RCW 36.79.060 provides that the county road administration board shall administer the rural arterial program (RAP) established by chapter 36.79 RCW. This chapter describes the manner in which the county road administration board will implement the several provisions of chapter 36.79 RCW.

The county road administration board shall adopt rules in accordance with the provisions of the statute for purposes of administering the RAP regarding the following:

(1) Apportionment of rural arterial trust account (RATA) funds to regions.

(2) RAP projects in the six-year program.

(3) Regional prioritization of RAP projects.

(4) Preparation of RAP budget and program.

(5) Eligibility for RATA funds.

(6) Allocation of RATA funds to approved RAP projects.

(7) CRAB/county contract.

(8) Processing of vouchers.

(9) Audit responsibilities.

(10) Functional classification.

(11) Design standards for RAP projects.

(12) Matching requirements.

(13) Joint county RAP/Rural TIB projects.

(14) Emergent projects.

(15) Reports to the legislature.

(16) Other matters deemed necessary by the county road administration board.

The statute specifies that rural arterials and collectors shall be eligible for RATA funding. In developing project priorities and in approving RAP projects the county road administration board shall prioritize all prospectus applications to determine the priority rating of each proposed project in each region in relation to all other proposed projects in each region.

Each RAP project application submitted in accordance with WAC 136-161-020 shall show the functional classification of the road or roads included in the project. Prior to project approval, the county road administration board shall verify that the road on which the RAP project is requested is classified as a rural arterial or collector.

In order to assure effective and timely administration of the RAP, the county road administration board may delegate authority in specific matters to its executive director. Delegation may be relative to signing of contracts, approval of RAP project vouchers, approval of change of scope of a project and other matters as may be determined by the county road administration board.

RCW 36.79.040 sets forth the apportionment formula to be used in distributing RATA funds to the five regions. Following are the computations used in the apportionment formula:

(1) Computation of land area ratio. The ratio that the total county rural land area of each region bears to the total rural land area of all counties of the state shall be computed from information provided by the office of financial management as of July 1, 1993, and each two years thereafter.

(2) Computation of road mileage ratio. The ratio that the mileage of county arterials and collectors in rural areas of each region bears to the total mileage of county arterials and collectors in all rural areas of the state shall be computed from information shown in the county road log maintained by the county road administration board as of July 1st of each odd-numbered year.

(1) Audit provisions. RAP project audits may be conducted by the state auditor's office and will normally be conducted in conjunction with the audits of the different counties of the state as required by RCW 43.09.260 and 36.80.080. Special audits of specific RAP projects may be accomplished at the request of the county road administration board. If a special audit is conducted outside the confines of those audits required by the above statutes, then the costs of the special audit shall be the responsibility of the county road administration board.

(2) Scope of audits. The audit of any RAP project shall include, but not be limited to, the review of the county's compliance with:

(a) The provisions of the act; and

(b) The rules in Title 136 WAC regarding implementation and administration of the act, with detailed review of uses of county road taxes, application of RATA funds, and the various reporting requirements.

The audit shall also include a review of the financial accounting and reporting of those funds associated with and received for the RAP project.

(3) Noncompliance, questioned costs, and post-audit penalty. If the audit of a RAP project reveals any area of noncompliance and/or questioned costs, then such exceptions shall be subject to comment by the examiner within the audit report. In the event an exception has been noted within the audit report, it shall be the duty of the county road administration board to discuss and evaluate the noted discrepancy. Discrepancies may be cause for the county road administration board to order the payback of any RATA funds that have been expended on ineligible activities and/or withdrawal or denial of the certificate of good practice of the county in question as provided in chapter 136-04 WAC.