  |
|
|
197–11–700
Definitions.
197–11–702 Act.
197–11–704 Action.
197–11–706 Addendum.
197–11–708 Adoption.
197–11–710 Affected tribe.
197–11–712 Affecting.
197–11–714 Agency.
197–11–716 Applicant.
197–11–718 Built environment.
197–11–720 Categorical
exemption.
197–11–721 Closed
record appeal.
197–11–722 Consolidated
appeal.
197–11–724 Consulted
agency.
197–11–726
Cost–benefit analysis.
197–11–728 County/city.
197–11–730 Decision maker.
197–11–732 Department.
197–11–734
Determination of nonsignificance (DNS).
197–11–736
Determination of significance (DS).
197–11–738 EIS.
197–11–740 Environment.
197–11–742
Environmental checklist.
197–11–744
Environmental document.
197–11–746
Environmental review.
197–11–750 Expanded
scoping.
197–11–752 Impacts.
197–11–754
Incorporation by reference.
197–11–756 Lands
covered by water.
197–11–758 Lead agency.
197–11–760 License.
197–11–762 Local agency.
197–11–764 Major action.
197–11–766 Mitigated DNS.
197–11–768 Mitigation.
197–11–770 Natural
environment.
197–11–772 NEPA.
197–11–774 Nonproject.
197–11–775 Open record
hearing.
197–11–776 Phased review.
197–11–778 Preparation.
197–11–780 Private project.
197–11–782 Probable.
197–11–784 Proposal.
197–11–786 Reasonable
alternative.
197–11–788 Responsible
official.
197–11–790 SEPA.
197–11–792 Scope.
197–11–793 Scoping.
197–11–794 Significant.
197–11–796 State agency.
197–11–797 Threshold
determination.
197–11–799
Underlying governmental action.
(1) The terms used in these rules shall be uniform throughout the state as applied to SEPA (WAC 197–11–040). Agencies may add to certain of these definitions in their procedures, to help explain how they carry out SEPA, but shall not change these definitions (WAC 197–11–906).
(2) Unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) Use of the singular shall include the plural and conversely.
(b) "Preparation" of environmental documents refers to preparing or supervising the preparation of documents, including issuing, filing, printing, circulating, and related requirements.
(c) "Impact" refers to environmental impact.
(d) "Permit" means "license" (WAC 197–11–760).
(e) "Commenting" includes but is not synonymous with "consultation" (Part Five).
(f) "Environmental cost" refers to adverse environmental impact and may or may not be quantified.
(g) "EIS" refers to draft, final, and supplemental EISs (WAC 197–11–405 and 197–11–738).
(h) "Under" includes pursuant to, subject to, required by, established by, in accordance with, and similar expressions of legislative or administrative authorization or direction.
(3) In these rules:
(a) "Shall" is mandatory.
(b) "May" is optional and permissive and does not impose a requirement.
(c) "Include" means "include but not limited to."
(4) The following terms are synonymous:
(a) Effect and impact (WAC 197–11–752).
(b) Environment and environmental quality (WAC 197–11–740).
(c) Major and significant (WAC 197–11–764 and 197–11–794).
(d) Proposal and proposed action (WAC 197–11–784).
(e) Probable and likely (WAC 197–11–782).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–700, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Act" means the State Environmental Policy Act, chapter 43.21C RCW, as amended, which is also referred to as "SEPA."
[Statutory Authority: 1995 c 347 (ESHB 1724) and RCW 43.21C.110. 97–21–030 (Order 95–16), § 197–11–702, filed 10/10/97, effective 11/10/97. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–702, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
(1) "Actions" include, as further specified below:
(a) New and continuing activities (including projects and programs) entirely or partly financed, assisted, conducted, regulated, licensed, or approved by agencies;
(b) New or revised agency rules, regulations, plans, policies, or procedures; and
(c) Legislative proposals.
(2) Actions fall within one of two categories:
(a) Project actions. A project action involves a decision on a specific project, such as a construction or management activity located in a defined geographic area. Projects include and are limited to agency decisions to:
(i) License, fund, or undertake any activity that will directly modify the environment, whether the activity will be conducted by the agency, an applicant, or under contract.
(ii) Purchase, sell, lease, transfer, or exchange natural resources, including publicly owned land, whether or not the environment is directly modified.
