2005 Washington Revised Code RCW 79.110.240: Charge for term of easement — Recovery of costs.

(1) Until July 1, 2008, the charge for the term of an easement granted under *RCW 79.105.220(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 increase in the most recently published consumer price index, all urban consumers, for the Seattle-Everett SMSA, over the consumer price index for 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.

(4) In addition to the charge for the easement under subsection (1) of this section, the department may recover its reasonable direct 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, "direct administrative costs" means the cost of hours worked directly on an application, based on salaries and benefits, plus travel reimbursement and other actual out-of-pocket costs. Direct administrative costs recovered by the department must be deposited into the resource management cost account.

(5) Applicants under *RCW 79.105.220(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 the greater of: (a) Ten percent of the combined total of the easement charge and direct administrative costs; or (b) the cost of staff overtime, calculated at time and one-half, associated with the expedited processing.

[2005 c 155 § 162; 2002 c 152 § 3. Formerly RCW 79.90.575.]

*Reviser's note: RCW 79.105.220 was amended by 2005 c 155 § 145 deleting subsection (2).      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 § 1.]      Severability -- 2002 c 152: "If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected." [2002 c 152 § 4.]