BILL REQ. #:  S-4609.3 

Read first time 01/24/08.   Referred to Committee on Water, Energy & Telecommunications.

     AN ACT Relating to programs to encourage the use of water-efficient products; amending RCW 35.92.017, 36.94.460, 54.16.032, and 57.08.160; adding a new section to chapter 43.63A RCW; creating a new section; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that:
     (a) Water is vital to the survival of life on the planet and is limited in supply. Communities across the state are starting to face challenges regarding water supply and water infrastructure. One way to help extend Washington's water supply is by promoting water efficiency and enhancing the market for water-efficient products, programs, and practices;
     (b) Bathrooms are, by far, the largest user of water in the home, responsible for about one-half of total indoor water use;
     (c) Toilets account for approximately thirty percent of residential indoor water consumption. Toilets are a major source of wasted water due to leaks or inefficiency. Under federal and state law, toilets sold in the United States must not exceed 1.6 gallons per flush. High-efficiency toilets go beyond the standard and use less than 1.3 gallons per flush. Power assist and pressure assist toilets use even less water, some even less than one gallon of water per flush. If every home in the United States replaced old toilets with new high-efficiency toilets, the savings would be more than nine hundred billion gallons of water a year;
     (d) Bathroom faucets account for more than fifteen percent of indoor household water use, more than one trillion gallons of water in the United States. High-efficiency bathroom sink faucets and accessories such as aerators can reduce the standard flow of a bathroom faucet by more than thirty percent without sacrificing performance. By installing a high-efficiency bathroom sink faucet, an average household will save more than five hundred gallons of water each year;
     (e) Showering is one of the top uses of residential water in the United States, representing approximately seventeen percent of indoor water use--more than 1.2 trillion gallons of water each year. A full bath tub requires about seventy gallons of water, while taking a five-minute shower uses ten to twenty-five gallons;
     (f) Besides saving water and reducing a customer's costs, water efficiency offers many other benefits:
     (i) Less water withdrawn from rivers, lakes, and aquifers, which keeps these water bodies healthy;
     (ii) Improved water quality due to increased river flows;
     (iii) Less energy required to pump and treat the water, therefore less greenhouse gas emissions;
     (iv) Less wastewater that requires collection, treatment, and disposal; and
     (v) Less pollution from treated wastewater in our streams and waterways.
     (2) It is therefore the intent of the legislature to encourage water efficiency by providing educational outreach to the public about high-efficiency bathroom fixtures and other ways to conserve water through water-efficiency programs.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 43.63A RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The department of community, trade, and economic development, in consultation with the department of health, shall work with purveyors to establish an educational outreach program on the use of water-efficient products including, but not limited to, working with the United States environmental protection agency to encourage customers to choose highly water-efficient fixtures labeled under its watersense program.
     (2) The department of community, trade, and economic development shall, in consultation with the department of health, and subject to the availability of amounts appropriated to the department of community, trade, and economic development for this specific purpose, establish a program to provide grants to purveyors for rebates or other programs that assist its customers in purchasing highly efficient indoor water use fixtures, including those certified by the United States environmental protection agency. The grants must include a condition requiring that replaced fixtures be destroyed so that they cannot be reused.
     (3) The legislature adopts a policy goal that by July 1, 2013, at least fifty percent of all toilets installed in new homes are toilets that use less than one gallon of water for each flush.
     (4) The department of community, trade, and economic development shall report to the relevant policy committees of the senate and house of representatives by December 31, 2013, concerning the educational outreach program, the grant program, and the installation of toilets that use less than one gallon of water for each flush in new home construction.
     (5) For purposes of this section, "purveyor" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 70.119A.020.

Sec. 3   RCW 35.92.017 and 1989 c 421 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Any city or town engaged in the sale or distribution of water is hereby authorized, within limits established by the Constitution of the state of Washington, to assist the owners of structures in financing the acquisition and installation of fixtures, systems, and equipment, for compensation or otherwise, for the conservation or more efficient use of water in the structures under a water conservation plan adopted by the city or town if the cost per unit of water saved or conserved by the use of the fixtures, systems, and equipment is less than the cost per unit of water supplied by the next least costly new water source available to the city or town to meet future demand. Except where otherwise authorized, assistance shall be limited to:
     (((1))) (a) Providing an inspection of the structure, either directly or through one or more inspectors under contract, to determine and inform the owner of the estimated cost of purchasing and installing conservation fixtures, systems, and equipment for which financial assistance will be approved and the estimated life cycle savings to the water system and the consumer that are likely to result from the installation of the fixtures, systems, or equipment;
     (((2))) (b) Providing a list of businesses that sell and install the fixtures, systems, and equipment within or in close proximity to the service area of the city or town, each of which businesses shall have requested to be included and shall have the ability to provide the products in a workmanlike manner and to utilize the fixtures, systems, and equipment in accordance with the prevailing national standards;
     (((3))) (c) Arranging to have approved conservation fixtures, systems, and equipment installed by a private contractor whose bid is acceptable to the owner of the structure and verifying the installation; and
     (((4))) (d) Arranging or providing financing for the purchase and installation of approved conservation fixtures, systems, and equipment. The fixtures, systems, and equipment shall be purchased or installed by a private business, the owner, or the utility.
     (2) Pay back shall be in the form of incremental additions to the utility bill, billed either together with the use charge or separately. Loans shall not exceed one hundred twenty months in length.
     (3) A city or town engaged in the sale or distribution of water may apply for a grant from the department of community, trade, and economic development under section 2 of this act.

