PROPOSED RULES
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 99-11-055.
Title of Rule: Chapter 173-224 WAC, Wastewater discharge permit fees.
Purpose: Increase annual permit fees, allow for an automatic annual fee adjustment; create new fee categories.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapter 90.48 RCW.
Statute Being Implemented: Chapter 90.48 RCW.
Summary: Amending chapter 173-224 WAC will increase annual fees for the fiscal year 1999-01 biennium as well as create new permit categories needed to reflect new permit coverage. New language is being introduced that allows for an automatic fee change to match the state fiscal growth factor. Fee categories for dairies and portable operations are being amended and a new category for noncontact cooling water with additives general permit coverage is being created.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: The changes will allow ecology to manage the wastewater discharge permit fee program at an appropriate level and streamline some current administrative activities.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting and Implementation: Bev Poston, Olympia, Washington, (360) 407-6425; and Enforcement: Steve Carley, Olympia, Washington, (360) 407-6572.
Name of Proponent: Washington Department of Ecology, governmental.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: Ecology is required by law (RCW 90.48.465) to collect fees from all holders of wastewater discharge permits. The fees are required to fully fund the permit program. The proposed changes will allow ecology to continue existing levels of service to the growing permit universe; maintain a base level of service if projected revenues fall below the legislative appropriation level for the 1999-01 biennium; recover adequate revenue to fund the increases to salaries and benefits approved by the legislature during the 1999 legislative session; and collect revenue to support additional permitting activities the legislature may direct ecology to perform during the 1999-01 biennium.
Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: The proposal increases annual permit fees by 3.32% for fiscal year 2000 and 2.93% for fiscal year 2001. In addition, ecology is proposing to change language that will do the following:
| • | Develops a definition and fee schedule for portable operations. |
| • | Allow for automatic fee changes to match the state fiscal growth factor. |
| • | Establish a fee schedule for dairy permit holders. |
| • | Create a general permit fee schedule for permit holders with noncontact cooling water with additives. |
No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. Economic analyses are required for impacts on small business and municipalities when establishing wastewater discharge permit fees (RCW 90.48.465(4)). Since the wastewater discharge permit fees are already established and are only being adjusted, an economic analysis is not required.
RCW 34.05.328 does not apply to this rule adoption. The proposed fee increases do not require economic analysis because the requirements from this section of the Administrative Procedure Act do not apply to "rules that set or adjust fees or rates pursuant to legislative standards."
Hearing Location: Ecology will hold a public workshop immediately followed by public hearing beginning at 1:30 p.m. at the following dates and locations: On October 28, 1999, Thursday, Ecology Headquarters Building, 300 Desmond Drive, Room ROA 36, Lacey, WA; and on October 29, 1999, Friday, Big Bend Community College, 7662 Chanute, Room 1609, Moses Lake, WA.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Bev Poston by October 6, 1999, TDD (360) 407-6006, or (360) 407-6425.
Submit Written Comments to: Bev Poston, Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600, e-mail bpos461@ecy.wa.gov., fax (360) 407-6426, by November 9, 1999.
Date of Intended Adoption: December 28, 1999.
September 15, 1999
Daniel J. Silver
Deputy Director
OTS-3240.3
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending Order 97-27, filed 1/15/98,
effective 2/15/98)
WAC 173-224-030
Definitions.
"Administrative expenses" means those costs associated with issuing and administering permits under RCW 90.48.160, 90.48.162, and 90.48.260.
"Aggregate production" means the mining or quarrying of
sand, gravel, or rock ((and/)), or the production of concrete
((and/)), or asphalt or a combination thereof.
"Aluminum and magnesium reduction mills" means the electrolytic reduction of alumina or magnesium salts to produce aluminum or magnesium metal.
"Animal unit" means one slaughter or feeder steer, ((0.7))
1.4 mature dairy cow, 25 swine or as more fully defined in
Appendix B of 40 CFR 122.
"Annual permit fee" means the fee charged by the department for annual expenses associated with activities specified in RCW 90.48.465. This annual fee is based on the state's fiscal year (July 1 - June 30).
"bbls/d" means barrels per day of feedstock for petroleum refineries.
"bins/yr" means total standard bins used during the last complete calendar year by a facility in the crop preparing industry. The bins measure approximately 47.5 inches x 47.4 inches x 29.5 inches and hold approximately 870 pounds of fruit.
"Chemical pulp mill w/chlorine bleaching" means any pulp mill that uses chlorine or chlorine compounds in their bleaching process.
"Combined food processing waste treatment facility" means a
facility ((which)) that treats wastewater from more than one
separately permitted food processor and receives no domestic
wastewater or waste from industrial sources other than food
processing.
