BILL REQ. #:  S-1052.2 

Read first time 02/02/2005.   Referred to Committee on Water, Energy & Environment.

     AN ACT Relating to compliance history disclosure upon application for environmental quality permits; and adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that:
     (a) The illegal discharge of pollutants to Washington's air and water, and the improper management and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes in Washington's environment can create significant risks to public health and environmental quality;
     (b) Washington's businesses bear much of the costs incurred when polluters fail to clean up environmental contamination;
     (c) A polluting business may gain an economic advantage that is unfair to businesses that are in compliance with emission limitations, waste management standards, and other environmental quality requirements;
     (d) The protection of Washington's environment from unnecessary degradation is a matter of public trust;
     (e) The public has a right to clean air and water and to a healthy environment; and
     (f) Because of the importance of these resources to the health and welfare of Washington citizens, there must be disclosure of pertinent environmental compliance information by those persons submitting applications and persons with operational responsibility or ownership of the activity to be covered by the permit.
     (2) It is the purpose of this chapter to ensure that the state has adequate information about the environmental quality compliance history of applicants for the purpose of reviewing the application and making decisions on the application.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Environmental quality permit" means the following permits or approvals, or the renewal of a permit or approval, required from the department of ecology, department of fish and wildlife, department of natural resources, or a regional air pollution control agency:
     (a) Air operating permits, registration of air contaminant sources, and new source reviews required by chapter 70.94 RCW;
     (b) Water quality discharge permits required by chapter 90.48 RCW;
     (c) Water quality certifications by the department of ecology under section 401 of the federal water pollution control amendments, 33 U.S.C. Sec. 1341;
     (d) Surface water and ground water withdrawal permits required by chapters 90.03 and 90.44 RCW;
     (e) Hazardous waste management, treatment, storage, or disposal permits required by chapter 70.105 RCW;
     (f) Approvals required from the department of ecology for metals mining and milling operations under chapter 78.56 RCW;
     (g) Hydraulic project approvals required by the department of fish and wildlife under chapter 77.55 RCW; and
     (h) Surface mining reclamation permits by the department of natural resources under chapter 78.44 RCW.
     (2) "Responsible official" means the official charged by law with making a decision upon an environmental quality permit application.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) An applicant for an environmental quality permit shall include in the application the names and business addresses of:
     (a) All corporate officers of the applicant and all personnel responsible for overall operation of the activities that are the subject of the application;
     (b) Businesses with whom the applicant has agreed to assume operational responsibilities for activities that are the subject of the application, and the names by which the businesses operated under within the past ten years;
     (c) Each general or limited partner where the applicant is a partnership;
     (d) Each person owning or controlling ten percent or more of the assets of the applicant's assets; and
     (e) All subsidiary and parent companies of the applicant.
     (2) The application shall also include the following information as to those persons or businesses described in subsection (1) of this section, for the ten years preceding the date of the application:
     (a) All permit revocations, criminal citations, arrests, convictions, or civil or administrative penalties assessed, that relate directly to the violation of an environmental quality statute, rule, regulation, permit, license, approval, or order, whether in the state of Washington, another state, or another country, and a brief description of the disposition of the matter. The description must also address public funds that were expended to restore or remediate damage or the threat of damage caused by the violation, except where such funds were voluntarily recovered without litigation;
     (b) Any felony conviction, and any other criminal conviction involving harm to environmental quality or a violation of environmental quality standards that resulted in a penalty or fine of more than five thousand dollars or a sentence longer than seven days, without regard to whether such penalty, fine, or sentence was suspended;
     (c) A description of any civil judgment awarding damages for harm to environmental quality or public health, and all settlements of damage claims for environmental harm; and
     (d) A description of all pending criminal complaints or charges alleging the violation of any state or federal environmental quality law.
     (3) This section does not apply where the applicant is a unit of local or state government.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) Applicants for an environmental quality permit have a continuing duty to respond to requests for additional information from the agency processing the permit application where the request relates to information required by section 3 of this act. The agency is authorized to investigate and to verify the accuracy of the information submitted in the application.
     (2) The applicant shall promptly supplement the information provided if the applicant becomes aware of additional required information or if changed circumstances render the submitted information inaccurate or incomplete.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   Except as provided in this section, all information provided under section 3 of this act shall be maintained by the agency reviewing the application as public information and subject to disclosure as public records under chapter 42.17 RCW. Information exempt from public inspection and copying under RCW 42.17.310 shall not be otherwise disclosable under this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   (1) The responsible official must deny an environmental quality permit application if:
     (a) The applicant or a person acting at the direction of the applicant intentionally withholds or misrepresents material information required to be submitted under section 3 of this act;
     (b) The applicant or a person acting at the direction of the applicant has offered or conferred any benefit personally to an employee of the state of a local air pollution control agency in the expectation that such offer will result in or contribute to an approval of the application;
     (c) The applicant or any person listed in the information provided in section 3(1) of this act has been convicted of a felony in Washington state or a criminal conviction in another state or country where the violation is punishable in Washington state as a felony, and the conviction is based upon the violation of an environmental quality statute, rule, regulation, permit, license, approval, or order.
     (2) The responsible official may deny an application for an environmental quality permit, or may approve the application with the imposition of conditions to ensure compliance with the permit and applicable laws, if:
     (a) The applicant has failed to pay a penalty or judgment within the past ten years obtained by a state or federal agency for the violation by the applicant of an environmental quality statute, rule, regulation, permit, license, approval, or order;
     (b) An environmental quality permit issued in this state or a comparable permit issued by another state or a federal agency to the applicant has been revoked within the past ten years; or
     (c) The applicant has defaulted on a corporate guarantee, inadequately funded a reserve or trust account established for environmental remediation purposes, or forfeited a bond obtained in connection with an environmental quality permit issued in this state or a comparable permit issued by another state or an agency of the federal government.
     (3) This section is in addition to any other applicable statute establishing criteria guiding the responsible official's decision on an environmental quality permit application.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   Sections 1 through 6 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.