HomeMy WebLinkAboutC_DMarcus_PugetSoundEnergy_Public_Comment_251010
October 10, 2025
Mariah Kerrihard
Associate Planner
Community and Economic Development
City of Renton
1055 S Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
MKerrihard@Rentonwa.gov
Subject: Detailed Comments – Draft Critical Areas Ordinance Updates
Dear Ms. Kerrihard:
Thank you for the opportunity to provide detailed comments on the City of Renton's draft Critical Areas
Ordinance (CAO) updates in advance of the City Council Planning and Development Committee meeting
on October 13, 2025. This letter follows our initial comments PSE submitted on September 24, 2025, and
provides a more comprehensive analysis we indicated would be forthcoming.
As noted in our previous correspondence, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is the state's oldest and largest
energy utility, serving more than 1.2 million electric customers and 900,000 natural gas customers across
a 6,000-square-mile service territory. We appreciate the City's commitment to protecting critical areas
while recognizing the essential nature of utility services to the community.
Current Exemption Process Creates Regulatory Contradiction
While not specifically addressed in the current CAO update, PSE has concerns about Renton's existing
exemption process that we believe warrant attention during this comprehensive review. Currently, RMC
4-3-050C.2 requires that projects categorized as "exempt" from critical areas permitting obtain a letter of
exemption from the City. In practice, these letters of exemption frequently require critical area memos,
reports, or other documentation that would be required for the standard critical area review process
under RMC 4-3-05-F. This creates unnecessary administrative burden, particularly in the case of utility
repair and maintenance projects, as the resulting impacts from exempt activities are avoided, minimized,
and restored in place.
Utility Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Context
As a regulated utility under Washington State law, PSE has an obligation to provide safe, reliable, and
reasonably priced utility service to customers throughout our service territory per WAC 480-100 and
WAC 480-90. We must comply with state and federal regulations administered by various authorities,
including the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) and the North American
Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). PSE is also subject to state mandates to comply with the Clean
Energy Transformation Act (CETA) and supply electricity that is 100% renewable and non-emitting by
2045.
Meeting this obligation requires PSE to perform routine maintenance, repair, and replacement of system
infrastructure on an ongoing basis. A significant portion of PSE's maintenance projects involve
replacement of existing poles, pipes and equipment as the most common method of repair. A separate
group of PSE projects may involve replacement of existing infrastructure paired with addition of new
impervious surface, expanded infrastructure footprints, or other system improvements.
The environmental impacts of these two types of projects are fundamentally different:
• In-Kind Replacement: Projects that replace existing infrastructure with similar poles, pipes and
equipment in the same or immediately adjacent location typically have de minimis
environmental impacts, as they do not increase the overall footprint or intensity of use in critical
areas. Temporary impacts can be restored in place.
• In-Kind Replacement with Upgrades and/or Expansion: Projects that increase impervious
surface, expand infrastructure footprints, or add new system components may have measurable
and mitigatable new impacts to critical areas when their footprints overlap with critical areas
and/or buffers.
Regional Approach to Utility Exemptions
Many jurisdictions within PSE's operating territory recognize this distinction and have adopted critical
area review exemptions for utility projects that do not further intrude into to critical areas or buffers
beyond existing managed corridors and rights-of-way These exemptions typically do not require written
applications, critical area reporting, or other administrative processes, recognizing that:
1. The environmental benefits of requiring permitting for de minimis impact projects are minimal,
resulting in no net loss of ecological function.
2. Utility providers must often act swiftly to replace aging infrastructure before it fails and causes
service outages.
3. Lengthy permitting processes can compromise system reliability and public safety.
4. Administrative efficiency benefits both the jurisdiction and the utility provider.
This approach allows jurisdictions to focus their limited regulatory resources on projects with meaningful
environmental impacts while ensuring that essential utility services can be maintained efficiently.
Proposed Modifications to Exemption Framework
Although the current Critical Areas regulations address maintenance, operation and repair of existing
utility facilities, including within improved road right-of-way, the Letter of Exemption process creates
unnecessary delays that could compromise system reliability. To address this concern, PSE proposes the
following modifications to Renton's CAO exemption provisions:
1. Tiered Utility Exemption Structure – To acknowledge that the impacts of certain utility maintenance,
repair, and replacement activities can be considered de minimis, establish a tiered approach to utility
exemptions that distinguishes between three categories of utility projects as listed below.
Tier Number Permitting Requirements Description of activities covered
Tier 1 None – Exempt from review
no letter required
Utility maintenance, repair, and replacement
activities involve in-kind replacement of
infrastructure; do not expand beyond existing
footprint further into a critical area or buffer;
temporary construct impacts can be restored in place
within one growing season and are conducted using
industry and construction stormwater best
management practices.
Tier 2 Letter of Exemption required
(RMC 4-3-050C.2)
Utility projects that involve modest increases in
permanent impacts to critical areas or buffers (up to
the current 10% threshold); new facilities in
previously undisturbed areas within existing utility
corridors; and activities that may have measurable
but limited impacts to critical areas.
Tier 3 Full critical area permitting
required.
Utility projects that exceed thresholds of Tiers 1 or 2,
and which have significant potential impacts to
critical areas that warrant comprehensive review
under RMC 4-3-050B.
2. Specific Code Language Modifications
We propose the following specific modifications to the exemption table:
• Additional Footnotes in RMC 4-3-050C.3 establishing Tiers 1 and 2: Add footnotes following the
table in RMC 4-3-050C.3 to Tiers 1 and 2 as described in the table above. The numbers for these
footnotes can then be listed under RMC 4-3-050C.3.e.ii, iii, and iv.
• Modified Category e.ii: Clarify that routine maintenance includes utility vegetation management
needed to attain clearances for safe utility operations and wildfire prevention.
Ongoing Collaboration
We request that the City consider the unique needs of utility providers and incorporate appropriate
flexibility into the CAO regulations to balance safety, reliability, and environmental goals. PSE looks
forward to working with you and other affected parties to identify solutions that protect critical areas
while maintaining essential utility services.
Please do not hesitate to contact me at (206) 716-2754 or at dylan.marcus@pse.com if you have
questions or need clarification on any of the comments provided. PSE welcomes continued engagement
throughout this code amendment process.
Sincerely,
Dylan Marcus
Municipal Land Planner
Puget Sound Energy