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INFORMATION
SHEETS - Index |
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State
Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) |
| County review under
the
Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) is required
for certain development permits and other County actions, such
as ordinance development. These requirements are set forth in
Chapter 19.11 of the Cowlitz County Code. Applications that
require SEPA reviews are considered complete once the review is
completed. The SEPA review and permit then go together. SEPA,
codified under Washington Law as
RCW 43.21C, was first adopted in 1971. It was modeled after
the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. It is intended to
insure that environmental protection and preservation are
considered by both state and local agencies in reviewing permit
applications. It gives local governments such as Cowlitz County
the authority to both review and mitigate potential
environmental impacts of development proposals. Combining the
review processes of SEPA and other development requirements
reduces duplication and delays by combining reviews, comment
periods, and public notices, allowing agencies, applicants, and
the public to consider all aspects of a proposal at the same
time.
 The
environmental review process under SEPA usually involves the
following steps:
-
Although not specifically required, the County
recommends that applicants schedule a pre-application meeting
with members of the County planning staff prior to submitting
a permit application or environmental checklist. Staff can
advise the applicant of existing regulations that would affect
the proposal, the steps and possible time line for project
review, and other information that may lead to submittal of a
complete application. The applicant should clearly define and
describe the entire proposal. This will allow the staff to
determine whether environmental review is required, identify
any required agency action such as licenses and permits, and
decide if the proposal fits one of the categorical exemptions.
If the project does not involve an agency action, or there is
an action but the project is exempt, environmental review is
not required.
- If
environmental review is required, Cowlitz County is
usually the lead agency for a local project. This agency is
responsible for the environmental analysis and procedural
steps under SEPA.
- The
lead agency must review the environmental checklist
and other information available on the proposal and evaluate
its likely environmental impacts. The lead agency and
applicant may work together to reduce the probable impacts by
either revising the proposal or identifying mitigation
measures that will be included as permit conditions.
- After
evaluating the proposal and identifying mitigation
measures, the lead agency must determine whether a proposal
would still have any likely significant adverse environmental
impacts. The lead agency issues either a determination of
non-significance (DNS), which may include mitigation
conditions, or if the proposal is determined to have a likely
significant impact, a determination of significance/scoping
notice is issued and the environmental impact statement (EIS)
process is begun. This determination is usually made within 60
days and, by law, within no more than 90 days. If an EIS is
required, it will analyze alternative and possible mitigation
measures to reduce the environmental impacts of the proposal.
- The
agency then considers the environmental
information, along with technical and economic information,
when deciding whether to approve a proposal. A proposal can be
approved, conditioned, or denied, based on the information in
the SEPA document and the agency's adopted SEPA policies and
guidelines.
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