Snohomish County
Snohomish County Health Department wins $70,000 state grant to speed septic reviews for new homes
A state Commerce grant will help the Snohomish County Health Department link its septic review software with county planning, so reviews for new homes can start sooner.
Septic reviews for new homes in Snohomish County could start sooner next year after the Snohomish County Health Department won a $70,000 state grant to connect its review system with the county's planning office.
The Washington State Department of Commerce announced the award as part of $475,000 in grants to eight local governments to speed up the review of residential building permits. My Edmonds News reported Oct. 13 that the health department will have that help sometime early next year.
Why septic reviews lag
Residential development applications in the county are usually filed online with Snohomish County Planning and Development Services. That department passes information about on-site septic systems to the health department, which reviews septic systems for new homes outside sewer service areas.
The two departments' systems are not integrated. According to the health department, that requires "significant manual effort" to reenter application information, which adds to staff workload, creates room for errors and slows permit processing, My Edmonds News reported.
The grant will help pay for new software, the Accela Civic Application platform. Commerce said the department "will automate the transfer of application data from the county planning department so reviews can start sooner."
My Edmonds News quoted Ragina Gray, director of the health department's environmental health division: "We're upgrading to a new software package that will streamline online applications, provide greater access to data, and better integrate application materials with the County's planning and development services department."
Statewide demand far outstripped the money
Commerce said demand for the program far exceeded the money available. The agency received 60 applications seeking a combined $3.7 million and funded eight.
Pierce County, Tacoma, Bellevue, Lacey and Ridgefield each received $70,000, the same as the Snohomish County Health Department. Tumwater received $35,000 and Yakima $20,000.
Bellevue plans to use its share for applicant-facing tools that review uploaded documents and flag missing or inconsistent information before an application is submitted, according to Commerce. Lacey and Tumwater will move to digital permitting platforms that let applicants apply for, track and pay for permits online.
"We urgently need more housing, and we need to make it easier to build," Commerce Interim Director Sarah Clifthorne said in the announcement. "These grants will help communities speed up permitting review and help get more homes built."
Commerce called permit delays "a known bottleneck in housing production," noting that incomplete applications, repeated rounds of corrections and outdated software can add weeks or months to the process. The agency projects Washington needs more than 1 million additional homes by 2044 to keep pace with expected population growth. It said it awarded similar grants in 2024.
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