Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
SB 5192
Brief Description: Authorizing administrative law judges to substitute for pollution control hearings board members in deciding derelict vessel appeals.
Sponsors: Senators Shewmake, Hunt, Nguyen and Wellman; by request of Environmental and Land Use Hearings Office.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Authorizes administrative law judges employed by the Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB) to substitute for PCHB members in hearing certain appeals brought under the Derelict Vessel Removal Program.
Hearing Date: 3/10/23
Staff: Robert Hatfield (786-7117).
Background:

Derelict Vessel Removal Program.
The Derelict Vessel Removal Program (DVRP) is administered by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).  Under the DVRP, certain public entities, including the DNR and most public agencies that own or manage aquatic lands, may take custody and dispose of abandoned or derelict vessels on aquatic lands within their jurisdiction.  The owner of an abandoned or derelict vessel is responsible for the cost of removal and disposal of the vessel.  
 
Any owner of a vessel that has been seized under the DVRP may request a hearing before the Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB) to appeal either the seizure or the amount of reimbursement owed to the agency that removed the vessel.  
 
Pollution Control Hearings Board.
The PCHB is an administrative body that hears and decides appeals from state and local governmental agencies on a wide variety of environmental permits and penalty orders.  The PCHB is administered by the Environmental and Land Use Hearings Office (ELUHO), and has three members, all of whom are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate for staggered six-year terms.  One of the three PCHB members must be an attorney. 
 
An appeal brought under the DVRP, whether to challenge the seizure of a vessel or the amount of reimbursement owed to the agency that removed the vessel, may be heard by one member of the PCHB, whose decision is the final decision of the PCHB.  
 
Administrative Law Judges.
Administrative law judges preside over administrative hearings and issue written orders affirming, modifying, or reversing agency decisions.
 
The ELUHO employs administrative law judges to facilitate a wide range of administrative processes.  The Director of ELUHO may appoint administrative law judges to serve on cases before the PCHB.
Summary of Bill:

An administrative law judge employed by the PCHB may be substituted for a PCHB member to hear appeals brought pursuant to the DVRP to challenge the seizure of a vessel or the amount of reimbursement owed to the agency that removed the vessel.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.