Grays Harbor County, WA Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)

Section 15.04.010 of the Grays Harbor County Code adopts the State Building Code as defined in RCW 19.27.031, which includes the Uniform Plumbing Code as amended and updated by the Washington State Building Code Council under RCW 19.27.074 and WAC 51-04 through 51-56, as the Grays Harbor County Building Code. Section 15.04.060 then amends the Uniform Plumbing Code itself: Section 101.1 renames it the Uniform Plumbing Code of Grays Harbor County, and Section 102.1 designates the planning and building division as the Authority Having Jurisdiction responsible for enforcing it.

The permit obligation for plumbing work comes from the building-code amendments in Section 15.04.020: anyone who intends to erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace a plumbing system regulated by the code must first apply to the building official and obtain the required permit before starting work. Under Section 103.4.1 of the plumbing code amendments, permit fees are set by resolution of the board of county commissioners rather than a fixed schedule printed in the ordinance itself, and Section 103.4.2, which otherwise would set plan-review fees, is deleted outright. If no work has been performed under an issued permit, Section 103.4.5.1 lets the Authority Having Jurisdiction refund up to 80 percent of the permit fee, but only if the applicant asks in writing within 180 days of the permit's issuance; Sections 103.4.5.2 and 103.4.5.3, which would have covered other refund scenarios, are deleted entirely. Appeals of a plumbing permit or inspection decision go to the county's Building Codes Advisory Council, sitting as the board of appeals for this code, under Chapter 2.14 and Chapter 15.16 of the county code.