This bill amends RCW 78.44.085 to add specific application and annual permit fees and related procedures for surface mine reclamation permits. It requires a nonrefundable $4,500 application fee to be paid before the department will decide on applications for revisions of an existing reclamation permit or plan, expansions of a permitted surface mine, new reclamation permits under RCW 78.44.081, or combining existing public or private surface mine reclamation permits. It also establishes annual permit fees payable before issuance and on each permit anniversary: a standard annual fee of $3,500 for each public or private permit holder, and a $2,500 annual fee for public permit holders for mines used exclusively for public works projects (as defined in RCW 39.04.010(5)). The provision states annual fees were required after June 30, 2017. The amendment creates several procedural and enforcement rules. Production records, mineral assessments, and trade secrets submitted to the department are made confidential and not subject to public disclosure under chapter 42.56 RCW. Appeals of department determinations do not stay the obligation to pay annual fees. Failure to pay annual fees may be grounds for an order to suspend surface mining, assess fines, or cancel the reclamation permit as provided in the chapter. All collected fees are deposited into the surface mining reclamation account in RCW 78.44.045; the department may allocate funds to a county, city, or town if enforcement is delegated. The department must inform applicants within 60 days of any information necessary to complete a new, expanded, or revised permit application. The department may refer past-due fees or fines to a collection agency licensed under chapter 19.16 RCW, and the collection agency may impose its own fees. The text refers to "department," "reclamation permit," "reclamation plan," and "this chapter" without defining them in the extracted material, and the section does not include the detailed statutory definitions that appear elsewhere. It is also unclear from the extracted facts how the "after June 30, 2017" effective timing interacts with the bill's effective date or implementation details.

If enacted, permit applicants and current surface mine permit holders will face clear out‑of‑pocket costs: a nonrefundable $4,500 fee before the agency decides on new, expanded, or revised reclamation permits or plans, plus an ongoing annual charge of about $3,500 for most permits (reduced to $2,500 for permits used only for public works). Those fees must be paid before a permit is issued and each year on the permit anniversary; failing to pay can lead to suspension of mining, fines, or permit cancellation, and appeals will not pause the payment requirement. The agency may send overdue accounts to collection agencies, which can tack on collection charges, so operators and landowners should expect regular budget impacts and added enforcement risk if fees are not kept current. The Department of Natural Resources would receive and manage the new fee revenue in the surface mining reclamation account and can allocate some of it to counties, cities, or towns if enforcement is delegated, potentially increasing local enforcement funding. Production records, mineral assessments, and declared trade secrets submitted to the agency would be withheld from public disclosure, protecting proprietary information. The text leaves unclear exactly which office is meant by “the department” in this section and how the stated June 30, 2017 start date applies relative to any later changes, and it does not include full definitions of reclamation permits or related procedures, so some implementation details remain open.