Biosolids Permit Application Process Key - Part 3

SEPA Review and Public Comments

Step 5: SEPA Review. The requirements of the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) must be complied with during the biosolids permitting process. SEPA review is triggered by the act of applying for coverage under the general permit. Generally, the most local governmental entity which has an approval to grant in the permit process is the lead SEPA authority. Approval is interpreted broadly for this purpose and includes any form of permission or authorization that is required for the permit process to proceed to conclusion. Municipalities generally act as their own lead agencies. Confer with your local SEPA official or contact the department to determine what agency has lead for your project under SEPA. The lead agency will follow its own procedures for the SEPA process. In order for SEPA review to be conducted, the applicant must complete a SEPA checklist or defer to a previously submitted checklist if it adequately covers the proposal. Other relevant environmental information must also be provided to facilitate review, and this would include at a minimum the permit application and any associated land application plans. This information is used to make a threshold determination under SEPA. It is important to understand that SEPA review does not necessarily mean writing an Environmental Impact Statement. A complete range of outcomes is possible. Read the important notes below, and then go to Step 6.

NOTE: You must include evidence of compliance with SEPA with your permit application. The threshold determination made by the responsible SEPA official is the easiest and best evidence to provide. There can be some flexibility in the timing of the SEPA process as it relates to submittal of your permit application. For example, you may wish to resolve issues in your draft permit application prior to SEPA review.

NOTE: The SEPA process usually requires public notice. You may wish to combine SEPA notice with the basic permit notice in Step 6 below. Both purposes must be declared in any public notice which combines the two, and if the contact officials or the response periods are different, this must be made clear.

Step 6: Public notice. All applicants must conduct public notice in association with their permit application. The types of public notice required are: publication in a newspaper, posting, and notification by mail to interested parties.

One notice must be given in a newspaper of general circulation in all county(ies) affected by the permit proposal. Affected counties include counties where biosolids will be treated, stored, applied to the land or disposed in a municipal solid waste landfill. An exception to these requirements may occur if your facility is having its biosolids managed by a permitted beneficial use facility (BUF). In such cases, you are not required to perform public notice specific to the land application site if the BUF identified your facility in its public notice or the BUF clearly stated in its public notice that biosolids would be accepted from unknown sources, including sources outside of the county in which the BUF is located. If the exemption is potentially applicable to you, contact your regional biosolids coordinator or delegated local health department representative. For at least 30 days, beginning not later than the date of newspaper publication, notice must be posted at all sites where non-exceptional quality biosolids will be applied to the land. Any person who has asked to be placed on a list of interested parties must be notified by direct mail.

Copies of the notices made must be submitted to the department and to affected local health departments. These can be included with the completed permit application. The required public notice content can be found in WAC 173-308-310(13)(g).

Step 7: Determining the need for a public hearing or meeting. A hearing is a formal public event which will be presided over by a hearings officer. A hearing may be preceded by an informal question and answer session, but the hearing itself involves recorded testimony. During testimony questions are not answered and there is not feedback. The comments of concerned parties are noted for the record, and will ultimately be responded to. A public meeting is a less formal procedure. It may serve the simple purpose of helping people get better acquainted with your project. There may be a facilitator, but there is not hearings officer. Questions and concerns may be recorded or noted less formally, and responses may be more general in nature. The decision as to the need for a hearing or meeting is generally made by the lead staff person at the Department of Ecology, or by a delegated local health department representative. You may wish to hold your own public meeting even if it is not required as a part of the permit process. Response to your public notice will be an important factor in making this determination, but not the only factor. If a public meeting or hearing is required, public notice will need to be repeated for this purpose in the same fashion as for your permit application.

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