"Combined industrial waste treatment" means a facility which treats wastewater from more than one industry in any of the following categories: Inorganic chemicals, metal finishing, ore concentration, organic chemicals, or photofinishers.
"Combined sewer overflow (CSO)" means the event during which excess combined sewage flow caused by inflow is discharged from a combined sewer, rather than conveyed to the sewage treatment plant because either the capacity of the treatment plant or the combined sewer is exceeded.
"Concentrated animal feeding operation" means an "animal
feeding operation" ((which)) that meets the criteria in Appendix
B of 40 CFR 122 as presently enacted and any subsequent
modifications thereto.
"Contaminants of concern" means a chemical for which an effluent limit is established (this does not include pH, flow, temperature, or other "nonchemical parameters"). Petroleum constituents will be considered as one contaminant of concern even if more than one effluent limit is established (e.g., Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons and BTEX).
"Crane" means a machine used for the hoisting and lifting of ship hulls.
"Crop preparing" means the preparation of fruit for wholesale or retail sale by washing and/or other processes in which the skin of the fruit is not broken and in which the interior part of the fruit does not come in direct contact with the wastewater.
"cu. yds/yr" means the total production from an aggregate production facility in cubic yards during the most recent completed calendar year.
"Department" means the department of ecology.
"Director" means the director of the department of ecology.
"Domestic wastewater" means water carrying human wastes,
including kitchen, bath, and laundry wastes from residences,
buildings, industrial establishments or other places, together
with ((such)) any groundwater infiltration or surface waters
((as)) that may be present.
"Domestic wastewater facility" means all structures, equipment, or processes required to collect, carry away, treat, reclaim or dispose of domestic wastewater together with such industrial waste as may be present.
"Existing operations" means those industrial operations requiring a wastewater discharge permit before July 1, 1993.
"EPA" means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
"Fin fish rearing and hatching" means the raising of fin fish for fisheries enhancement or sale, by means of hatcheries, net pens, or other confined fish facilities.
"Flavor extraction" means the recovery of flavors or essential oils from organic products by steam distillation.
"Food processing" means the preparation of food for human or
animal consumption or the preparation of animal byproducts, ((but
exclusive of)) excluding crop preparing. This category includes,
but is not limited to, fruit and vegetable processing, meat and
poultry products processing, dairy products processing, beer
production, rendering and animal feed production. Food
processing wastewater treatment plants ((which)) that treat
wastes from only one separately permitted food processor
((shall)) must be treated as one facility for billing purposes.
"Hazardous waste clean up sites" means any facility where there has been confirmation of a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance that requires remedial action other than RCRA corrective action sites.
"Industrial facility" means any facility not included in the definition of municipal/domestic facility.
"Industrial gross revenue" means the annual amount of the sales of goods and services produced using the processes regulated by the wastewater discharge permit.
"Industrial storm water" means an operation required to be covered under ecology's NPDES and state waste discharge baseline general permit for storm water discharges associated with industrial activities or modifications to that permit or having an individual wastewater permit for storm water only.
"MGD" means permitted flow expressed in million gallons per day.
"Manufacturing" means the making of goods and articles by hand or especially, by machinery into a manufactured product.
"Metal finishing" means the preparation of metal surfaces by means of electroplating, electroless plating, anodizing, coating (chromating, phosphating and coloring), chemical etching and milling, and printed circuit board manufacture.
"Municipal/domestic facility" means a publicly-owned
facility treating domestic wastewater together with ((such)) any
industrial wastes ((as)) that may be present, or a
privately-owned facility treating solely domestic wastewater.
"Municipal gross revenue" means gross receipts from monthly, bimonthly, and/or quarterly user charges for sewer services received from all classes of customers;
Included in these user charges are user charges and fees based on wastewater constituents' strengths and characteristics including high-strength surcharges and charges based on biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, oil and grease, toxicants, heavy metals, and flow, etc.
Municipal gross revenue includes charges for receipt and treatment of septic tank wastes, holding tank wastes, chemical toilet wastes, etc.
Municipal gross revenue includes all amounts received from other municipalities for sewage interception, treatment, collection, or disposal.
Gross revenue excludes:
Amounts derived by municipalities directly from taxes levied for the support or maintenance of sewer services.
Late charges, penalties for nontimely payment by customers, interest on late payments, and all other penalties and fines.
Permit fees and compliance monitoring fees for wastewater discharge permits issued by municipalities with local pretreatment programs. Permit fees which are charged to cover the cost of providing sewer service are not excluded from municipal gross revenue.
Receipts by a municipality of special assessments or installments thereof and interests and penalties thereon, and charges in lieu of assessments.
