Site Information

• General Information
  
  
• What is a Permit, Approval, or License?
  
  
• Disclaimer
  
  
• Local Government Limitation
  
  
• Privacy Notice
  
  
• Data Completeness
  
  
• Optimal Browsing Requirements
  
  
• Acknowledgements
  
  
• Feedback
  

General Information

The 'Environmental Permit Handbook' and 'Project Questionnaire' websites are part of a series of applications that make up the Online Permit Assistance System (OPAS) provided by the Office of Regulatory Assistance (ORA) that provides information about Environmental Permits and regulations for Washington State. OPAS is a central database managed by the ORA. Data is fed regularly to these systems as they work together to provide the Project Questionnaire and the Permit Handbook with information about Environmental regulations and permits in Washington State.

What is a 'Permit', Approval, or License?

A permit is typically a required document for which you may first need to complete an application. In this Handbook, it also includes Environmental Licenses, Requirements, Certificates, and Approvals.

Disclaimer

The information contained on the Permit Handbook, Project Questionnaire or any other related websites is provided on an "AS IS" basis, without warranty of any kind.

Ecology and the Office of Regulatory Assistance (ORA) disclaim any and all warranties, whether express or implied, including (without limitation) any implied warranties or fitness for a particular purpose. In no event will the above organizations be liable to you or to any third party for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or exemplary damages or loss resulting from any use or misuse of these data.

Local Government Limitation

The OPAS websites do not provide information on permits and approvals from CITY or COUNTY governments. You should contact the county or city where you want to conduct the activities if your project:

• Involves clearing, grading, open burning, construction, demolition, or additions to existing structures;
• Will be served by an on-site sewage disposal system;
• Requires division of land;
• Is in an area regulated by the local shoreline management plan;
• Is in an area regulated by the local comprehensive flood control management plan.

See: http://www.mrsc.org/countyprofiles/profilesmenu.aspx

Privacy Notice

None of the OPAS websites gather and track personal or project related information. They are simply tools for your use to understand environmental permitting in Washington State. To find out more about how the Department of Ecology manages privacy and what we disclaim in regards to the content it provides on this and other Ecology websites, see http://www.ecy.wa.gov/privacy_notice.html.

Data Completeness

The completeness and accuracy of permit data is dependent upon the knowledge, skill and care taken by permitting specialists at the Department of Ecology and other state agencies. In the Environmental Permit Handbook, there is a 'Last Update' date which states when the permit was last edited. In some cases this date may show that a particular permit has not been updated for some time. If you feel that the information presented is grossly out of date for any permit, please contact the Office of Regulatory Assistance at help@ora.wa.gov.

Optimal Browsing Requirements

The OPAS websites can be viewed by most modern web browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari and with a minimum monitor display setting of 800x600 pixels.

Acknowledgements

This site was conceived by Scott Boettcher in the Office of Regulatory Assistance and Sue Mauerman in Executive Regulatory Reform at the Department of Ecology. Michael Heiser and Randy Moore are the principle web developers. Tammy Pelletier contributed graphical resources and style direction. Other contributors include Debbie Stewart (IS Applications & Data Services), Bob Monn (IS Web Manager), Randi Redick (ORA), Wendy Bolender (ORA), Penny Keys (SEA), Don Bales (SEA), Chris Anderson (Water Resources), Gary Bailey (Water Quality), Bernard Bailey (Air Program), Idell Hansen (Hazardous Waste Program), Jason Greer (ORA), Elaine Worthen (ORA), Dorothy Planeta (ORA), Jamie Cary (ORA), Josh Fitzpatrick (ORA), and Heather Rowton (ORA).

Feedback

For all questions, comments, or any other issue related to this website including its content or function, please contact: