S-4783               _______________________________________________

                                         SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 6603

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (originally sponsored by Senators Barr and Stratton)

Read first time 2/5/88.

AN ACT Relating to air quality opacity limitations; and reenacting and amending RCW 70.94.331.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  Section 46, chapter 238, Laws of 1967 as last amended by section 39, chapter 109, Laws of 1987 and by section 13, chapter 405, Laws of 1987 and RCW 70.94.331 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

          (1) The department shall have all the powers as provided in RCW 70.94.141.

          (2) The department, in addition to any other powers vested in it by law after consideration at a public hearing held in accordance with chapter 42.30 RCW and chapter 34.04 RCW shall:

          (a) Adopt rules and regulations establishing air quality objectives and air quality standards;

          (b) Adopt emission standards which shall constitute minimum emission standards throughout the state.  An authority may enact more stringent emission standards, except for emission performance standards for new wood stoves and opacity levels for residential solid fuel burning devices which shall be state-wide, but in no event may less stringent standards be enacted by an authority without the prior approval of the department after public hearing and due notice to interested parties;

          (c) Adopt by rule and regulation air quality standards and emission standards for the control or prohibition of emissions to the outdoor atmosphere of radionuclides, dust, fumes, mist, smoke, other particulate matter, vapor, gas, odorous substances, or any combination thereof.  Such requirements may be based upon a system of classification by types of emissions or types of sources of emissions, or combinations thereof, which it determines most feasible for the purposes of this chapter.  However, an industry can choose, subject to the submittal of appropriate data that the industry has quantified, to have any limit on the opacity of emissions from a source whose emission standard is stated in terms of a weight of particulate per unit volume of air (e.g., grains per dry standard cubic foot) be based on the applicable particulate emission standard for that source, such that any violation of the opacity limit accurately indicates a violation of the applicable particulate emission standard.

          (3) The air quality standards and emission standards may be for the state as a whole or may vary from area to area, except that emission performance standards for new wood stoves and opacity levels for residential solid fuel burning devices shall be state-wide, as may be appropriate to facilitate the accomplishment of the objectives of this chapter and to take necessary or desirable account of varying local conditions of population concentration, the existence of actual or reasonable foreseeable air pollution, topographic and meteorologic conditions and other pertinent variables.

          (4) The department is directed to cooperate with the appropriate agencies of the United States or other states or any interstate agencies or international agencies with respect to the control of air pollution and air contamination, or for the formulation for the submission to the legislature of interstate air pollution control compacts or agreements.

          (5) The department is directed to conduct or cause to be conducted a continuous surveillance program to monitor the quality of the ambient atmosphere as to concentrations and movements of air contaminants.

          (6) The department shall enforce the air quality standards and emission standards throughout the state except where a local authority is enforcing the state regulations or its own regulations which are more stringent than those of the state.

          (7) The department shall encourage local units of government to handle air pollution problems within their respective jurisdictions; and, on a cooperative basis provide technical and consultative assistance therefor.

          (8) The department shall have the power to require the addition to or deletion of a county from an existing authority in order to carry out the purposes of this chapter:  PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That no such addition or deletion shall be made without the concurrence of any existing authority involved.  Such action shall only be taken after a public hearing held pursuant to the provisions of chapter 34.04 RCW.