News Releases
Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 8, 2004
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Gov. Gary Locke Announces Regulatory Improvement Steps in King County

Gov. Gary Locke’s push to make it simpler and faster to obtain development permits while maintaining environmental protections achieved success today in King County.

The state and King County signed an agreement today under which builders, developers and homeowners in the state’s most populous county will find it easier to go through the process of acquiring three often-required development permits: hydraulic project approvals, water quality certifications, and stormwater permits.

“Permit applicants in King County will be able to work jointly with state, local and federal government agencies in obtaining a permit instead of working separate processes with all these agencies,” Locke said. “This saves time, and time is money.”

Locke emphasized that the new process will not harm the environment in achieving these efficiencies. “The environmental protections of these permits will remain as strong as ever,” Locke said. “Regulatory reform does not mean sacrificing the environment.”

King County will now use the same permit application as the state agencies and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for in-water construction. State agencies will have joint pre-project meetings with applicants to work out permit requirements. The county also will bring its standards more in line with the state standards to ease the burden on applicants.

Claire Hesselholt, director of Locke’s Office of Regulatory Assistance (ORA), said, “This streamlining will be accomplished through recently signed intergovernmental agreements among the state departments of Ecology and Fish and Wildlife, King County and, in some cases, the Corps of Engineers.”

The ORA represented the state in negotiations surrounding the agreements.

“When a developer applies for a hydrology project approval to guard against polluting a nearby stream, the developer will be able to work with all the involved agencies at the same time,” Hesselholt said.

“All the agencies with a stake in the permit will be at one table with the applicant, where all the issues can be resolved collaboratively,” said Ron Shultz, Locke’s advisor on environmental issues.

“The improvements should go a long way toward giving developers more regulatory certainty,” Locke said. “And the improvements will eliminate a lot of unnecessary work and costs for everybody involved.”

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