOU OBJECT TO THIS USE OF THE EXPEDITED RULE-MAKING PROCESS, YOU MUST EXPRESS YOUR OBJECTIONS IN WRITING AND THEY MUST BE SENT TO Rochelle Goss, DNR, 1111 Washington Street S.E., P.O. Box 47015, Olympia, WA 98504-7015, phone 360-902-2117, fax 360-902-1789, email sepacenter@dnr.wa.gov, AND RECEIVED BY July 3, 2018. April 20, 2018 Brule Burkhart Deputy Supervisor
for Administration
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 07-08-021, filed 3/27/07, effective 4/27/07)
WAC 332-41-910 Designation of responsible official.
(1) Who may serve as DNR's SEPA responsible official? Since the responsible official shall carry out duties and functions for the purpose of assuring DNR's compliance with SEPA and the SEPA rules, it is important that DNR clearly designates who will be the responsible official for a proposal.
(a) DNR's responsible official will be as follows:
(i) Division manager;
(ii) Designated region manager; ((or))
(iii) Designated assistant division manager; or
(iv) Designated assistant region manager.
(b) The responsible official for the harbor line commission shall be the division manager of the aquatic resources division.
(c) When the region manager or assistant region manager is involved with the proposal, or during emergencies, i.e., fire season, it may be necessary to assign the responsible official duties for a proposal to a region manager in another region. The division manager may also assume responsible official duties for the proposal.
(d) When potentially significant conflicting DNR interests exist involving DNR proposals that converge at the division manager or region manager level, or the proposal involves more than one region, a superior management-level official may act as the responsible official. See subsection (4) of this section for recommended qualifications.
(2) What are the responsible official's duties? When DNR is the lead agency, the responsible official shall review the environmental checklist and make the threshold determination in compliance with this chapter, chapters 43.21C RCW and 197-11 WAC, and specifically, WAC 197-11-330.
(3) What other procedural requirements must be followed? The responsible official shall carry out further SEPA compliance under WAC 197-11-340, 197-11-350, or 197-11-360, as appropriate. This includes notice and circulation requirements for threshold determinations.
(4) What are the general qualifications of a DNR responsible official? The responsible official shall not be the applicant, project leader, or the decision maker for the proposal. The official shall have general technical expertise sufficient to assess the impacts of the proposal.
(5) What if a determination of significance is issued? When an environmental impact statement is required based on the threshold determination, scoping and EIS preparation under chapter 197-11 WAC shall occur under direction of the responsible official.
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