Washington Administrative Code › Title 197 - Ecology, Department of (Environmental Policy, Council on) › Chapter 197-11 - SEPA rules › Part SEVEN - SEPA AND AGENCY DECISIONS › Section 197-11-680 - Appeals

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Introduction.
Appeals
				provisions in SEPA are found in
				RCW
				   43.21C.060,
				43.21C.075 and
				43.21C.080. These rules attempt to
				construe and interpret the statutory provisions. In the event a court determines
				that these rules are inconsistent with statutory provisions, or with the
				framework and policy of SEPA, the statute will control. Persons considering
				either administrative or judicial appeal of any decision which involves SEPA at
				all are advised to read the statutory sections cited above.
(2)
Appeal to local legislative
				body.
RCW    43.21C.060 allows an appeal to a
				local legislative body of any decision by a local nonelected official
				conditioning or denying a proposal under authority of SEPA. Agencies may
				establish procedures for such an appeal, or may eliminate such appeals
				altogether, by rule, ordinance or resolution. Such appeals are subject to the
				restrictions in
				RCW
				   36.70B.050 and
				36.70B.060 that local governments
				provide no more than one open record hearing and one closed record appeal for
				permit decisions.
(3)
Agency
				administrative appeal procedures.
(a)
				Agencies may provide for an administrative appeal of determinations relating to
				SEPA in their agency SEPA procedures. If so, the procedures must comply with the
				following:
(i) The agency must specify by rule,
				ordinance, or resolution that the appeals procedure is available.
(ii) Appeal of the intermediate steps under
				SEPA (e.g., lead agency determination, scoping, draft EIS adequacy) shall not be
				allowed.
(iii) Appeals on SEPA
				procedures shall be limited to review of a final threshold determination and
				final EIS. These appeals may occur prior to an agency's final decision on a
				proposed action.
(iv) An agency shall
				provide for only one administrative appeal of a threshold determination or of the
				adequacy of an EIS; successive administrative appeals on these issues within the
				same agency are not allowed. This limitation does not apply to administrative
				appeals before another agency.
(v)
				Except as provided in (a)(vi) of this subsection, the appeal shall consolidate
				any allowed appeals of procedural and substantive determinations under SEPA with
				a hearing or appeal on the underlying governmental action in a single
				simultaneous hearing before one hearing officer or body. The hearing or appeal
				shall be one at which the hearing officer or body will consider either the
				agency's decision or a recommendation on the proposed underlying governmental
				action. For example, an appeal of the adequacy of an EIS must be consolidated
				with a hearing or appeal on the agency's decision or recommendation on the
				proposed action, if both proceedings are allowed in agency procedures. If an
				agency does not provide for a hearing or appeal on the underlying governmental
				action (either a hearing on the agency's recommendation or an agency appeal
				hearing after the decision is made), the agency may not hold a SEPA
				administrative appeal, except as allowed under (a)(vi) of this
				subsection.
(vi) The following
				appeals of SEPA procedural or substantive determinations need not be consolidated
				with a hearing or appeal on the underlying governmental action:
(A) An appeal of a determination of
				significance;
(B) An appeal of a
				procedural determination made by an agency when the agency is a project
				proponent, or is funding a project, and chooses to conduct its review under SEPA,
				including any appeals of its procedural determinations, prior to submitting an
				application for a project permit. Subsequent appeals of substantive
				determinations by an agency with jurisdiction over the proposed project shall be
				allowed under the SEPA appeal procedures of the agency with
				jurisdiction;
(C) An appeal of a
				procedural determination made by an agency on a nonproject action; and
(D) An appeal to the local legislative
				authority under
				RCW
				   43.21C.060 or other applicable state
				statutes.
(vii) If a
				county/city to which
				RCW
				   36.70B.110 applies provides for an
				administrative appeal, any such appeal of a procedural or substantive
				determination under SEPA issued at the same time as the decision on a project
				action shall be filed within fourteen days after a notice of decision under
				RCW
				   36.70B.130 or after other notice that the
				decision has been made and is appealable. In order to allow public comment on a
				DNS prior to requiring an administrative appeal to be filed, this appeal period
				shall be extended for an additional seven days if the appeal is of a DNS for
				which public comment is required under this chapter or under county/city rules
				adopted under SEPA. For threshold determinations issued prior to a decision on a
				project action, any administrative appeal allowed by a county/city shall be filed
				within fourteen days after notice that the determination has been made and is
				appealable. Nothing in this subsection alters the requirements of (a)(v) and (vi)
				of this subsection.
(viii) Agencies
				shall provide that procedural determinations made by the responsible official
				shall be entitled to substantial weight.