E2SHB 1415 -
By Committee on Ways & Means
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The legislature finds that large vessels specifically designed
for the housing of people upon the seas, unlike vessels designed to
transport cargo or petroleum that carry crew as an ancillary function
of cargo transport, function primarily as a temporary residential
facility, especially while these vessels are stationary at their port
of call. The primary function of these vessels is more akin to a
floating hotel or a houseboat than it is to a transportation vessel.
(2) It is the intent of the legislature to ensure that the
blackwater, graywater, and other wastes eventually released by the
owners and operators of commercial passenger vessels satisfies the
state's standards for protecting the quality of its waters. It is the
traditional and long-standing role of the state to ensure that any
substances being released into its waters will not, given the unique
nature of the state's local waters, adversely impact either the state's
economic or environmental interests.
(3) It is the intent of the legislature for the department to fund
the implementation of the commercial passenger vessel program created
in sections 2 through 11 of this act exclusively through appropriations
provided from the commercial passenger vessel enforcement account
created in section 9 of this act.
Sec. 2 RCW 90.48.020 and 2002 c 161 s 4 are each amended to read
as follows:
((Whenever the word)) The definitions in this section apply
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Person" ((is used in this chapter, it shall be construed to))
includes any political subdivision, government agency, municipality,
industry, public or private corporation, copartnership, association,
firm, individual, or any other entity whatsoever.
((Wherever the words)) (2) "Waters of the state" ((shall be used in
this chapter, they shall be construed to)) includes lakes, rivers,
ponds, streams, inland waters, underground waters, salt waters, and all
other surface waters and watercourses within the jurisdiction of the
state of Washington.
((Whenever the word)) (3) "Pollution" ((is used in this chapter, it
shall be construed to)) means such contamination, or other alteration
of the physical, chemical, or biological properties, of any waters of
the state, including change in temperature, taste, color, turbidity, or
odor of the waters, or such discharge of any liquid, gaseous, solid,
radioactive, or other substance into any waters of the state as will or
is likely to create a nuisance or render such waters harmful,
detrimental, or injurious to the public health, safety, or welfare, or
to domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or
other legitimate beneficial uses, or to livestock, wild animals, birds,
fish, or other aquatic life.
((Wherever the word)) (4) "Department" ((is used in this chapter it
shall)) means the department of ecology.
((Whenever the word)) (5) "Director" ((is used in this chapter it
shall)) means the director of ecology.
((Whenever the words)) (6) "Aquatic noxious weed" ((are used in
this chapter, they have)) has the meaning ((prescribed under)) provided
in RCW 17.26.020.
((Whenever the words)) (7) "General sewer plan" ((are used in this
chapter they shall be construed to)) includes all sewerage general
plans, sewer general comprehensive plans, plans for a system of
sewerage, and other plans for sewer systems adopted by a local
government entity including but not limited to cities, towns, public
utility districts, and water-sewer districts.
(8) "Blackwater" means treated or untreated sewage wastewater from
the toilets, urinals, medical sinks, and similar facilities on
commercial passenger vessels.
(9) "Biomedical waste" has the same meaning provided in RCW
70.95K.010.
(10) "Commercial passenger vessel" means a vessel not owned by the
government of the United States or a foreign nation that is authorized
and capable of providing overnight accommodations for at least fifty
passengers for hire.
(11) "Dangerous waste" has the meaning provided in RCW 70.105.010.
(12) "Graywater" means treated or untreated galley, dishwater,
bath, and laundry wastewaters from a commercial passenger vessel.
(13) "Oily bilge water" includes bilge water that contains used
lubrication oils, oil sludge and slops, fuel and oil sludge, used oil,
used fuel and fuel filters, and oily waste.
(14) "Passengers for hire" means vessel passengers that are
required to contribute some form of consideration as a condition of
carriage on the vessel, whether that consideration flows directly or
indirectly to the owner, charterer, operator, agent, or other person
having an interest in the vessel.
