Environmental justice assessment notices

Commerce contracted with an organization to conduct a study to identify economic, community, and workforce development opportunities resulting from Washington’s participation in the offshore wind supply chain through conducting convening’s, workshops, and studies as appropriate. The study will assess strategies necessary for Washington to engage in the offshore wind supply chain. This study may address public infrastructure needed for manufacturing, assembly, and transport of supply chain components, and an assessment of workforce needs and community benefits.

Community Feedback Sessions, Stakeholder Meetings

Community Participatory Budgeting was previously administered out of the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and was reappropriated to Commerce in the most recent capital budget – see Sec. 1029 of the ’25-’27 Capital Budget. Click here to see information regarding the prior budget appropriation from ’23-’25 at the Department of Health. The appropriation in Sec.1029 includes $2.8M to engage with overburdened communities and the environmental justice council to develop a participatory, community-driven, noncompetitive process to identify projects that will mitigate the disproportionate impacts of climate change on overburdened communities. It also includes $5.5M to provide grants for projects identified through the community-driven process to fund either decarbonization or resiliency projects, or both, that benefit overburdened communities as defined in RCW 70A.02.010.

Community involvement sessions.

Install underground and overhead power cable from the Langley Puget Sound Energy (PSE) substations, located 2.8 miles to the northwest of the terminal along State Route (SR) 525 right of way to a point of delivery in the vicinity of Washington State Ferries’ terminal property, and then to a vessel charging system at trestle slip 1. The need for a shoreside battery energy storage system will be determined.

Via email at WSFelectrification@WSDOT.WA.GOV

The Anaerobic Digester Development (Dairy Digester) program is funded by the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) for the purpose of developing or repairing anaerobic digesters at Washington dairies

Community Involvement Sessions, Tribal Consultation, Email, Advisory Groups

This rulemaking updates Chapter 173-910 WAC to improve response plans, worker safety, and outreach to diverse communities for the Mercury-Containing Lights Product Stewardship Program. This effort will align the rule with legislative changes made to the law in 2024. This statewide program ensures safe, convenient, and environmentally responsible collection, transportation, and recycling of lights that contain mercury, a hazardous substance. By preventing mercury release into the environment, the program protects the environment and reduces health risks to Washington residents. Updates to the rule will require stewardship plans to include spill/release response plans and worker safety plans for collection sites, as well as targeted outreach and education materials that are conceptually, linguistically, and culturally appropriate for diverse populations, developed in meaningful consultation with affected communities.

Starting on January 1, 2029, a ban on the sale of most mercury-containing lights goes into effect. However, mercury-containing lights already in circulation still pose a risk, making it essential to maintain a robust product stewardship program through safe disposal and recycling options. The program is scheduled to conclude by January 1, 2035. However, the Washington State Department of Ecology may end the program earlier if it determines that the continued costs of the program outweigh the benefits of continuing collection efforts.

Ecology will implement a formal communication plan designed to engage all communities, with a focus on overburdened and vulnerable populations across Washington. The plan will prioritize meaningful engagement by leveraging existing relationships with community-based organizations and tailoring outreach efforts to meet community needs. Ecology will provide opportunities for people from overburdened communities or vulnerable populations to provide their input during multiple listening sessions and will be actively engaged during those meetings to learn how changes to the mercury lights collection program might affect people within these communities. There will be multiple ways to get involved in this rulemaking. People may participate in listening sessions, subscribe to the email list for this rulemaking to receive updates, submit written comments online during comment periods, participate in public meetings, email Krysta Thornton, and may visit the rulemaking webpage for more information.

The Eastside Sustainable Harvest Calculation (SHC) is a multi-year planning effort by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to determine how much timber can be sustainably harvested from forested state trust lands in eastern Washington over the next ten years. This calculation, required by state law (RCW 79.10.300–.340), helps DNR balance its legal trust obligations—such as generating revenue for schools and counties—with forest health, wildlife habitat, carbon storage, and other public values.
The SHC is a non-project agency action, meaning it does not directly authorize any on-the-ground activity. Instead, it sets harvest volume targets that guide future timber sales during the upcoming planning decade. Each timber sale will still go through its own, site-specific environmental review under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).

