Washington Administrative Code › Title 173 - Ecology, Department of (See also Titles 197, 317, 372, and 508) › Chapter 173-224 - Water quality permit fees › Section 173-224-050 - Permit fee computation and payments

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) The department assesses annual permit
			 fees based on the permit fee schedule in WAC
			 173-224-040. The department
			 issues invoices at the beginning of the fiscal year to which they apply. The
			 department will notify permit holders of annual permit fee charges by either
			 sending an invoice to the permit holder on record or making the invoice
			 available online. Payments are due by the date on the invoice, which is
			 typically within 45 days of the invoice issue date. The department may elect to
			 invoice the annual permit fee to permit holders on a monthly, quarterly, or
			 other periodic basis. It is the permit holder's responsibility to ensure that
			 the department has the correct billing address on file.
(2) Permit fee computation begins on the
			 first day of each fiscal year. For newly issued permits, fee computation begins
			 on the permit issuance date and shall not fall below the minimum permit fee as
			 specified in WAC
			 173-224-040(2).
			 In the case of applicants for state waste discharge permits who are deemed to
			 have a temporary permit under
			 RCW
			    90.48.200, computation shall begin on the
			 61st day after the department accepts a completed application.
(3) For existing NPDES permit holders who
			 submit a renewal permit application or a permit modification request containing
			 information that may change their assigned permit fee, computation and permit
			 fee category reassignment begins on the date the department issues the renewed
			 permit or permit modification.
(4)
			 Any facility that obtains permit coverage but fails to operate is still
			 obligated to pay the annual permit fee assessment in this chapter until the
			 department terminates permit coverage. Permits terminated during the fiscal
			 year will pay the full annual fee assessment regardless of the permit
			 termination date.
(5) Annual permit
			 fees for sand and gravel general permit holders are assessed as in WAC
			 173-224-040(3) and:
(a) Nonoperating sites. A facility
			 conducting mining, screening, washing or crushing activities, excluding
			 portable rock crushing operations, is considered nonoperating for fee purposes
			 if they are conducting these activities for less than 90 cumulative days during
			 a calendar year. A facility producing or recycling no asphalt or concrete
			 during the calendar year is also considered nonoperating for fee
			 purposes.
(b) Nonoperating sites
			 that become active for only concrete or asphalt production or recycling are
			 assessed a prorated fee for the actual time nonoperational. For the actual time
			 a concrete or asphalt facility is active, excluding asphalt portable batch
			 plants and concrete portable batch plants, fees are based on total production
			 or recycled amount of concrete or asphalt.
(c) Fees for continuously active sites that
			 produce or recycle concrete or asphalt, excluding asphalt portable batch plants
			 and concrete portable batch plants, are based on the previous calendar year
			 production totals. Existing facilities must provide the department with the
			 production or recycled totals for concrete or asphalt produced or recycled
			 during the previous calendar year. New facilities with no historical asphalt or
			 concrete production or recycling data will have their first year fee based on
			 the production or recycling levels reported in the permit
			 application.