(15) "Release" means any discharge, however caused, from a
commercial passenger vessel, and includes any escape, disposal,
spilling, leaking, pumping, emitting, or emptying.
(16) "Sewage sludge" has the meaning provided in RCW 70.95.030.
(17) "Solid waste" has the meaning provided in RCW 70.95.030.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person may not,
regardless of intent, release sewage sludge, solid waste, biomedical
waste, or dangerous waste into any waters of the state from a
commercial passenger vessel.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this section or section 10 of
this act, a person may not, regardless of intent, release untreated
graywater or untreated blackwater from a commercial passenger vessel
into any waters of the state.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person may not,
regardless of intent, release oily bilge water into any waters of the
state if not in compliance with applicable federal law.
(4) This section does not apply to releases made for the purpose of
securing the safety of a commercial passenger vessel or saving life at
sea if all reasonable precautions have been taken to prevent or
minimize the release.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) Except as provided in this section or section 10 of this act,
a person may not release blackwater into any waters of the state from
a commercial passenger vessel that calls on a public port in Washington
unless the owner or operator of the commercial passenger vessel has
been approved for blackwater releases by the department for the vessel
in question and is in compliance with the effluent limits and
requirements for sampling and reporting established by the department.
(2)(a) The department shall approve blackwater releases from a
commercial passenger vessel and the owner or operator of the vessel is
deemed to be in compliance with the effluent limits and requirements
for sampling and reporting established by the department if the owner
or operator of the commercial passenger vessel:
(i) Can demonstrate to the department's satisfaction, based either
on meeting the presumption provided in (b) of this subsection or on
effluent limits and requirements for sampling and reporting established
by the department, that the blackwater to be released from the vessel
will receive an adequate level of treatment to protect the quality of
the water receiving the release; and
(ii) Has paid the mandatory annual operating fee established in
section 8 of this act.
(b) The department shall presume that the level of treatment given
to blackwater releases from a vessel is adequate if the owner or
operator of a commercial passenger vessel satisfies the requirements of
section 5 of this act and provides documentation to the department
about the type of wastewater treatment system in use on the vessel, and
documentation that the wastewater treatment system on the vessel in
question has been certified by the United States coast guard for
continuous discharge of blackwater in the state of Alaska. If the
mandatory annual operating fee established in section 8 of this act has
been satisfied, the approval for blackwater release may be presumed by
the owner or operator of a commercial passenger vessel providing such
documentation if the department has not provided notification in
writing to the contrary or a request in writing for further
documentation to demonstrate coast guard approval within sixty days of
submitting the original documentation.
(3) Approvals granted by the department under this section remain
in effect until January 1st following the approval and may be rescinded
if substantial changes are made to the approved wastewater treatment
system or if a violation of section 5 of this act is discovered. The
department may rely on previous engineering reviews in granting
subsequent approvals.
(4) This section does not apply to releases made for the purpose of
securing the safety of a commercial passenger vessel or saving life at
sea if all reasonable precautions have been taken to prevent or
minimize the release.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The owner or operator of a commercial passenger vessel that is
operating under the presumption of adequate blackwater treatment
granted in section 4 of this act maintains the presumption and may
release treated blackwater when the vessel is at least more than one
nautical mile from its berth at a public port in Washington and is
traveling at least six knots so long as the owner or operator does all
of the following:
(a) Sample the quality of the treated blackwater released from the
commercial passenger vessel while in state waters at least once during
each month that the commercial passenger vessel calls on a public port
in Washington. The sample must be analyzed by a department-approved
laboratory for all parameters required to be tested in order to obtain
the necessary United States coast guard certification referenced by
section 4 of this act for continuous discharge of blackwater in the
state of Alaska, and must include, at a minimum, the following five
parameters: pH, biochemical oxygen demand, fecal coliform, total
suspended solids, and residual chlorine;
(b) Share all effluent samples with the department, when requested
in writing, for all samples taken in waters of the state;
(c) Conduct a whole effluent toxicity test, or WET test, at least
once every two years unless the department provides notification in
writing that such testing is unnecessary;
(d) Provide the department, when requested in writing, with
duplicate results of tests performed on the commercial passenger
vessel's wastewater treatment system in other jurisdictions;
(e) Notify the department at least one week before sampling in
waters of the state is to occur, and allow department staff to observe
the sampling events when requested;
(f) Immediately report to the department any unauthorized
discharges;
(g) Allow the department to conduct a minimum of one inspection of
the commercial passenger vessel, if requested in writing, to verify the
operating conditions of the wastewater treatment system; and
(h) Notify the department if material changes are made to the
wastewater treatment system approved under section 4 of this act.
