Description/Purpose

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) regulates forest practices on private and state forest land. A permit is not required for every forest practice, but the forest practices rules must be followed when conducting all forest practices activities. There are five classes of forest practices depending on the types of activities being proposed and their potential impact to public resources (see WAC 222-16-050). Once an application is received by the department it gets assigned a classification which in turn determines the type of permit.

A Class IV Special permit to conduct a forest practice in Western Washington is called a Class IV-S Forest Practices Application (Class IV-S FPA). This permit type is for forest practice activities that have the potential for a substantial impact on the environment. The following activities are examples of the types of proposals that may qualify for the Class IV-S FPA permit in Western Washington: specified forest practices on lands designated as critical habitat of threatened or endangered species, forest practices activities within the boundaries of a national, state, or any park of a local government, forest practices on potentially unstable slopes or landforms that have the potential to deliver sediment or debris to a public resource or have the potential to threaten public safety. Most Class IV-S FPAs have a minimum review period of 14 days. The review periods for Class IV-S FPAs can extend to 30, 60, or 90 days depending on the type of FPA submitted. Below is a bulleted explanation of these review periods:

• Standard Class IV-S FPA = maximum 30 day review period (14 minimum). (See RCW 76.09.050(1) and WAC 222-12-030(4))
• Class IV-S FPAs containing certain hydraulic work = 60 day review period (44 minimum). (See RCW 76.09.050(1), WAC 222-12-030(4), and WAC 222-20-017)
• Class IV-S FPAs containing Long Term Applications = two 45 day reviews; 90 days total (two separate 14 day periods mandatory; 28 total days minimum). (See RCW 76.09.050(1), WAC 222-12-030(4)(a), and WAC 222-20-016)

Explanation/Description of costs/fees, including statutory, regulatory, or other legal authority for fees

The fee for a Class IV-S FPA is $150 unless the landowner is considered a small forest landowner and the proposal is being conducted on a single continuous ownership consisting of one or more parcels. (see RCW 76.09.065(1)(A)and(B))

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