Initiative 2066: No Impact for Plumbing & Gas Permitting
Initiative 2066, which passed on November 5, 2024, impacts several policies related to natural gas use and penalties in Washington State. The initiative was scheduled to come into effect on December 5, 2024, but there are some legal questions that still need to be resolved before it can be implemented.
One of the implementation challenges is that, by law, building officials are required to enforce the codes that have been passed by the state building code council. Since the council has not adopted any changes to current codes in response to I-2066, building officials have no legal basis to change their current enforcement standards.
Public Health has confirmed with both the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections and the Department of Local Services that for projects within the City of Seattle and Unincorporated King County, we will continue to enforce plumbing related provisions of the current energy codes applicable to each jurisdiction until directed otherwise.
By Dave Price, Assistant Chief Plumbing Inspector, Public Health - Seattle & King County
Starting on January 1, 2025, the Plumbing and Gas Piping Program is updating its fees and permit fee structure. This change is the result of a study evaluating the program's fees and services. The updates were approved by the King County and Seattle City Councils last month. You can see the new fees on our webpage: Environmental Health Services fees.
The program's hourly operating rate will increase from $201 to $264 for plan review services on projects submitted on or after January 1. This increase is significantly less than the rate adjusted for inflation, which would have been more than $300. The last time we updated our rates was nearly 15 years ago, in 2011.
The program's operating budget is complex because it is constrained by a full cost recovery mandate, meaning the cost of providing services needs to be fully covered by the revenue generated through permit and inspection fees. In recent years, however, the fees have not generated enough revenue to fully fund the program. Moving forward, all plumbing and gas piping related fees may be adjusted annually according King County Code 16.32.080.
Fee Structure Changes
As part of the change in fees, we are simplifying and revising the permit fee structure. Instead of having different fees based on a certain number of fixtures and those fees being different for gas permits versus plumbing permits, all standard permit fees will be calculated based on only two components: an initial base permit fee of $132 (half of the new hourly rate), plus a per-fixture fee of $26 each (up from $19 each). The new base permit fee and per-fixture fee amounts will become effective for permits issued on or after January 1.
Due to the new rate structure, some small remodel projects will actually see a minor reduction in overall plumbing and gas permit fees, while larger commercial projects will see an increase. Of course plumbing and gas permit fees will remain only a small percentage of overall project permitting costs.
Re-pipe Project Fees
Permit fees for commercial re-pipe projects are calculated differently. The cost for these permits is based on the hourly program operating rate multiplied by the anticipated number of inspections. There is a separate form (known as the R-20 form) that is used for calculating the total permit fee for re-pipe projects subject to plan review. Standard permit fee calculations are used for residential re-pipe projects that are exempt from plan review.
Reach out to us for detailed information and/or questions at planreviewinfo@kingcounty.gov.
Correction: Elevator Hoistway Drainage
(Featured article in November newsletter)
The November newsletter stated that most newer hydraulic elevators use a bio-degradable vegetable based hydraulic fluid. One of our friends within the Seattle elevator group pointed out that vegetable based hydraulic fluid is actually quite rare. Only the term bio-degradable should have been used which is intended to refer to lubricants and hydraulic fluids classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as ‘Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants’ (also known as EA Lubricants).
As of this writing, we have not been able to locate a knowledgeable source for ascertaining an accurate percentage of elevator systems using EA Lubricants. If you have more information about this, feel free to reach out to us at planreviewinfo@kingcounty.gov.
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