Grays Harbor County and its support agencies want your business to grow and thrive. Whether it's helping to find employees, resolving regulatory problems, analyzing operations for effectiveness or just getting a business started, we are here to work with you. Click here for a list of just a few of the many support agencies available to you in the county.

Business Start-up

Starting a business is a difficult and often lonely task. The Grays Harbor EDC can help make it a little easier. To get you started on business, click financing and planning. Click business plan outline for a business plan outline and business plan template in Word format. The EDC's business development specialist provides no cost assistance to anyone starting or operating a business in Grays Harbor County. Just give us a call. We can provide helpful information on financing, marketing and operating your business. And there is additional help available. Once you have completed a business plan, a local representative from the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) will sit down with you to review your business and provide helpful information to get you started. Click SCORE to learn more about their organization.

Business Assistance:

The Grays Harbor Economic Development Council serves as the Grays Harbor County representative for the Washington Manufacturing Services (WMS), a not-for-profit Washington organization with the singular goal of helping to make Washington manufacturers more competitive. Through WMS affiliation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership, WMS can help link manufacturers with local expertise and with hard-to-access national resources. WMS is the primary source for LEAN manufacturing technique training and education. Visit their website or contact us for more information and a free consultation.

Business Construction:

The following are very general guidelines for project permitting in Grays Harbor County based upon our experience. Information about a specific company, its products, and waste-stream, exhaust, water needs, and soil-loading requirements will affect the following timelines given.

1. SEPA Checklist: SEPA (Washington State Environmental Policy Act) is a checklist that must be completed and given to the proper city or county controlling agency for its review and determination. The checklist includes building drawings, engineering drawings, storm water requirements, etc. One of three possible findings is made by the controlling agency:

   • DNS (Determination of Non-Significance) that usually takes about 14 days, or

   • MDNS (Mitigated Determination of Non-Significance) that may take up to 120 days, or

   • EIS (Environmental Impact Statement), a very detailed impact analysis, that could take from 6 months to over a year to complete.

2. JARPA Permit Application: JARPA (Joint Aquatic Resource Permit Application) is required whenever the project is within 200 feet of a water source. The joint application includes shoreline, clean air, waste, fish and wildlife, and other permits. If there are no issues, the process usually takes about 60-90 days. If there are some issues, the permitting process may take up to 120 days. Fortunately, JARPA can be done in parallel with SEPA.

3. JARPA Oversight: The Department of Ecology (DOE) has oversight responsibility for the checklists and permits for all projects requiring JARPA. Therefore it is important to include DOE from the very beginning of the project. It is also important to include the Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Department of Natural Resources because these agencies often have overlapping responsibilities with DOE.

4. Building permits: Building permits should always be applied for in parallel with SEPA and JARPA. Building permits are a relatively easy to obtain because the issuing agencies tend to be pro-business and are very helpful.

For more detailed permit requirements, please download the following PDF document. This easy-to-read and understand document outlines most of the major permits required in our region.

Required Permits.pdf

For more detailed information about a specific project, please contact us.