(2) The owner or operator of a commercial passenger vessel that is
operating under the presumption of adequate blackwater treatment
granted in section 4 of this act maintains the presumption and may
release treated blackwater when the vessel is at or within one nautical
mile of its berth at a public port in Washington so long as the owner
or operator does all of the following:
(a) Comply with the requirements set forth in subsection (1)(a)
through (h) of this section;
(b) Provide twenty-four hour continuous monitoring of the turbidity
of any released blackwater, or an equivalent to turbidity monitoring
agreed to by the department that judges the effluent released by the
wastewater treatment system of a commercial passenger vessel;
(c) Provide documentation to the department that all treated
blackwater will receive adequate disinfection immediately before
discharge using ultraviolet light or another method approved by the
department;
(d) Provide copies of any water quality tests taken from the
effluent of the commercial passenger vessel during the six months
preceding the approved release; and
(e) Provide documentation of the commercial passenger vessel's
wastewater treatment system design that demonstrates:
(i) That the system can be either automatically shut down or that
there are operational procedures in place to ensure an immediate shut
down of the system if effluent monitoring reveals that the wastewater
treatment system is malfunctioning;
(ii) A plan has been adopted that describes protocols for notifying
the department if the wastewater treatment system malfunctions or is
shut down while in the waters of the state; and
(iii) How blackwater will be stored, including the capacity of any
holding tanks to be used, until the wastewater treatment system is
repaired and operating.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) Except as provided in this section or section 10 of this act,
a person may not release graywater into any waters of the state from a
commercial passenger vessel that calls on a public port in Washington
unless the owner or operator of the commercial passenger vessel has
been approved for graywater releases by the department for the vessel
in question and is in compliance with the effluent limits and
requirements for sampling and reporting established by the department.
(2)(a) The department shall approve graywater releases from a
commercial passenger vessel and the owner or operator of the vessel is
deemed to be in compliance with the effluent limits and requirements
for sampling and reporting established by the department if the owner
or operator of the commercial passenger vessel:
(i) Can demonstrate to the department's satisfaction, based either
on meeting the presumption provided in (b) of this subsection or on
satisfying effluent limits and requirements for sampling and reporting
established by the department, that the graywater to be released from
the vessel will receive an adequate level of treatment to protect the
quality of the water receiving the release; and
(ii) Has paid the mandatory annual operating fee established in
section 8 of this act.
(b) The department shall presume that the level of treatment given
to graywater releases from a vessel is adequate if the owner or
operator of a commercial passenger vessel satisfies the requirements of
section 7 of this act and provides documentation to the department
about the type of wastewater treatment system in use on the vessel, and
documentation that the wastewater treatment system on the vessel in
question has been certified by the United States coast guard for
continuous discharge of graywater in the state of Alaska. If the
mandatory annual operating fee established in section 8 of this act has
been satisfied, the approval for graywater release may be presumed by
the owner or operator of a commercial passenger vessel providing such
documentation if the department has not provided notification in
writing to the contrary or a request in writing for further
documentation to demonstrate coast guard approval within sixty days of
submitting the original documentation.
