Washington Administrative Code
Title 173 - Ecology, Department of (See also Titles 197, 317, 372, and 508)
Chapter 173-50 - Accreditation of environmental laboratories
Section 173-50-190 - Fee structure

(1) Fees in this chapter are in U.S. dollars and are established to cover costs of administering the WA ELAP. The department shall assess fees for each parameter or method within each matrix, except as noted in subsection (3) of this section. Laboratories are charged using the fee structure of the fiscal year covering the effective date the department issues a determination on a laboratory's accreditation application, renewal of its accreditation, or a revision of a laboratory's scope of accreditation. The fee schedule per parameter or method for each category are identified in:

(2) Examples of parameters or methods for each category are published in the procedural manual. Accreditation may be requested for parameters in addition to those listed in the procedural manual.

(3) When a fee is assessed for a specific drinking water parameter or method, the laboratory may be accredited for the same parameter or method in nonpotable water without paying an additional fee.

Table 1 - Fee Schedule through June 30, 2024

Table 2 - Fee Schedule from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025

Table 3 - Fee Schedule from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026

(4) Starting July 1, 2026, Equation 1 below will be used to calculate the fees:

Click to view image

(5) The minimum fee for accreditation, either direct or through recognition of a third-party accreditation, is $500.

(6) In addition to paying the fee indicated in Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, or as updated by Equation 1: Out-of-state laboratories must pay the department for the actual cost of travel associated with on-site audits. The department invoices the laboratory for such costs after completion of the on-site audit.

(7) For laboratories that have not been accredited for any parameter by the department in the previous 12 months, the laboratory must pay a processing fee of $300 before:

(8) Once accreditation is granted the laboratory will be invoiced annually by the department for the requested parameters.

(9) When a laboratory applies for renewal of their accreditation, an application fee is not required. The applicable accreditation fees per Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, or as updated by Equation 1 do not need to be payed prior to processing of the application.

(10) The fee for recognition of a third-party accreditation (WAC 173-50-170) is three-fourths (75 percent) of the fee indicated in Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, or as updated by Equation 1.

(11) If a laboratory requests to add or reinstate a parameter to an existing method on their scope of accreditation outside of their initial application or renewal process, the laboratory will be invoiced a fee based on the type and number of requested parameters according to the "Per Parameter Addition Fee" column of Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, or as updated by Equation 1.

(12) If a laboratory withdraws from the accreditation process after the audit has been completed, the department may retain the entire fee including reimbursement of travel costs if applicable.

(13) Accreditation fees are waived for laboratories operated by the Washington state departments of ecology and health. Accreditation fees are also waived for drinking water parameters certified by EPA Region 10 at designated principal laboratories.