(1) The office may enter into cost-reimbursement agreements with a project proponent to recover from the project proponent the reasonable costs incurred by the office in carrying out the provisions of RCW 43.42.050. The agreement shall include the permit agencies that are participating in the cost-reimbursement project and carrying out permit processing tasks referenced in the agreement.

     (2) The office shall maintain policies or guidelines for coordinating cost-reimbursement agreements with participating agencies, project proponents, and outside independent consultants. Policies or guidelines must ensure that, in developing cost-reimbursement agreements, conflicts of interest are eliminated. Contracts with independent consultants hired by the office under this section must be based on competitive bids that are awarded for each agreement from a prequalified consultant roster.

     (3) For fully coordinated permit processes, the office shall coordinate the negotiation of all cost-reimbursement agreements executed under RCW 43.21A.690, 43.30.490, 43.70.630, 43.300.080, and 70.94.085. The office, project proponent, and the permit agencies shall be signatories to the agreement or agreements. Each permit agency shall manage performance of its portion of the agreement. Independent consultants hired under a cost-reimbursement agreement shall report directly to the hiring office or permit agency. Any cost-reimbursement agreement must require that final decisions are made by the permit agency and not by a hired consultant.

     (4) For a fully coordinated project using cost reimbursement, the office and participating permit agencies shall include a cost-reimbursement work plan, including deliverables and schedules for invoicing and reimbursement in the fully coordinated project work plan described in RCW 43.42.060. Upon request, the office shall verify that the agencies have met the obligations contained in the cost-reimbursement work plan and agreement. The cost-reimbursement agreement shall identify the tasks of each agency and the maximum costs for work conducted under the agreement. The agreement must include a schedule that states:

     (a) The estimated number of weeks for initial review of the permit application for comparable projects;

     (b) The anticipated number of revision cycles;

     (c) The estimated number of weeks for review of subsequent revision submittals;

     (d) The estimated number of billable hours of employee time;

     (e) The rate per hour; and

     (f) A process for revision of the agreement if necessary.

     (5) If a permit agency or the project proponent foresees, at any time, that it will be unable to meet its obligations under the cost-reimbursement agreement and fully coordinated project work plan, it shall notify the office and state the reasons, along with proposals for resolving the problems and potentially amending the timelines. The office shall notify the participating permit agencies and the project proponent and, upon agreement of all parties, adjust the schedule, or, if necessary, coordinate revision of the cost-reimbursement agreement and fully coordinated project work plan.

[2009 c 97 § 7; 2007 c 94 § 8; 2003 c 70 § 7; 2002 c 153 § 8.]

NOTES:

     Sunset Act application: See note following RCW 43.42.005.