(b) Nonproject actions. Nonproject actions involve decisions on policies, plans, or programs.
(i) The adoption or amendment of legislation, ordinances, rules, or regulations that contain standards controlling use or modification of the environment;
(ii) The adoption or amendment of comprehensive land use plans or zoning ordinances;
(iii) The adoption of any policy, plan, or program that will govern the development of a series of connected actions (WAC 197–11–060), but not including any policy, plan, or program for which approval must be obtained from any federal agency prior to implementation;
(iv) Creation of a district or annexations to any city, town or district;
(v) Capital budgets; and
(vi) Road, street, and highway plans.
(3) "Actions" do not include the activities listed above when an agency is not involved. Actions do not include bringing judicial or administrative civil or criminal enforcement actions (certain categorical exemptions in Part Nine identify in more detail governmental activities that would not have any environmental impacts and for which SEPA review is not required).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–704, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Addendum" means an environmental document used to provide additional information or analysis that does not substantially change the analysis of significant impacts and alternatives in the existing environmental document. The term does not include supplemental EISs. An addendum may be used at any time during the SEPA process.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–706, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Adoption" means an agency’s use of all or part of an existing environmental document to meet all or part of the agency’s responsibilities under SEPA to prepare an EIS or other environmental document.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–708, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
Affected tribe or "treaty tribe" means any Indian tribe, band, nation or community in the state of Washington, that is federally recognized by the United States Secretary of the Interior and that will or may be affected by the proposal.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–710, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Affecting" means having, or may be having, an effect on (see WAC 197–11–752 on impacts). For purposes of deciding whether an EIS is required and what the EIS must cover, "affecting" refers to having probable, significant adverse environmental impacts (RCW 43.21C.031 and 43.21C.110 (1)(c)).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–712, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
(1) "Agency" means any state or local governmental body, board, commission, department, or officer authorized to make law, hear contested cases, or otherwise take the actions stated in WAC 197–11–704, except the judiciary and state legislature. An agency is any state agency (WAC 197–11–796) or local agency (WAC 197–11–762).
(2) "Agency with environmental expertise" means an agency with special expertise on the environmental impacts involved in a proposal or alternative significantly affecting the environment. These agencies are listed in WAC 197–11–920; the list may be expanded in agency procedures (WAC 197–11–906). The appropriate agencies must be consulted in the environmental impact statement process, as required by WAC 197–11–502.
(3) "Agency with jurisdiction" means an agency with authority to approve, veto, or finance all or part of a nonexempt proposal (or part of a proposal). The term does not include an agency authorized to adopt rules or standards of general applicability that could apply to a proposal, when no license or approval is required from the agency for the specific proposal. The term also does not include a local, state, or federal agency involved in approving a grant or loan, that serves only as a conduit between the primary administering agency and the recipient of the grant or loan. Federal agencies with jurisdiction are those from which a license or funding is sought or required.
(4) If a specific agency has been named in these rules, and the functions of that agency have changed or been transferred to another agency, the term shall mean any successor agency.
(5) For those proposals requiring a hydraulic project approval under RCW 75.20.100, both the department of game and the department of fisheries shall be considered agencies with jurisdiction.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–714, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Applicant" means any person or entity, including an agency, applying for a license from an agency. Application means a request for a license.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–716, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Built environment" means the elements of the environment as specified by RCW 43.21C.110 (1)(f) and WAC 197–11–444(2), which are generally built or made by people as contrasted with natural processes.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–718, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Categorical exemption" means a type of action, specified in these rules, which does not significantly affect the environment (RCW 43.21C.110 (1)(a)); categorical exemptions are found in Part Nine of these rules. Neither a threshold determination nor any environmental document, including an environmental checklist or environmental impact statement, is required for any categorically exempt action (RCW 43.21C.031). These rules provide for those circumstances in which a specific action that would fit within a categorical exemption shall not be considered categorically exempt (WAC 197–11–305).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–720, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Closed record appeal" means an administrative appeal held under chapter 36.70B RCW that is on the record to a county/city body or officer, including the legislative body, following an open record hearing on a project permit application when the appeal is on the record with no or limited new evidence or information allowed to be submitted and only appeal arguments allowed. (RCW 36.70B.020(1).)