To develop the SHC, DNR utilizes forest estate modeling to evaluate different timber harvest scenarios over time. These scenarios must align with existing laws, regulations, and policies, including DNR’s Habitat Conservation Plan and its responsibilities as a trust land manager. DNR is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the SHC, which will include a “no action” alternative and assess the potential environmental impacts of a range of action alternatives. Public input will be gathered during the Draft EIS public comment period.

In addition to the EIS, DNR is conducting an Environmental Justice Assessment (EJA) under the Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act. An EJA is a tool used to identify and evaluate how agency decisions may affect overburdened communities, vulnerable populations, and Tribes, particularly in terms of environmental benefits and burdens. It considers both potential harms and opportunities for positive outcomes and helps agencies ensure fair treatment and meaningful involvement of communities that have the greatest environmental and health burdens in decision-making.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is committed to making the Environmental Justice Assessment (EJA) process open, inclusive, and shaped by the voices of Tribes, overburdened communities, and vulnerable populations. There will be several ways to share feedback throughout the process:
1. Public Hearings at the Board of Natural Resources
DNR will host several public hearings related to the Sustainable Harvest Calculation. These meetings will be open to the public and will include time for both verbal and written comments. Dates and details will be posted on DNR’s Board of Natural Resources.

2. Comment Period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
When the Draft EIS is released in 2026, there will be a formal comment period. Tribes, communities, and the public can review the document and submit feedback during the comment period. Instructions on how to submit comments will be available on the Eastern Washington Sustainable Harvest Calculation webpage.
3. Engagement During the EJA Process
DNR will provide several opportunities to comment directly on the Environmental Justice Assessment:
• Draft EJA (Mid 2026): DNR will complete a draft based on initial analysis.
• Outreach and Listening Sessions (Late 2025–Early 2026): DNR will meet with Tribes, overburdened communities, and vulnerable populations to gather input on the draft findings.
• Revising the EJA (Late 2026): Feedback will be reviewed and used to improve the assessment.
• Sharing the Revised Draft (Mid 2026): A revised version will be shared for additional comments.
• Final Review (Mid–Late 2026): Before finalizing, DNR will ensure the assessment reflects both potential harms and benefits to affected communities.
More information and opportunities to participate will be shared as the project moves forward.

The awarded Remedial Action Grant funds will provide The Port of Everett a state match of 50% to advance the work at Weyerhaeuser Mill A. These funds will allow the Port to progress the initial stages of dredging and construction of the confined disposal facility to help with ongoing cleanup efforts. As part of the Puget Sound Initiative, Ecology took a bay wide approach to some of the cleanup sites in Puget Sound. Port Gardner Bay in Everett, WA was selected as one of seven bays to focus on for the Puget Sound Initiative. The Weyerhaeuser Mill A site is one of the larger cleanups for Port Gardner Bay and Puget Sound. The site of Weyerhaeuser’s original mill, purchased in 1902, the site contains contamination from 100 years of lumbermill-related activities. Contaminants include wood waste, metals, PAHs, PCBs, dioxin and furan, and phthalates/phenols. The Port of Everett purchased the property in 1983 and developed it for use as a log yard. Log handling operations were performed until the mid-2000s. The site is currently being used as a cargo terminal. The site requires both in-water and uplands cleanup. Ecology finished the Cleanup Action Plan for the in-water cleanup in November 2024. The Port of Everett (Port) is working on the in-water pre-remedial design investigation. The in-water work is estimated to cost $200-$300 million and will take more than four years to complete (current ‘estimated’ start of cleanup work is the 2027-28 in-water work window). The in-water cleanup is a combination of dredging and placement into a built confined disposal facility, in water capping, monitored and enhanced natural attenuation in areas not dredged. In 2025, the Port completed an uplands interim action for stormwater system upgrades and started the remedial investigation/feasibility study.

