Chapter 173-224 WAC

The Department of Ecology adopted amendments to Chapter 173-224 WAC, Water Quality Permit Fees on June 26, 2019.

This rule amendment allows Ecology to continue recovering expenses in operating and managing the permit programs.

Ecology is increasing fees for Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021 in order to collect the revenue needed to recover the costs of administering the wastewater and stormwater programs next biennium and move closer to payment equity between fee categories.

We also proposed changes to the structure of specific permit fee categories, beginning with creating the Winery General Permit fee category.

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Rulemaking timeline

Timeline

Rulemaking Timeline
Date (Subject to change)	Activity
June 21, 2018	Announce rulemaking (file the CR-101 form)
July 2018 – January 2019	Develop and prepare the rule language and other information
January 8, 2019	Hold stakeholder meeting
March 7, 2019	Propose rule (file the CR-102 form) Start public comment period with rule text and supporting documents
April 23, 2019	Hold public hearing and webinar
April 30, 2019	End public comment period
April 2019 – June 2019	Review public comments and prepare adoption packet
June 26, 2019	Adopt rule (file the CR-103 form)
July 27, 2019	Rule effective (usually 31 days after filing)

Announcement phase (CR-101)

Filing date:
June 21, 2018

Announcement documents

Announcement Notice – CR-101 form

Rule development phase

Summer 2018 – Spring 2019

Public input & involvement

We held a stakeholder meeting at Ecology HQ and via phone on Jan. 8, 2019. We had 13 people attend.

Rule proposal phase (CR-102)

Filing date:
March 7, 2019

Rule proposal documents:

Comment period

A comment period was held from March 7 to April 30, 2019.

We held a hearing in person and via webinar on April 23, 2019 at 10 a.m. We had a presentation of proposed changes to the permit fees, answered any questions, then held a formal hearing to recieve oral comments.

Fee discount during innovation process testing

Ecology is implementing reducing fees for permittees who want to research and test new manufacturing technologies and processes that reduce wastewater pollutants. We’ve adopted a three-year, 75 percent discount in associated water quality permit fees when innovative projects result in less permit oversight and pollution. See our focus sheet for more information.

Rule adoption phase (CR-103)

Adoption date:
June 26, 2019

Rule effective date:
July 27, 2019

Rule adoption documents:

Additional languages

Español (Spanish)

El Departamento de Ecología adoptó enmiendas a Capitulo 173-224 WAC Tarifas de Permiso de Calidad de Agua (Water Quality Permit Fees). Esta propuesta aumenta las tarifas para el bienio 2019-2021 para garantizar que recaudemos los ingresos necesarios para cubrir el costo de administrar el programa. Para más información, por favor llame a Charles Gilman al 360-407-6425 para pedir un intérprete.

中文 (Chinese) Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)

Bộ Môi Sinh đã phê chuẩn phần thay đổi cho Chương 173-224 WAC Phí Giấy Phép Chất Lượng Nước (Water Quality Permit Fees). Đạo luật này đề xuất tăng phí cho hai năm 2019-2021 để bảo đảm doanh thu cần thiết để trang trải chi phí quản lý chương trình. Để biết thêm thông tin hoặc cần thông dịch viên, xin liên hệ Charles Gilman tại số (360) 407-6425.

한국어 (Korean) русский (Russian) ਪੰਜਾਬੀ (Punjabi)

Contact information

Charles Gilman
Rulemaking Lead
wqfee_unit@ecy.wa.gov
800-633-6193 Option 2

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Accessibility

To request ADA accommodation for disabilities, or printed materials in a format for the visually impaired, contact Ecology's ADA Coordinator by email at ecyadacoordinator@ecy.wa.gov, or call 360-407-6831. People with impaired hearing may call Washington Relay Service at 711. People with speech disability may call TTY at 877-833-6341.