(3) Approvals granted by the department under this section remain
in effect until January 1st following the approval and may be rescinded
if substantial changes are made to the approved wastewater treatment
system or if a violation of section 7 of this act is discovered. The
department may rely on previous engineering reviews in granting
subsequent approvals.
(4) This section does not apply to releases made for the purpose of
securing the safety of a commercial passenger vessel or saving life at
sea if all reasonable precautions have been taken to prevent or
minimize the release.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7 A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The owner or operator of a commercial passenger vessel that is
operating under the presumption of adequate graywater treatment granted
in section 6 of this act maintains the presumption and may release
treated graywater when the vessel is at least more than one nautical
mile from its berth at a public port in Washington and is traveling at
least six knots so long as the owner or operator does all of the
following:
(a) Sample the quality of the treated graywater released from the
commercial passenger vessel while in state waters at least once during
each month that the commercial passenger vessel calls on a public port
in Washington. The sample must be analyzed by a department-approved
laboratory for all parameters required to be tested in order to obtain
the necessary United States coast guard certification referenced by
section 6 of this act for continuous discharge of graywater in the
state of Alaska, and must include, at a minimum, the following five
parameters: pH, biochemical oxygen demand, fecal coliform, total
suspended solids, and residual chlorine;
(b) Share all effluent samples with the department, when requested
in writing, for all samples taken in waters of the state;
(c) Conduct a whole effluent toxicity test, or WET test, at least
once every two years unless the department provides notification in
writing that such testing is unnecessary;
(d) Provide the department, when requested in writing, with
duplicate results of tests performed on the commercial passenger
vessel's wastewater treatment system in other jurisdictions;
(e) Notify the department at least one week before sampling in
waters of the state is to occur, and allow department staff to observe
the sampling events when requested;
(f) Immediately report to the department any unauthorized
discharges;
(g) Allow the department to conduct a minimum of one inspection of
the commercial passenger vessel, if requested in writing, to verify the
operating conditions of the wastewater treatment system; and
(h) Notify the department if material changes are made to the
wastewater treatment system approved under section 6 of this act.
(2) The owner or operator of a commercial passenger vessel that is
operating under the presumption of adequate graywater treatment granted
in section 6 of this act maintains the presumption and may release
treated graywater when the vessel is at or within one nautical mile of
its berth at a public port in Washington so long as the owner or
operator does all of the following:
(a) Comply with the requirements set forth in subsection (1)(a)
through (h) of this section;
(b) Provide twenty-four hour continuous monitoring of the turbidity
of any released graywater, or an equivalent to turbidity monitoring
agreed to by the department that judges the effluent released by the
wastewater treatment system of a commercial passenger vessel;
(c) Provide documentation to the department that all treated
graywater will receive adequate disinfection immediately before
discharge using ultraviolet light or another method approved by the
department;
(d) Provide copies of any water quality tests taken from the
effluent of the commercial passenger vessel during the six months
preceding the approved release; and
(e) Provide documentation of the commercial passenger vessel's
wastewater treatment system design that demonstrates:
(i) That the system can be either automatically shut down or that
there are operational procedures in place to ensure an immediate shut
down of the system if effluent monitoring reveals that the wastewater
treatment system is malfunctioning;
(ii) A plan has been adopted that describes protocols for notifying
the department if the wastewater treatment system malfunctions or is
shut down while in the waters of the state; and
(iii) How graywater will be stored, including the capacity of any
holding tanks to be used, until the wastewater treatment system is
repaired and operating.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8 A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) Before releasing treated blackwater under section 4 of this act
or treated graywater under section 6 of this act, the owner or operator
of a commercial passenger vessel must remit to the department an annual
operating fee in an amount set by the department.
(2)(a) The department shall establish the fee schedule necessary to
implement this section so that the total estimated receipts equal the
estimated annual costs in implementing sections 3 through 11 of this
act.
