Chapter 18.09
CATEGORICAL EXEMPTIONS
Sections:
18.09.010 Purpose – Adoption by reference.
18.09.030 Exempt levels for minor new construction.
18.09.040 Environmentally sensitive areas.
18.09.050 Nonapplicable exemptions.
18.09.010 Purpose – Adoption by reference.
This chapter contains rules for determining if a proposal is exempt from environmental review under this title. This chapter also applies optional criteria for exemptions, including establishment of local thresholds, designation of environmentally sensitive areas and selection of nonexempt actions within those areas. The Town adopts the following sections by reference, as supplemented in this chapter:
WAC
197-11-305 Categorical exemptions.
197-11-800 Categorical exemptions.
197-11-880 Emergencies.
197-11-890 Petitioning DOE to change exemptions.
197-11-908 Environmentally sensitive areas.
[UDC Ord. dated 7/21/1998].
18.09.020 Use of exemptions.
A. Each department within the Town that receives an application for a license or, in the case of governmental proposals, the department initiating the proposal, shall determine whether the license and/or the proposal is exempt. The department’s determination that a proposal is exempt shall be final and not subject to administrative review. If a proposal is exempt, none of the procedural requirements of this title apply to the proposal. The Town shall not require completion of an environmental checklist for an exempt proposal.
B. In determining whether or not a proposal is exempt, the department shall make certain the proposal is properly defined and shall identify the governmental licenses required (WAC 197-11-060). If a proposal includes exempt and nonexempt actions, the department shall determine the lead agency, even if the license application that triggers the department’s consideration is exempt.
C. If a proposal includes exempt and nonexempt actions, the Town may authorize exempt actions prior to compliance with the procedural requirements of this title, except that:
1. The Town shall not give authorization for:
a. Any nonexempt action;
b. Any action that would have an adverse environmental impact; or
c. Any action that would limit the choice of alternatives.
2. A department may withhold approval of an exempt action that would lead to modification of the physical environment when such modification would serve no purpose if nonexempt action(s) were not approved; and
3. A department may withhold approval of exempt actions that would lead to substantial financial expenditures by a private applicant when the expenditures would serve no purpose if nonexempt action(s) were not approved. [UDC Ord. dated 7/21/1998].
18.09.030 Exempt levels for minor new construction.
A. The Town of Wilkeson establishes the following exempt levels for the minor new construction activities under WAC 197-11-800(1)(b) based on local conditions:
1. For residential structures in WAC 197-11-800(1)(b)(i), up to four (4) dwelling units;
2. For agricultural structures in WAC 197-11-800(1)(b)(ii), the exempt threshold shall be ten thousand (10,000) square feet;
3. For office, school, commercial, recreational, service or storage buildings in WAC 197-11-800(1)(b)(iii), up to twelve thousand (12,000) square feet of gross floor area and up to forty (40) associated parking spaces shall be exempt;
4. For parking lots in WAC 197-11-800(1)(b)(iv), up to forty (40) parking spaces shall be exempt;
5. For landfills and excavations in WAC 197-11-800(1)(b)(v), up to five hundred (500) cubic yards shall be exempt.
B. Whenever the Town establishes new exempt levels under this section, it shall send them to the Department of Ecology, Headquarters Office, Olympia, Washington 98504, under WAC 197-11-800(1)(c). [UDC Ord. dated 7/21/1998].
18.09.040 Environmentally sensitive areas.
A. The Town of Wilkeson designates the following as environmentally sensitive areas, in which the exemptions as specified in WMC 18.09.050 do not apply:
1. Flood Plains. All areas within the one hundred (100) year flood boundary delineated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the Flood Insurance Study for the Town of Wilkeson are environmentally sensitive areas. These one hundred (100) year flood plains are designated on FEMA’s Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM), which are incorporated in this chapter by reference. Regulations for flood hazard areas, including construction, are found in Chapter 19.09 WMC.
B. The Town shall file maps of designated environmentally sensitive areas, and any modifications thereto, with the Department of Ecology.
C. The Town shall treat proposals located wholly or partially within an environmentally sensitive area no differently than other proposals under this title, making a threshold determination for all such proposals. The Town shall not automatically require an EIS for a proposal merely because it is proposed for location in an environmentally sensitive area.
D. Certain exemptions do not apply on lands covered by water, and this remains true regardless of whether or not lands covered by water are mapped. [UDC Ord. dated 7/21/1998].
18.09.050 Nonapplicable exemptions.
A. The Town of Wilkeson selects the following categorical exemptions to be inapplicable within certain environmentally sensitive areas as specified below:
1. The minor new construction exemptions under WMC 18.09.030(A) do not apply within any environmentally sensitive area.
2. Other minor new construction exemptions under WAC 197-11-800(2) do not apply as follows:
a. Grading, septic tank installation and other activities in WAC 197-11-800(2)(d) are not exempt in an environmentally sensitive area;
b. Building additions and modifications in WAC 197-11-800(2)(e) are not exempt in an environmentally sensitive area;
c. Demolition of structures in WAC 197-11-800(2)(f) is not exempt in an environmentally sensitive area; and
d. Underground storage tanks in WAC 197-11-800(2)(g) are not exempt in an environmentally sensitive area.
3. The approval of short plats under WAC 197-11-800(6)(a) is not exempt in an environmentally sensitive area.
4. Licenses for amusement and entertainment activities in WAC 197-11-800(14)(c) are not exempt in an environmentally sensitive area.
5. Utility-related exemptions under WAC 197-11-800(24) do not apply as follows:
a. Communication lines in WAC 197-11-800(24)(a) are not exempt in an environmentally sensitive area;
b. Electric facilities in WAC 197-11-800(24)(c) are not exempt in an environmentally sensitive area; and
c. Natural gas distribution facilities in WAC 197-11-800(24)(d)(9) are not exempt in an environmentally sensitive area.
B. The Town shall file the nonapplicable exemption criteria of subsection (A) of this section, and any subsequent modifications, with the Department of Ecology. [UDC Ord. dated 7/21/1998].