[Statutory Authority: 1995 c 347 (ESHB 1724) and RCW 43.21C.110. 97–21–030 (Order 95–16), § 197–11–721, filed 10/10/97, effective 11/10/97.]
"Consolidated appeal" means the procedure requiring a person to file an agency appeal challenging both procedural and substantive compliance with SEPA at the same time, as provided under RCW 43.21C.075 (3)(b) and the exceptions therein. If an agency does not have an appeal procedure for challenging either the agency’s procedural or its substantive SEPA determinations, the appeal cannot be consolidated prior to any judicial review. The requirement for a consolidated appeal does not preclude agencies from bifurcating appeal proceedings and allowing different agency officials to hear different aspects of the appeal. (WAC 197–11–680.)
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–722, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Consulted agency" means any agency with jurisdiction or expertise that is requested by the lead agency to provide information during the SEPA process.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–724, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Cost–benefit analysis" means a quantified comparison of costs and benefits generally expressed in monetary or numerical terms. It is not synonymous with the weighing or balancing of environmental and other impacts or benefits of a proposal.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–726, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
(1) "County/city" means a county, city, or town. In this chapter, duties and powers are assigned to a county, city, or town as a unit. The delegation of responsibilities among the various departments of a county, city, or town is left to the legislative or charter authority of the individual counties, cities, or towns.
(2) A "GMA county/city" means a county, city, or town planning under the Growth Management Act.
[Statutory Authority: 1995 c 347 (ESHB 1724) and RCW 43.21C.110. 97–21–030 (Order 95–16), § 197–11–728, filed 10/10/97, effective 11/10/97. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–728, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Decision maker" means the agency official or officials who make the agency’s decision on a proposal. The decision maker and responsible official are not necessarily synonymous, depending on the agency and its SEPA procedures (WAC 197–11–906 and 197–11–910).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–730, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Department" means the Washington state department of ecology.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–732, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Determination of nonsignificance" (DNS) means the written decision by the responsible official of the lead agency that a proposal is not likely to have a significant adverse environmental impact, and therefore an EIS is not required (WAC 197–11–310 and 197–11–340). The DNS form is in WAC 197–11–970.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–734, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Determination of significance" (DS) means the written decision by the responsible official of the lead agency that a proposal is likely to have a significant adverse environmental impact, and therefore an EIS is required (WAC 197–11–310 and 197–11–360). The DS form is in WAC 197–11–980 and must be used substantially in that form.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–736, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"EIS" means environmental impact statement. The term "detailed statement" in RCW 43.21C.030 (2)(c) refers to a final EIS. The term "EIS" as used in these rules refers to draft, final, or supplemental EISs (WAC 197–11–405).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–738, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Environment" means, and is limited to, those elements listed in WAC 197–11–444, as required by RCW 43.21C.110 (1)(f). Environment and environmental quality refer to the state of the environment and are synonymous as used in these rules and refer basically to physical environmental quality.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–740, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Environmental checklist" means the form in WAC 197–11–960. Rules for its use are in WAC 197–11–315.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–742, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Environmental document" means any written public document prepared under this chapter. Under SEPA, the terms environmental analysis, environmental study, environmental report, and environmental assessment do not have specialized meanings and do not refer to particular environmental documents (unlike various other state or federal environmental impact procedures).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–744, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Environmental review" means the consideration of environmental factors as required by SEPA. The "environmental review process" is the procedure used by agencies and others under SEPA for giving appropriate consideration to the environment in agency decision making.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–746, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Expanded scoping" is an optional process that may be used by agencies to go beyond minimum scoping requirements.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–750, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Impacts" are the effects or consequences of actions. Environmental impacts are effects upon the elements of the environment listed in WAC 197–11–444.