(b) The actual fee charged to an individual commercial passenger
vessel under this section shall be based on the number of passengers
for hire that can be provided with overnight accommodation on the
vessel; however, in no event may the annual fee for a commercial
passenger vessel under this section exceed eight thousand dollars per
vessel per year.
(3) Fees collected under this section must be deposited into the
commercial passenger vessel enforcement account created in section 9 of
this act.
(4) The department may enter into agreements to collect the annual
operations fee from the owner or operators of the commercial passenger
vessels calling on a port.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9 A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW
to read as follows:
The commercial passenger vessel enforcement account is created in
the state treasury. All receipts from annual operating fees paid by
the owner or operator of a commercial passenger vessel must be
deposited into the account. Moneys in the account may only be used for
administering and enforcing the provisions of sections 3 through 11 of
this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10 A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) Commercial passenger vessels that provide overnight
accommodations for less than two hundred fifty passengers for hire may
report to the department the name of the vessel, the public ports in
Washington that the vessel visited, the passenger capacity of the
vessel, and the contact name and address of the vessel's owner or
operator. Trade associations may submit to the department the
information required by this section for member vessels.
(2) Until December 31, 2009, commercial passenger vessels that
provide overnight accommodations for less than two hundred fifty
passengers for hire, and any state operated ferries that provide
overnight accommodations for six hundred or fewer passengers for hire
are exempt from the requirements of sections 3(2), 4, 6, and 8 of this
act if the owner or operator of the vessel submitted a report to the
department consistent with subsection (1) of this section.
(3) By December 31, 2008, the director shall, in cooperation with
the small cruise ship industry and any state operated ferry systems
using the exemption provided under subsection (2) of this section,
investigate the state of technologies available to small commercial
passenger vessels and relevant state operated ferry systems, and report
back to the legislature by January 12, 2009, on whether the exemption
should be extended or modified.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11 By November 30, 2007, the department of
ecology shall submit to the appropriate committees of the legislature
a report describing how the management and releases of treated
blackwater and graywater from commercial passenger vessels under this
chapter are or are not adequate for protecting water quality and public
health. At a minimum, the report must make findings as to whether
commercial passenger vessels are releasing treated blackwater and
graywater in the same locations, and if so, whether the cumulative
effects of these releases degrade the water quality in those areas.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12 The report required under section 11 of
this act must also address the dilution and dispersion of viruses in
the treated blackwater and the impact on shellfish for human
consumption.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13 A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW
to read as follows:
For each year from 2005 until 2010, the department shall analyze
all water quality data received from commercial passenger vessels and
make available to the public, using the agency's web site, by December
31st of each year a report that summarizes all data collected in lay
terms.
This section expires January 1, 2011.
Sec. 14 RCW 70.95.030 and 2004 c 101 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
As used in this chapter, unless the context indicates otherwise:
(1) "City" means every incorporated city and town.
(2) "Commission" means the utilities and transportation commission.
(3) "Committee" means the state solid waste advisory committee.
(4) "Composted material" means organic solid waste that has been
subjected to controlled aerobic degradation at a solid waste facility
in compliance with the requirements of this chapter. Natural decay of
organic solid waste under uncontrolled conditions does not result in
composted material.
(5) "Department" means the department of ecology.
(6) "Director" means the director of the department of ecology.
(7) "Disposal site" means the location where any final treatment,
utilization, processing, or deposit of solid waste occurs.
(8) "Energy recovery" means a process operating under federal and
state environmental laws and regulations for converting solid waste
into usable energy and for reducing the volume of solid waste.
(9) "Functional standards" means criteria for solid waste handling
expressed in terms of expected performance or solid waste handling
functions.
(10) "Incineration" means a process of reducing the volume of solid
waste operating under federal and state environmental laws and
regulations by use of an enclosed device using controlled flame
combustion.
(11) "Inert waste landfill" means a landfill that receives only
inert waste, as determined under RCW 70.95.065, and includes facilities
that use inert wastes as a component of fill.
