WAC 25-48-090   Issuance of permit.  The department will normally act upon a permit application within sixty days of receipt of a complete permit application, except in the case of an historic archaeological resource where the applicant is not the holder of the right of first refusal. Such applications shall be subject to the provisions of WAC 25-48-085. The department may issue a permit for a specified period of time appropriate to the work to be conducted upon determining that:

     (1) The applicant, or in the case of an amateur society or other group or organization the individual proposed to be responsible for conducting the archaeological work:

     (a) Meets the minimum qualifications as a professional archaeologist specified in WAC 25-48-020(4);

     (b) Possesses demonstrable competence in archaeological methods and theory, and in collecting, handling, analyzing, evaluating, and reporting archaeological data, relative to the type and scope of the work proposed; and

     (c) Has complied with current and past permits issued under RCW 27.53.060.

     (2) The proposed archaeological work is to be undertaken for the purpose of furthering archaeological knowledge in the public interest, which may include but need not be limited to, scientific or scholarly research, and preservation of archaeological data.

     (3) The proposed archaeological work, including time, scope, location, and purpose, is not inconsistent with any management plan or established policy, objectives, or requirements applicable to the management of public lands concerned.

     (4) Any Washington university, museum, repository, or other scientific or educational institution proposed as the repository possesses adequate curatorial capability for safeguarding and preserving the archaeological resources and all associated records.

     (5) Where the application is for a state-owned historic archaeological resource, a contract between the applicant and the department has been executed. Such a contract shall include but not be limited to the following terms and conditions:

     (a) Historic shipwrecks:

     (i) The contract shall provide for fair compensation to a salvor. Fair compensation means an amount not less than ninety percent of the appraised value of the objects recovered following successful completion of the contract.

     (ii) The salvor may retain objects with a value of up to ninety percent of the appraised value of the total objects recovered, or cash, or a combination of objects and cash. In no event may the total of objects and cash exceed ninety percent of the total appraised value of the objects recovered. A salvor shall not be entitled to further compensation from any state sources.

     (iii) The contract shall provide that the state will be given first choice of which objects it may wish to retain for display purposes for the people of the state from among all the objects recovered. The state may retain objects with a value of up to ten percent of the appraised value of the total objects recovered. If the state chooses not to retain recovered objects with a value of up to ten percent of the appraised value, the state shall be entitled to receive its share in cash or a combination of recovered objects and cash so long as the state's total share does not exceed ten percent of the appraised value of the objects recovered.

     (iv) The contract shall provide that both the state and the salvor shall have the right to select a single appraiser or joint appraisers.

     (v) The contract shall provide that title to the objects shall pass to the salvor when the permit is issued. However, should the salvor fail to fully perform under the terms of the contract, title to all objects recovered shall revert to the state. If the salvor should fail to perform the contract terms specified in (a)(vi) of this subsection and has disposed of the objects to which title has passed, the salvor shall be liable to the state for liquidated damages in the amount of the appraised value of the objects disposed of.

     (vi) The contract shall provide that the applicant agrees to allow the department access to all artifacts and data recovered from the historic shipwreck for purposes of scholarly research and photographic documentation for the period specified by the department.

     (b) Historic aircraft:

     (i) The contract shall provide that historic aircraft belonging to the state of Washington may only be recovered if the purposes of the salvage operation is to recover the aircraft for a Washington museum, historical society, nonprofit organization, or governmental entity.

     (ii) Title to the aircraft may only be passed by the state to one of the entities listed in (b)(i) of this subsection.

     (iii) Compensation to the salvor shall only be derived from the sale or exchange of the aircraft to one of the entities listed in (b)(i) of this subsection or such other compensation as one of the entities and the salvor may arrange. The salvor shall not have a claim to compensation from state funds.

     (c) Other historic archaeological resources:

     The director, in his or her discretion, may negotiate the terms of such contracts.

     (6) Evidence that the applicant agrees to mitigate any archaeological damage which occurs during the excavations and recovery operations.

     (7) Evidence that the applicant agrees to allow the department access to all artifacts and data recovered from historic archaeological sites for purposes of scholarly research and photographic documentation for a period to be agreed upon by the parties.

     (8) Evidence that the applicant agrees to allow the department to have the right to publish scientific papers concerning the results of all research conducted as project mitigation.

     (9) If information filed with the department becomes inaccurate in any way or additions or deletions are necessary, the applicant or permittee shall provide the department with full details of any such changes and/or correct any inaccuracy, together with copies of any new required documents, within fifteen days after the applicant or permittee becomes aware of the inaccuracy or need for change. The department reserves the right to suspend or revoke a permit under the terms of WAC 25-48-110 or to amend a permit under WAC 25-48-100 if the new or corrected information warrants.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 27.34.220, 27.53.140, 43.21C.120. 06-06-001, § 25-48-090, filed 2/15/06, effective 3/18/06. Statutory Authority: RCW 27.34.220 and 27.44.020. 90-01-091, § 25-48-090, filed 12/19/89, effective 1/19/90. Statutory Authority: RCW 27.53.030, [27.53.]060, [27.53.]080 and 1988 c 124 §§ 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7. 88-23-004 (Order 88-06), § 25-48-090, filed 11/4/88. Statutory Authority: RCW 27.34.220 and 27.44.020. 86-13-001 (Order 11), § 25-48-090, filed 6/5/86.]