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–752, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Incorporation by reference" means the inclusion of all or part of any existing document in an agency’s environmental documentation by reference (WAC 197–11–600 and 197–11–635).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–754, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Lands covered by water" means lands underlying the water areas of the state below the ordinary high water mark, including salt waters, tidal waters, estuarine waters, natural water courses, lakes, ponds, artificially impounded waters, marshes, and swamps. Certain categorical exemptions do not apply to lands covered by water, as specified in Part Nine.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–756, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Lead agency" means the agency with the main responsibility for complying with SEPA’s procedural requirements (WAC 197–11–050 and 197–11–922). The procedures for determining lead agencies are in Part Ten of these rules. "Lead agency" may be read as "responsible official" (WAC 197–11–788 and 197–11–910) unless the context clearly requires otherwise. Depending on the agency and the type of proposal, for example, there may be a difference between the lead agency’s responsible official, who is at a minimum responsible for procedural determinations (such as WAC 197–11–330, 197–11–455, 197–11–460) and its decision maker, who is at a minimum responsible for substantive determinations (such as WAC 197–11–448, 197–11–655, and 197–11–660).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–758, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"License" means any form of written permission given to any person, organization, or agency to engage in any activity, as required by law or agency rule. A license includes all or part of an agency permit, certificate, approval, registration, charter, or plat approvals or rezones to facilitate a particular proposal. The term does not include a license required solely for revenue purposes.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–760, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Local agency" or "local government" means any political subdivision, regional governmental unit, district, municipal or public corporation, including cities, towns, and counties and their legislative bodies. The term encompasses but does not refer specifically to the departments within a city or county.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–762, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Major action" means an action that is likely to have significant adverse environmental impacts. "Major" reinforces but does not have a meaning independent of "significantly" (WAC 197–11–794).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–764, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Mitigated DNS" means a DNS that includes mitigation measures and is issued as a result of the process specified in WAC 197–11–350.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–766, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Mitigation" means:
(1) Avoiding the impact altogether by not taking a certain action or parts of an action;
(2) Minimizing impacts by limiting the degree or magnitude of the action and its implementation, by using appropriate technology, or by taking affirmative steps to avoid or reduce impacts;
(3) Rectifying the impact by repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring the affected environment;
(4) Reducing or eliminating the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action;
(5) Compensating for the impact by replacing, enhancing, or providing substitute resources or environments; and/or
(6) Monitoring the impact and taking appropriate corrective measures.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–768, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Natural environment" means those aspects of the environment contained in WAC 197–11–444(1), frequently referred to as natural elements, or resources, such as earth, air, water, wildlife, and energy.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–770, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"NEPA" means the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 USCA 4321 et seq.; PL 91–190), that is like SEPA at the federal level. The federal NEPA regulations are located at 40 CFR 1500 et seq.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–772, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Nonproject" means actions which are different or broader than a single site specific project, such as plans, policies, and programs (WAC 197–11–704).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–774, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Open record hearing" means a hearing held under chapter 36.70B RCW and conducted by a single hearing body or officer authorized by the county/city to conduct such hearings, that creates the county’s/city’s record through testimony and submission of evidence and information, under procedures prescribed by the county/city by ordinance or resolution. An open record hearing may be held prior to a county’s/city’s decision on a project permit to be known as an "open record predecision hearing." An open record hearing may be held on an appeal, to be known as an "open record appeal hearing," if no open record predecision hearing has been held on the project permit. (RCW 36.70B.020(3).)
[Statutory Authority: 1995 c 347 (ESHB 1724) and RCW 43.21C.110. 97–21–030 (Order 95–16), § 197–11–775, filed 10/10/97, effective 11/10/97.]
