The project was announced earlier this month. The filing with the state is the first step in the approval process for the nonprofit health system. Certificate officials will make a recommendation to Mary Selecky, secretary of the state Department of Health, who will decide on Legacy's application. The review process is expected to last three months.

It would be the first hospital built in Washington in more than 20 years. It also would be in direct competition with Clark County's only existing hospital, the Southwest Washington Medical Center, which is expected to file its own certificate-of-need application in the next two months for an expansion of its licensed bed capacity from 360 to 442.