(1) The responsible official shall be the manager or his/her designee. When the manager designates another employee as responsible official, the manager shall be guided in making such designation by the nature of the proposal(s) and the administrative decision-making process normally used by the district.

(2) The responsible official shall carry out the district’s duties, functions and procedural responsibilities as lead agency under the SEPA rules.

(3) All decisions of the responsible official and the district relating to interpretation and application of the SEPA rules shall be accorded substantial deference. [Res. 379 § 4, 1982.]