(1) Until July 1, 2030, the charge for the term of an easement granted under RCW
79.110.230(2) will be determined as follows and will be paid in advance upon grant of the easement:
(a) Five thousand dollars for individual easement crossings that are no longer than one mile in length;
(b) Twelve thousand five hundred dollars for individual easement crossings that are more than one mile but less than five miles in length; or
(c) Twenty thousand dollars for individual easement crossings that are five miles or more in length.
(2) The charge for easements under subsection (1) of this section must be adjusted annually by the rate of yearly change in the most recently published Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton consumer price index, all urban consumers (CPI-U), over the consumer price index for the same period of the preceding year, as compiled by the bureau of labor statistics, United States department of labor for the state of Washington rounded up to the nearest fifty dollars.
(3) The term of the easement is thirty years or a period of less than thirty years if requested by the person or entity seeking the easement.
(4) In addition to the charge for the easement under subsection (1) of this section, the department may recover its administrative costs incurred in receiving an application for the easement, approving the easement, and reviewing plans for and construction of the public utility lines. For the purposes of this subsection, "administrative costs" is equivalent to twenty percent of the fee for the easement as determined under subsection (1) of this section and adjusted under subsection (2) of this section. For public utility lines owned by a governmental entity, the administrative costs will be calculated based on the length of the easement and the fee that it would be charged if it were subject to the easement charges in this section. When multiple public utility lines are owned by the same entity and are authorized under the same easement, the administrative fee for the easement shall be equal to twenty percent of the easement fee for the single longest public utility line. Administrative costs recovered by the department must be deposited into the resource management cost account.
(5) Applicants under RCW
79.110.230(2) providing a residence with an individual service connection for electrical, natural gas, cable television, or telecommunications service are not required to pay the charge for the easement under subsection (1) of this section but shall pay administrative costs under subsection (4) of this section.
(6) A final decision on applications for an easement must be made within one hundred twenty days after the department receives the completed application and after all applicable regulatory permits for the aquatic easement have been acquired. This subsection applies to applications submitted before June 13, 2002, as well as to applications submitted on or after June 13, 2002. Upon request of the applicant, the department may reach a decision on an application within sixty days and charge an additional fee for an expedited processing. The fee for an expedited processing is ten percent of the combined total of the easement charge and administrative costs.
(7) Beginning December 31, 2021, every four years the legislature shall review the granting of easements on state-owned aquatic lands under this chapter and determine whether all applications for easements are processed within one hundred twenty days for normal processing of applications and sixty days for expedited processing of applications, and whether the granting of easements on state-owned aquatic lands generates reasonable income for the aquatic lands enhancement account.
Findings—2002 c 152: "The legislature finds that local public utilities provide essential services to all of the residents of the state and that the construction and improvement of local utility infrastructure is critical to the public health, safety, and welfare, community and economic development, and installation of modern and reliable communication and energy technology. The legislature further finds that local utility lines must cross state-owned aquatic lands in order to reach all state residents and that, for the benefit of such residents, the state should permit the crossings, consistent with all applicable state environmental laws, in a nondiscriminatory, economic, and timely manner. The legislature further finds that this act and the valuation methodology in section 3 of this act applies only to the uses listed in section 2 of this act, and does not establish a precedent for valuation for any other uses on state-owned aquatic lands." [
2002 c 152 s 1.]
