(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the department of ecology shall provide grants to emergency responders to assist with oil spill and hazardous materials response and firefighting equipment and resources needed to meet the requirements of chapter 274, Laws of 2015.

(2) For the purposes of determining grant allocations, the department of ecology, in consultation with emergency first responders, oil spill response cooperatives, representatives from the oil and rail industries, and businesses that are recipients of liquid bulk crude oil shall: (a) Conduct an evaluation of oil spill and hazardous materials response and firefighting equipment and resources currently available for oil spill and hazardous materials response activities throughout the state; (b) review the local emergency management coordinating efforts for oil spill and hazardous materials response; (c) determine the need for additional, new, or updated equipment and resources; and (d) identify areas or regions of the state that are in greatest need of resources and oil spill and hazardous materials response and firefighting equipment.

(3) The department of ecology, in consultation with emergency first responders, oil spill response cooperatives, representatives from the oil and rail industries, and businesses that are recipients of liquid bulk crude oil shall review grant applications to prioritize grant awards using the evaluation of availability of oil spill and hazardous materials response and firefighting equipment and resources as determined in subsection (2) of this section.

(a) The application review must include evaluation of equipment and resource requests, funding requirements, and coordination with existing equipment and resources in the area.

(b) Funding must be prioritized for applicants from areas where the need for firefighting and oil spill and hazardous materials response equipment is the greatest as determined in subsection (2) of this section.

(c) Grants must be coordinated to maximize currently existing equipment and resources that have been put in place by first responders and industry.

[2015 c 274 § 26.]

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