SEPA Process

What is SEPA?

The State Enviornmental Policy Act (SEPA) process identifies and analyzes environmental impacts associated with governmental decisions. These decisions may be related to issuing permits for private projects, constructing public facilities, or adopting regulations, policies, and plans.

The SEPA review process helps agency decision-makers, applicants, and the public understand how the entire proposal will affect the environment. SEPA can be used to modify or deny a proposal to avoid, reduce, or compensate for probable impacts.

Public notices required

Applicants are required to provide public notification when applying for actions or permit types described in Title 20.20 of the King County Code (KCC).

The State Environmental Policy Act of 1972 (SEPA) also requires public notification of environmental threshold determinations (TD) for these applications and other actions.

Comments or appeals to SEPA threshold determinations

Any interested person may submit written comments or may appeal the above determination(s) according to KCC Title 20. Written comments may be made at anytime and should be addressed the King County Department of Local Services, Permitting Division (Permitting). However, comments on the scope of any project or required environmental impact statement need to be submitted (in writing only) for twenty-one (21) days following the determination posting date in order to be officially accepted as part of the project's record.

How to appeal a decision

Appeals to any threshold determination or decision must be received by Permitting at the time stated in each individual determination or decision. All appeals must be accompanied by a nonrefundable filing fee. Please see Fees, Guide 11.

The appeal must state the perceived errors in the threshold determination, specific reasons why the determination should be reversed or modified, the harm the appellant will suffer if the threshold determination remains unchanged, and the desired outcome of the appeal. If the appellant is a group, the harm to any one or more members must be stated. Failure to meet these requirements may result in dismissal of the appeal.

How to become a party of record

Any person interested in receiving information related to the environmental reviews of development proposals, such as notice information of SEPA appeals, should contact Permitting Customer Services and ask to be made a 'Party of Record.' All requests need to include the file name and file number of the proposal, along with the name and complete mailing address of the requester. Please reference the file number(s) when corresponding.