S-4362.1 _______________________________________________
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6150
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State of Washington 56th Legislature 2000 Regular Session
By Senate Committee on Environmental Quality & Water Resources (originally sponsored by Senators Fraser, Jacobsen, T. Sheldon, Fairley, Rasmussen, Gardner, Winsley, Franklin, Kline and Spanel; by request of Commissioner of Public Lands and Department of Fish and Wildlife)
Read first time 01/31/2000.
AN ACT Relating to studying options for funding contaminated sediment cleanup; creating new sections; making an appropriation; and providing an expiration date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature recognizes that decades of urban population growth, as well as transportation, industrial, and commercial uses, are having detrimental impacts on many of the state's harbors. These harbor areas are also important for recreation, commerce, navigation, and habitat. The legislature also recognizes that its estuaries and harbors are critical to the health of its aquatic environment, including endangered species. Most of these submerged lands are owned by the state and managed on behalf of all Washington citizens.
The legislature also finds that many of these harbors have contaminated sediments. Over five thousand acres of the Puget Sound's harbors are contaminated at more than sixty sites. The legislature declares that these contaminated sites need to be cleaned up and restored in order to protect the public health and environment and to provide economic options for future generations.
Many of these sites are designated by the environmental protection agency or the department of ecology under the comprehensive, environmental, response, compensation and liability act (CERCLA) or the model toxics control act (MTCA).
There are several barriers in place that make cleanup and restoration of these harbors difficult, including the ability for the state to pay for the public's share of the cleanup and restoration. It has been estimated that up to four hundred fifty million dollars might be needed to accomplish the cleanup in the Puget Sound alone. The legislature recognizes that agencies and interagency processes are currently addressing types of contamination, amounts of contamination, and location and cost of total cleanup of CERCLA and MTCA sites and that these efforts will benefit from information regarding options for funding the public share of cleanup.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The Washington state institute for public policy is directed to research options for funding the public share of cleanup of contaminated sediments in the Puget Sound area. The institute shall review and develop recommendations on the following subjects, at a minimum:
(1) Sources of existing federal and state funds and the balances and restrictions;
(2) Amount of the public's share of the cost of current cleanup efforts, both federal and state, including orphan share;
(3) New funding source options; and
(4) Funding eligibility criteria, including permanent solutions that minimize volumes of contaminated sediments.
The institute shall involve the departments of ecology, natural resources, fish and wildlife, and transportation and the Puget Sound action team. The institute shall report back to the legislature no later than December 1, 2000.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. This act expires March 31, 2001.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The sum of one hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001, from the general fund to the Washington state institute for public policy for the purposes of this act.
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