BILL REQ. #:  H-3124.2 

Read first time 01/15/14.   Referred to Committee on Environment.

     AN ACT Relating to involving communities in environmental decision making; adding a new chapter to Title 70 RCW; creating a new section; and providing an effective date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that every individual in the state has a fundamental right to a healthful environment, and a right to the pursuit of commonplace activities such as breathing, drinking, eating, working, and recreating without risking their health as a result of environmental degradation. There are vulnerable communities throughout the state that bear a disproportionate burden of pollution problems. Residents of these communities face higher rates of cancer and other life-threatening public health problems. All residents of the state, regardless of race, color, culture, national origin, or income level, have a right to participate meaningfully and receive fair treatment during the implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, rules, and policies. The improvement of environmental law and policy decision-making processes helps state agencies meet their responsibility to comply with 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000(d). These important objectives and responsibilities are satisfied by the passage of this act.
     (2) Pursuant to the policy declared in this section, and consistent with federal executive order 12898, state agencies shall, to the extent practical, make achieving environmental justice part of their mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, the disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations in Washington state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Authority" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 70.94.030.
     (2) "Department" means the department of ecology.
     (3) "Highly impacted community" means a community that the department has determined is likely to bear a disproportionate burden of public health risks from environmental pollution.
     (4) "Person" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 90.48.020.
     (5) "Supplemental environmental project" means an environmentally beneficial project that a person agrees to undertake in settlement of an enforcement action, but which the person is not otherwise obligated to perform.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) Within available funds, the department must identify and maintain a list of highly impacted communities in this state.
     (2) In identifying highly impacted communities, the department shall consider, at minimum, including areas that have any of the following characteristics:
     (a) Unemployment rates more than twenty percent above the state average;
     (b) Median household income that is less than seventy-five percent of the state median household income;
     (c) Disproportionate public health challenges, as demonstrated by scientific or public health data; or
     (d) A significant percentage of community residents who are minorities, foreign born, or who lack proficiency in the English language.
     (3) In determining whether a community is a highly impacted community under this section, the department may rely on existing scientific or public health data, including public health data compiled by the department of health.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) This section and section 5 of this act apply to the settlement, registered with a judicial or quasi-judicial body, of an enforcement action based upon a violation of a permit issued under chapter 70.94, 70.105, or 90.48 RCW or a violation of an order under RCW 70.105D.050. In conjunction with the settlement of an enforcement action, the department may require a person whose activity negatively affects public health in a highly impacted community to contribute in-kind services or otherwise fund a supplemental environmental project under the following circumstances:
     (a) A supplemental environmental project may include projects to protect human health, prevent pollution, reduce pollution, protect or restore natural or man-made environments, assessments or audits of environmental quality or pollution prevention, efforts to promote environmental compliance, or emergency preparedness efforts.
     (b) A supplemental environmental project authorized by the department must:
     (i)(A) Take place within the same highly impacted community in which the violation occurred; or
     (B) Primarily benefit the highly impacted community in which the violation occurred;
     (ii)(A) Be designed to reduce the likelihood that similar violations will occur in the future;
     (B) Reduce the adverse impact to public health or the environment to which the violation at issue contributes within the highly impacted community; or
     (C) Reduce the overall risk to public health or the environment potentially affected by the violation at issue;
     (iii) Be of a scope and type defined in the signed settlement agreement between the department and the person in violation of a permit issued under chapter 70.94, 70.105, or 90.48 RCW or an order under RCW 70.105D.050; and
     (iv) Include deadlines and quantifiable performance metrics for the achievement of intermediate deliverables or objectives towards the completion of the supplemental environmental project.
     (2) If the department requires a person to perform or fund a supplemental environmental project in conjunction with the settlement of an enforcement action related to the violation of a permit issued under chapter 70.94, 70.105, or 90.48 RCW, the department or authority shall also recover a monetary penalty in accordance with RCW 70.94.430, 70.94.431, 70.105.080, 70.105.085, or 70.105.090 or chapter 90.48 RCW.
     (3) In determining the monetary amount to be recovered in the settlement, in addition to the current factors considered in determining the amounts of a penalty under RCW 70.94.430, 70.94.431, 70.105.080, 70.105.085, or 70.105.090 or chapter 90.48 RCW, the department or authority shall consider:
     (a) The cost to the person of the supplemental environmental project; and
     (b) The environmental or public health benefits anticipated to accrue from the supplemental environmental project.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   To the maximum extent practicable, the department shall seek the input of the highly impacted community in the development of a proposed supplemental environmental project pursuant to section 4 of this act. After the department has decided to consider the inclusion of a supplemental environmental project in conjunction with the settlement of an enforcement action, the department shall, to the maximum extent practicable, seek to provide information to the highly impacted community regarding:
     (1) The proposed supplemental environmental project; and
     (2) The process the department plans to follow in making a final determination regarding the details of the supplemental environmental project.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   The department may adopt rules as necessary to implement this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   Sections 1 through 6 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 70 RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   Sections 1 through 6 of this act take effect January 1, 2015.