(12) "Jurisdictional health department" means city, county, city-county, or district public health department.
(13) "Landfill" means a disposal facility or part of a facility at
which solid waste is placed in or on land and which is not a land
treatment facility.
(14) "Local government" means a city, town, or county.
(15) "Modify" means to substantially change the design or
operational plans including, but not limited to, removal of a design
element previously set forth in a permit application or the addition of
a disposal or processing activity that is not approved in the permit.
(16) "Multiple family residence" means any structure housing two or
more dwelling units.
(17) "Person" means individual, firm, association, copartnership,
political subdivision, government agency, municipality, industry,
public or private corporation, or any other entity whatsoever.
(18) "Recyclable materials" means those solid wastes that are
separated for recycling or reuse, such as papers, metals, and glass,
that are identified as recyclable material pursuant to a local
comprehensive solid waste plan. Prior to the adoption of the local
comprehensive solid waste plan, adopted pursuant to RCW 70.95.110(2),
local governments may identify recyclable materials by ordinance from
July 23, 1989.
(19) "Recycling" means transforming or remanufacturing waste
materials into usable or marketable materials for use other than
landfill disposal or incineration.
(20) "Residence" means the regular dwelling place of an individual
or individuals.
(21) "Sewage sludge" means a semisolid substance consisting of
settled sewage solids combined with varying amounts of water and
dissolved materials, generated from a wastewater treatment system, that
does not meet the requirements of chapter 70.95J RCW. "Sewage sludge"
does not include blackwater, as that term is defined in RCW 90.48.020.
(22) "Soil amendment" means any substance that is intended to
improve the physical characteristics of the soil, except composted
material, commercial fertilizers, agricultural liming agents,
unmanipulated animal manures, unmanipulated vegetable manures, food
wastes, food processing wastes, and materials exempted by rule of the
department, such as biosolids as defined in chapter 70.95J RCW and
wastewater as regulated in chapter 90.48 RCW.
(23) "Solid waste" or "wastes" means all putrescible and
nonputrescible solid and semisolid wastes including, but not limited
to, garbage, rubbish, ashes, industrial wastes, swill, sewage sludge,
demolition and construction wastes, abandoned vehicles or parts
thereof, and recyclable materials.
(24) "Solid waste handling" means the management, storage,
collection, transportation, treatment, utilization, processing, and
final disposal of solid wastes, including the recovery and recycling of
materials from solid wastes, the recovery of energy resources from
solid wastes or the conversion of the energy in solid wastes to more
useful forms or combinations thereof.
(25) "Source separation" means the separation of different kinds of
solid waste at the place where the waste originates.
(26) "Vehicle" includes every device physically capable of being
moved upon a public or private highway, road, street, or watercourse
and in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be
transported or drawn upon a public or private highway, road, street, or
watercourse, except devices moved by human or animal power or used
exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
(27) "Waste-derived soil amendment" means any soil amendment as
defined in this chapter that is derived from solid waste as defined in
RCW 70.95.030, but does not include biosolids or biosolids products
regulated under chapter 70.95J RCW or wastewaters regulated under
chapter 90.48 RCW.
(28) "Waste reduction" means reducing the amount or toxicity of
waste generated or reusing materials.
(29) "Yard debris" means plant material commonly created in the
course of maintaining yards and gardens, and through horticulture,
gardening, landscaping, or similar activities. Yard debris includes
but is not limited to grass clippings, leaves, branches, brush, weeds,
flowers, roots, windfall fruit, vegetable garden debris, holiday trees,
and tree prunings four inches or less in diameter.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15 If any provision of this act or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other
persons or circumstances is not affected.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16 This act takes effect January 1, 2006."
E2SHB 1415 -
By Committee on Ways & Means
On page 1, line 2 of the title, after "Washington;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "amending RCW 90.48.020 and 70.95.030; adding new sections to chapter 90.48 RCW; creating new sections; prescribing penalties; providing an effective date; and providing an expiration date."