AN ACT Relating to directing the completion of a study of certain environmental impacts, including ultrafine particulate emissions, associated with aircraft traffic in areas impacted by airport operations; adding a new section to chapter 70.94 RCW; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 70.94 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The department of commerce, in consultation with the department of health and the department of ecology, is directed to complete a study by September 1, 2021, regarding air quality implications of air traffic at the international airport in Washington with the highest number of total annual departures and arrivals.

(2) The study must include two phases:

(a) The first phase must consist of an assessment, to be completed by the University of Washington school of public health, of the concentrations of ultrafine particulate matter in areas surrounding and directly impacted by air traffic generated by the airport. This assessment component of the study is the highest priority, and must be completed by September 1, 2019. The assessment must:

(i) Monitor and evaluate the concentrations and characteristics of ultrafine particulate matter in areas impacted by high volumes of airport traffic, including the patterns of spatial dispersion of ultrafine particulate matter. To the extent practicable, the assessment must attempt to distinguish between ultrafine particulate matter that is attributable to aircraft sources and ultrafine particulate matter that originates with other sources; and

(ii) Compare concentrations of ultrafine particulate matter in areas surrounding or directly impacted by high volumes of airport traffic against concentrations of ultrafine particulate matter in locations in the ambient environment that share similar characteristics, but that are not surrounding or directly impacted by high volumes of airport traffic.

(b) The second phase of the study, which the department of commerce must initiate contingent upon the completion of the first phase of the study, consists of:

(i) An analysis of options to reduce or mitigate emissions of ultrafine particulate matter from aircraft, including but not limited to the use of alternative fuel sources or particulate filters by aircraft. In evaluating emission reduction or mitigation options, the department of commerce must consider the anticipated costs and feasibility of each option;

(ii) An analysis of the rates of exposure to ultrafine particulate matter by low-income residents, communities of color, and other communities that may be disproportionately impacted by ultrafine particulate matter pollution. This analysis must consider public health data maintained by the department of health or local health jurisdiction, to the extent such information is available;

(iii) An analysis of the scope of risks posed by ultrafine particulate matter air pollution in communities adjacent to and directly impacted by the airport and air traffic relative to the risks posed by other types or sources of air pollution or other pathways of exposure to pollutants in the environment; and

(iv) An analysis of other direct and indirect environmental impacts to the areas surrounding the airport that are attributable to increased volumes of air traffic, including noise pollution, aesthetic impacts, and the loss of habitat.

(3) Consistent with RCW 43.01.036, the department of commerce must report its findings from the first phase of the study to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2019. Consistent with RCW 43.01.036, the department of commerce must report its updated findings from the second phase of the study to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2021. The report must include:

(a) In the 2019 report, a summary of findings on the prevalence of ultrafine particulate matter pollution in areas surrounding and directly impacted by the airport;

(b) In the 2021 updated report, a summary of findings on the health impacts of ultrafine particulate matter pollution in areas surrounding and directly impacted by the airport; and

(c) In the 2021 updated report, recommendations to the legislature regarding how to best mitigate impacts of ultrafine particulate matter emissions, if necessary, while allowing for continued growth of air traffic at the airport.

(4) This section expires June 30, 2022.

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