"Phased review" means the coverage of general matters in broader environmental documents, with subsequent narrower documents concentrating solely on the issues specific to the later analysis (WAC 197–11–060(5)). Phased review may be used for a single proposal or EIS (WAC 197–11–060).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–776, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Preparation" of an environmental document means preparing or supervising the preparation of documents, including issuing, filing, printing, circulating, and related requirements (see WAC 197–11–700(2)).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–778, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Private project" means any proposal primarily initiated or sponsored by an individual or entity other than an agency.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–780, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Probable" means likely or reasonably likely to occur, as in "a reasonable probability of more than a moderate effect on the quality of the environment" (see WAC 197–11–794). Probable is used to distinguish likely impacts from those that merely have a possibility of occurring, but are remote or speculative. This is not meant as a strict statistical probability test.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–782, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Proposal" means a proposed action. A proposal includes both actions and regulatory decisions of agencies as well as any actions proposed by applicants. A proposal exists at that stage in the development of an action when an agency is presented with an application, or has a goal and is actively preparing to make a decision on one or more alternative means of accomplishing that goal, and the environmental effects can be meaningfully evaluated. (See WAC 197–11–055 and 197–11–060(3)). A proposal may therefore be a particular or preferred course of action or several alternatives. For this reason, these rules use the phrase "alternatives including the proposed action." The term "proposal" may therefore include "other reasonable courses of action," if there is no preferred alternative and if it is appropriate to do so in the particular context.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–784, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Reasonable alternative" means an action that could feasibly attain or approximate a proposal’s objectives, but at a lower environmental cost or decreased level of environmental degradation. Reasonable alternatives may be those over which an agency with jurisdiction has authority to control impacts, either directly, or indirectly through requirement of mitigation measures. (See WAC 197–11–440(5) and 197–11–660.) Also see the definition of "scope" for the three types of alternatives to be analyzed in EISs (WAC 197–11–792).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–786, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Responsible official" means that officer or officers, committee, department, or section of the lead agency designated by agency SEPA procedures to undertake its procedural responsibilities as lead agency (WAC 197–11–910).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–788, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"SEPA" means the State Environmental Policy Act (chapter 43.21C RCW), which is also referred to as the act. The "SEPA process" means all measures necessary for compliance with the act’s requirements.
[Statutory Authority: 1995 c 347 (ESHB 1724) and RCW 43.21C.110. 97–21–030 (Order 95–16), § 197–11–790, filed 10/10/97, effective 11/10/97. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–790, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
(1) "Scope" means the range of proposed actions, alternatives, and impacts to be analyzed in an environmental document (WAC 197–11–060(2)).
(2) To determine the scope of environmental impact statements, agencies consider three types of actions, three types of impacts, and three types of alternatives.
(a) Actions may be:
(i) Single (a specific action which is not related to other proposals or parts of proposals);
(ii) Connected (proposals or parts of proposals which are closely related under WAC 197–11–060(3) or 197–11–305(1)); or
(iii) Similar (proposals that have common aspects and may be analyzed together under WAC 197–11–060(3)).
(b) Alternatives may be:
(i) No action;
(ii) Other reasonable courses of action; or
(iii) Mitigation measures (not in the proposed action).
(c) Impacts may be:
(i) Direct;
(ii) Indirect; or
(iii) Cumulative.
(3) WAC 197–11–060 provides general rules for the content of any environmental review under SEPA; Part Four and WAC 197–11–440 provide specific rules for the content of EISs. The scope of an individual statement may depend on its relationship with other EISs or on phased review.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–792, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Scoping" means determining the range of proposed actions, alternatives, and impacts to be discussed in an EIS. Because an EIS is required to analyze significant environmental impacts only, scoping is intended to identify and narrow the EIS to the significant issues. The required scoping process (WAC 197–11–408) provides interagency and public notice of a DS, or equivalent notification, and opportunity to comment. The lead agency has the option of expanding the scoping process (WAC 197–11–410), but shall not be required to do so. Scoping is used to encourage cooperation and early resolution of potential conflicts, to improve decisions, and to reduce paperwork and delay.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–793, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
(1) "Significant" as used in SEPA means a reasonable likelihood of more than a moderate adverse impact on environmental quality.
(2) Significance involves context and intensity (WAC 197–11–330) and does not lend itself to a formula or quantifiable test. The context may vary with the physical setting. Intensity depends on the magnitude and duration of an impact.
The severity of an impact should be weighed along with the likelihood of its occurrence. An impact may be significant if its chance of occurrence is not great, but the resulting environmental impact would be severe if it occurred.
(3) WAC 197–11–330 specifies a process, including criteria and procedures, for determining whether a proposal is likely to have a significant adverse environmental impact.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–794, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"State agency" means any state board, commission, department, or officer, including state universities, colleges, and community colleges, that is authorized by law to make rules, hear contested cases, or otherwise take the actions stated in WAC 197–11–704, except the judiciary and state legislature.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–796, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Threshold determination" means the decision by the responsible official of the lead agency whether or not an EIS is required for a proposal that is not categorically exempt (WAC 197–11–310 and 197–11–330 (1)(b)).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–797, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]
"Underlying government action" means the governmental action, such as zoning or permit approvals, that is the subject of SEPA compliance.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21C.110. 84–05–020 (Order DE 83–39), § 197–11–799, filed 2/10/84, effective 4/4/84.]