A. 
The responsible official or the department receiving an application for or initiating a proposal that involves a nonexempt action shall determine the lead agency for that proposal under WAC 197-11-050 and 197-11-922 through 197-11-940, unless the lead agency has been previously determined or the department is aware that another department or agency is in the process of determining the lead agency.
B. 
When the city is the lead agency for a proposal, the department receiving the application shall determine the responsible official who shall supervise compliance with the threshold determination requirements and, if an EIS is necessary, shall supervise preparation of the EIS.
C. 
When the city is not the lead agency for a proposal, all departments of the city shall use and consider as appropriate either the determination of nonsignificance (DNS) or the final EIS of the lead agency in making decisions on the proposal. No city department shall prepare or require preparation of a DNS or EIS in addition to that prepared by the lead agency unless the city determines a supplemental environmental review is necessary under WAC 197-11-600.
D. 
If the city or any department receives a lead agency determination made by another agency that appears inconsistent with criteria of WAC 197-11-253 or 197-11-922 through 197-11-940, it may object to the determination. Objection must be made to the agency originally making the determination and resolved within 14 days of receipt of determination or the city must petition the Department of Ecology for a lead agency determination under WAC 197-11-946 within the 14-day time period. Any such petition on behalf of the city may be initiated by the responsible official or any department.
E. 
The responsible official is authorized to make agreements as to lead agency status or shared lead agency's duties for a proposal under WAC 197-11-942 and 197-11-944; provided, that the responsible official and any department that will incur responsibilities as the result of such agreement approve the agreement.
F. 
The responsible official shall require sufficient information from the applicant to identify other agencies with jurisdiction.
G. 
When the city is lead agency for a MTCA remedial action, the Department of Ecology shall be provided an opportunity under WAC 197-11-253(5) to review the environmental documents prior to public notice being provided. If the SEPA and MTCA documents are issued together with one public comment period under WAC 197-11-253(6), the city shall decide jointly with Ecology who receives the comment letters and how copies of the comment letters will be distributed to the other agency.
(Ord. 41-07 § 1, 2007; Ord. 30-19 § 1 (Att. B), 2019)
The city adopts the following sections of Chapter 197-11 WAC, as now existing or hereinafter amended, by reference as supplemented in this chapter. The city shall identify whether an action is categorically exempt within seven days of receiving a completed application:
WAC 197-11-300
Purpose of this part.
WAC 197-11-310
Threshold determination required.
WAC 197-11-315
Environmental checklist.
WAC 197-11-330
Threshold determination process.
WAC 197-11-335
Additional information.
WAC 197-11-340
Determination of nonsignificance (DNS).
WAC 197-11-350
Mitigated DNS.
WAC 197-11-355
Optional DNS process.
WAC 197-11-360
Determination of significance (DS)/initiation of scoping.
WAC 197-11-390
Effect of threshold determination.
(Ord. 41-07 § 1, 2007)
[1]
Code reviser's note: Ord. 30-19 amended Ch. 18.04 but inadvertently omitted WRMC 18.04.060 and 18.04.090. Both sections have been retained per the city's intent. In addition, WRMC 18.04.060 was amended for consistency with the amendments of Ord. 30-19.
The time estimates contained in this section apply when the city processes licenses for all private projects and those governmental proposals submitted to the city by other agencies. The actual time may vary with the complexity of the project, availability of staff, cooperation of agencies with jurisdiction or expertise, etc. The time estimates contained herein shall not be construed to be mandatory. When the stated time estimate would end on a weekend or official holiday, the time estimate shall extend to include the next day upon which the city's administrative offices are open for business.
A. 
Categorical Exemptions. The city will normally identify whether an action is categorically exempt within 10 days of receiving a completed application.
B. 
Threshold Determinations.
1. 
The city will normally complete threshold determinations for proposals that can be based solely upon review of environmental checklist for a proposal within 14 days of the determination of a complete application in accordance with WRMC Title 14, but not more than 90 days after the determination of completeness.
2. 
When the responsible official requires further information from the applicant or consults with other agencies with jurisdiction:
a. 
The city will normally request such further information within 28 days of receiving an application;
b. 
The city will normally wait no longer than 15 days for a consulted agency to respond;
c. 
The responsible official shall issue a threshold determination at least 15 days prior to a public hearing on a proposal, if a public hearing is required. If a public hearing is not required, a threshold determination shall not be issued until the public comment period on a notice of application has expired.
3. 
When the city must initiate further studies, including field investigations, to obtain the information to make the threshold determination, the city will normally complete the studies within 30 days of receiving a complete application.
4. 
The responsible official will normally respond to a request for early notice within 10 days. The threshold determination will normally be made within 15 days of receipt of the changed or clarified proposal, environmental checklist and/or permit application.
(Ord. 41-07 § 1, 2007; Ord. 30-19 § 1 (Att. B), 2019)