(1)
Application. An application to provide service otherwise forbidden
by the ten-mile restriction in
RCW
47.60.120 shall include a request for waiver
of that restriction.
(2)
Notice -- Protests. The commission shall send a notice of each
application for waiver of the ten-mile restriction pursuant to WAC
480-51-030. Interested persons
shall have twenty days from the date of mailing of the notice in which to file
a protest with the commission stating opposition to the waiver petition and
application. Protests should set forth specifically the grounds upon which they
are made and contain a concise statement of the interest of the protestant in
the proceeding.
(3)
Standards. In determining whether to grant or deny a waiver, the
commission shall consider, but is not limited to, the impact of the waiver on:
(a) Transportation congestion
mitigation;
(b) Air quality
improvement; and
(c) The Washington
state ferry system.
(4)
Resolution -- Hearing. The commission shall act upon a request for
a waiver of the ten-mile restriction within ninety days after the conclusion of
the hearing. The commission may in its discretion separate the request for a
waiver of the ten-mile restriction from other issues in the application when
necessary to comply with the statutory ninety-day deadline.
(5)
Effective period of waiver.
(a) A waiver granted to an applicant or
certificate holder under
RCW
47.60.010(3) shall be
effective for a period of five years from the date of grant of the
waiver.
(b) Pursuant to
RCW
47.60.010(3), the waiver
shall automatically become permanent unless appealed to the commission, or
unless reviewed by the commission upon its own motion, no later than thirty
days after the fifth anniversary of the effective date of the waiver as set
forth in (a) of this subsection. The commission will issue no notice of the
expiration date of the five-year period. The burden of proof to show that the
waiver should not become permanent shall be upon the party who files the appeal
or upon the commission, if the review is on the commission's own motion.
Persons who may appeal include the department of transportation, affected
cities and counties, and any interested party. An interested party, for the
purposes of this rule, means any party to the proceeding in which the
application was granted, any person certificated to provide service possessing
overlapping authority, and any applicant for overlapping authority.
(c) Upon receipt of an appeal of a waiver and
the holder's answer, if any, the commission shall set the matter for
adjudication. The commission may, in its discretion, on the request of a party,
or on its own motion, order a brief adjudicative proceeding on the appeal. WAC
480-07-610 governs applications
for and procedures in brief adjudicative proceedings.
(6)
Certificates containing
waiver. Certificates granted in conjunction with the grant of a waiver
shall include the following proviso:
"Pursuant to
RCW
47.60.010(3), the waiver of
the ten-mile restriction granted in this certificate is effective until (DATE).
This waiver shall become permanent if not appealed within thirty days after
this date."