Sec. 4   RCW 36.94.460 and 1992 c 25 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Any county engaged in the sale or distribution of water is hereby authorized, within limits established by the Constitution of the state of Washington, to assist the owners of structures that are provided water service by the county in financing the acquisition and installation of fixtures, systems, and equipment, for compensation or otherwise, for the conservation or more efficient use of water in the structures under a water conservation plan adopted by the county if the cost per unit of water saved or conserved by the use of the fixtures, systems, and equipment is less than the cost per unit of water supplied by the next least costly new water source available to the county to meet future demand. Except where otherwise authorized, assistance shall be limited to:
     (((1))) (a) Providing an inspection of the structure, either directly or through one or more inspectors under contract, to determine and inform the owner of the estimated cost of purchasing and installing conservation fixtures, systems, and equipment for which financial assistance will be approved and the estimated life cycle savings to the water system and the consumer that are likely to result from the installation of the fixtures, systems, or equipment;
     (((2))) (b) Providing a list of businesses that sell and install the fixtures, systems, and equipment within or in close proximity to the service area of the county, each of which businesses shall have requested to be included and shall have the ability to provide the products in a workmanlike manner and to utilize the fixtures, systems, and equipment in accordance with the prevailing national standards;
     (((3))) (c) Arranging to have approved conservation fixtures, systems, and equipment installed by a private contractor whose bid is acceptable to the owner of the structure and verifying the installation; and
     (((4))) (d) Arranging or providing financing for the purchase and installation of approved conservation fixtures, systems, and equipment. The fixtures, systems, and equipment shall be purchased or installed by a private business, the owner, or the utility.
     (2) Pay back shall be in the form of incremental additions to the utility bill, billed either together with (([the])) the use charge or separately. Loans shall not exceed one hundred twenty months in length.
     (3) A municipal corporation engaged in the sale or distribution of water may apply for a grant from the department of community, trade, and economic development under section 2 of this act.

Sec. 5   RCW 54.16.032 and 1989 c 421 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Any district is hereby authorized, within limits established by the Constitution of the state of Washington, to assist the owners of structures in financing the acquisition and installation of fixtures, systems, and equipment, for compensation or otherwise, for the conservation or more efficient use of water in the structures under a water conservation plan adopted by the district if the cost per unit of water saved or conserved by the use of the fixtures, systems, and equipment is less than the cost per unit of water supplied by the next least costly new water source available to the district to meet future demand. Except where otherwise authorized, assistance shall be limited to:
     (((1))) (a) Providing an inspection of the structure, either directly or through one or more inspectors under contract, to determine and inform the owner of the estimated cost of purchasing and installing conservation fixtures, systems, and equipment for which financial assistance will be approved and the estimated life cycle savings to the water system and the consumer that are likely to result from the installation of the fixtures, systems, or equipment;
     (((2))) (b) Providing a list of businesses that sell and install the fixtures, systems, and equipment within or in close proximity to the service area of the city or town, each of which businesses shall have requested to be included and shall have the ability to provide the products in a workmanlike manner and to utilize the fixtures, systems, and equipment in accordance with the prevailing national standards;
     (((3))) (c) Arranging to have approved conservation fixtures, systems, and equipment installed by a private contractor whose bid is acceptable to the owner of the structure and verifying the installation; and
     (((4))) (d) Arranging or providing financing for the purchase and installation of approved conservation fixtures, systems, and equipment. The fixtures, systems, and equipment shall be purchased or installed by a private business, the owner, or the utility.
     (2) Pay back shall be in the form of incremental additions to the utility bill, billed either together with the use charge or separately. Loans shall not exceed one hundred twenty months in length.
     (3) A public utility district engaged in the sale or distribution of water may apply for a grant from the department of community, trade, and economic development under section 2 of this act.

Sec. 6   RCW 57.08.160 and 1996 c 230 s 324 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Any district is hereby authorized, within limits established by the Constitution of the state of Washington, to assist the owners of structures in financing the acquisition and installation of fixtures, systems, and equipment, for compensation or otherwise, for the conservation or more efficient use of water in the structures under a water conservation plan adopted by the district if the cost per unit of water saved or conserved by the use of the fixtures, systems, and equipment is less than the cost per unit of water supplied by the next least costly new water source available to the district to meet future demand. Except where otherwise authorized, assistance shall be limited to:
     (((1))) (a) Providing an inspection of the structure, either directly or through one or more inspectors under contract, to determine and inform the owner of the estimated cost of purchasing and installing conservation fixtures, systems, and equipment for which financial assistance will be approved and the estimated life cycle savings to the water system and the consumer that are likely to result from the installation of the fixtures, systems, or equipment;
     (((2))) (b) Providing a list of businesses that sell and install the fixtures, systems, and equipment within or in close proximity to the service area of the city or town, each of which businesses shall have requested to be included and shall have the ability to provide the products in a workmanlike manner and to utilize the fixtures, systems, and equipment in accordance with the prevailing national standards;
     (((3))) (c) Arranging to have approved conservation fixtures, systems, and equipment installed by a private contractor whose bid is acceptable to the owner of the structure and verifying the installation; and
     (((4))) (d) Arranging or providing financing for the purchase and installation of approved conservation fixtures, systems, and equipment. The fixtures, systems, and equipment shall be purchased or installed by a private business, the owner, or the utility.
     (2) Pay back shall be in the form of incremental additions to the utility bill, billed either together with the use charge or separately. Loans shall not exceed one hundred twenty months in length.
     (3) A water-sewer district engaged in the sale or distribution of water may apply for a grant from the department of community, trade, and economic development under section 2 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   The sum of five hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, from the general fund to the department of community, trade, and economic development for the purposes of this act.