Connection charges.
Revenues from sales of by-products such as sludge, processed wastewater, etc.
"Municipality" means a city, town, county, district,
association, or other public body created by or ((pursuant to))
in accordance with state law and ((having)) that has jurisdiction
over disposal of sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes, or
an Indian tribe or an authorized Indian tribal organization, or a
designated and approved management agency under 33 U.S.C. Sec.
1288. State government agencies are not included in this
definition.
"Noncontact cooling water with additives" means water used for cooling that comes into contact with corrosives.
"Noncontact cooling water without additives" means water used for cooling that does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product or finished product, and which does not contain chemicals added by the permittee. The noncontact cooling water fee without additives category applies to those facilities which discharge only noncontact cooling water and which have no other wastewater discharges required to be permitted under RCW 90.48.160, 90.48.162, and 90.48.260.
"Nonferrous metals forming" means the manufacturing of semifinished products from pure metal or metal alloys other than iron or steel or of metals not otherwise classified in WAC 173-224-040(2).
"Nonoperating aggregate site" means a location where
previous mining or processing has occurred; that has not been
fully reclaimed; that has no current mining or processing, and
that may include stockpiles of raw materials or finished
products. The permittee may add or withdraw raw materials or
finished products from the stockpiles for transportation offsite
for processing, use, or sale and still be considered a
nonoperating site. This definition can be found in ecology's
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and State Waste
Discharge Permit for Process Water ((and)), Storm Water, and Mine
Dewatering Water Discharges Associated with Sand and Gravel
Operations, Rock Quarries and Similar Mining Facilities including
Stockpiles of Mined Materials, Concrete Batch Operations and
Asphalt Batch Operations.
"NPDES permit" means a National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System permit issued by the department ((pursuant
to)) under Section 402 of the federal Clean Water Act and RCW 90.48.260.
"Person" means any political subdivision, government agency, municipality, industry, public or private corporation, partnership, association, firm, individual, or any other entity whatever.
"Portable facility" means a facility that is designed for mobility and is moved from site to site for short term operations. A portable facility applies only to an asphalt batch plant, portable concrete batch plant and portable rock crusher.
"RCRA" means Resource Conservation Recovery Act clean up sites required to have a wastewater discharge permit resulting from a corrective action under relevant federal authorities or under chapters 70.105 and 70.105D RCW including chapters 173-303 and 173-340 WAC, and are not subject to cost recovery.
"Residential equivalent" means a single-family residence or a unit of sewer service that yields an amount of gross revenue equal to the annual user charge for a single-family residence. In cases where the permit holder does not maintain data on gross revenue, user charges, and/or the number of single-family residences that it serves, "residential equivalent" means an influent flow of two hundred fifty gallons per day.
"Sewer service" means the activity of receiving sewage deposited into and carried off by a system of sewers, drains, and pipes to a common point, or points, for disposal or for transfer to treatment for disposal, and activities involving the interception, transfer, storage, treatment, and/or disposal of sewage, or any of these activities.
"State waste discharge permit" means a permit required under RCW 98.48.260.
"Storm water" means an industrial operation or construction
activity discharging storm water runoff as defined in 40 CFR
122.26 (b)(14) or facilities ((who)) that are permitted as a
significant contributor of pollutants as allowed in the federal
Clean Water Act at Section 402 (p)(2)(E).
"Tons/yr." means the total production from an asphalt production facility in tons during the most recent completed calendar year.
"Vegetable/bulb washing" means the washing, packing, and shipping of fresh vegetables and bulbs when there is no cooking or cutting of the product before packing.
[Statutory Authority: Chapter 90.48 RCW. 98-03-046 (Order 97-27), § 173-224-030, filed 1/15/98, effective 2/15/98; 94-10-027 (Order 93-08), § 173-224-030, filed 4/28/94, effective 5/29/94; 92-03-131 (Order 91-45), § 173-224-030, filed 1/21/92, effective 2/21/92. Statutory Authority: Chapter 43.21A RCW. 89-12-027 and 90-07-015 (Order 89-8 and 89-8A), § 173-224-030, filed 5/31/89 and 3/13/90, effective 4/13/90.]
(1) Application fee. In addition to the annual fee, first time applicants (except those applying for coverage under a general permit) will pay a one time application fee of twenty-five percent of the annual permit fee, or $250.00, whichever is greater. An application fee will be assessed for RCRA sites regardless of whether a new permit is being issued or an existing permit for other than the discharge resulting from the RCRA corrective action, is being modified.
(2) Industrial facility categories.
ANNUAL PERMIT FEE |
ANNUAL PERMIT FEE |
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