SEPA and the Promise of the GMA: Reducing the Costs of Development SEPA and the Promise of the GMA: Reducing the Costs of Development Washington Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development

David Evans and Associates Inc. (DEA) conducted 15 case studies to evaluate examples of the integration of the Growth Management Act (GMA) and the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) since the adoption of the Regulatory Reform Act of 1995. The selected case studies included rural, urban, redevelopment, new development, master planned resorts, master planned sites, multijurisdictions, one GMA jurisdiction planning for natural resource lands and critical areas only, and one Pre-Regulatory Reform Act project. The jurisdictions involved included 13 cities, one county, and one port district. The majority of the case studies (eight) were subarea or master plans with accompanying environmental impact statements (EISs) that resulted in the designation of planned actions under SEPA, but other integration processes were also represented. One case study involved the use of the Nonproject Review Form and another case study was on an EIS for an industrial park in a GMA jurisdiction planning for natural resource lands and critical areas only.