We will provide an avenue for comments and feedback through a blog post that invites the public to comment and will continue to respond to comments. Ecology will work on identifying and contacting local organizations that work within the community to further address potential impacts to overburdened communities and vulnerable populations. We know the public needs to understand all the potential impacts the cleanup and future use of this property will have. Because this cleanup has been ongoing, we have had previous opportunities to gauge public interest, as recently as June 2024. Interest has been minimal, based on the number of comments, feedback, requests, and attendance at previous Port held meetings. Members of the community can continue to learn more about this site by subscribing to site updates, contacting Becky Dilba at becky.dilba@ecy.wa.gov, or through the various public commenting periods as this site progresses with the cleanup.

Commerce was awarded $156 million through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All program. Through Solar for All, the Washington State Department of Commerce will launch four programs that will expand solar access to income-qualified households, certain residents of Disadvantaged Communities (DACs), and federally recognized tribes throughout Washington. These programs will complement existing programs and policies to support distributed solar in the state.

This statewide set of four programs will target low-income communities in the form of no-cost solar for income-qualified single-family homes, community solar for overburdened and income-qualified households, and shared solar on affordable multi-family housing. Programs are largely targeting income-qualified households and will have no geographic limitations within the state.

$40 million is being used to develop a Tribal Solar Program to develop solar on tribal lands in Washington.

In addition to participating in the fall HEAL Community Involvement Session (details will be posted here: https://www.commerce.wa.gov/epic/environmental-justice/), community engagement opportunities for the Solar for All EJA include:
Advisory groups, community meetings hosted by partners, email comments, focus groups, GovDelivery, Commerce-hosted listening sessions, print media, social media, stakeholder interviews, steering committee, surveys, town halls, and a web-based comment form.

The ARL seeks to change the appointing authority of the WSBO Director from the Governor to the Commerce Director.

Email comments

Our laboratory accreditation and landfill methane reduction programs are authorized to collect fees to cover the costs of operating the programs. Under current law, however, fees collected by these programs are deposited into the General Fund-State. This creates uncertainty in funding and program instability, as the fee revenue may not then be directed back to the program it was intended to support. Under this draft proposal, Ecology would specify dedicated funding accounts for each of the following two programs:

· Laboratory accreditation program: Established in Chapter 43.21A.230 RCW, this program accredits environmental laboratories to ensure that labs are producing credible, defensible data.
· Landfill methane reduction program: Under Chapter 70A.540 RCW, we work with landfills to reduce their emissions methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas that is contributing to climate change.

Directing the fees collected into dedicated accounts will help ensure the fees collected support the work they’re intended to fund and provide sustainable, dependable funding for these important programs.

Ecology plans to conduct public engagement in the summer of 2025. We will share information and opportunities for public comment on our website- https://ecology.wa.gov/Events/Search/Listing and through email. We will conduct outreach specifically to members of overburdened communities and vulnerable populations for the purpose of developing an environmental justice assessment. We intend to provide an online public meeting, as well as individual and small group meetings. We will offer government-to-government consultation with Tribes. Additionally, Ecology will accept written and online public comments.

According to Ecology’s latest study (2022), more than 37.8 million pounds of litter accumulates on our roadways and public areas every year. Since 1971, our state has funded litter prevention and clean-up work through a 0.015% tax on the sale of 13 commonly-littered products. However, the tax hasn’t been updated since its inception and current revenues only cover the removal of a fraction of the litter accumulating every year.

Our draft proposal seeks to modernize the litter tax to include the three material types most commonly found as litter that are not currently covered: construction and demolition debris, auto rubber products, and vehicle debris. Adding these products to the litter tax will help ensure Ecology can do the critical work needed to keep our environment clean and litter-free. The litter tax is established under Chapter 82.19.020 RCW. During Tribal consultation and stakeholder engagement later this summer, Ecology is open to input on any additional changes to our litter prevention and clean-up work, established under Chapter 70A.200 RCW.

Ecology will invite public input through virtual meetings, facilitated conversations, outreach emails, phone calls and an online public comment period. This outreach will be conducted specifically to Tribes, overburdened communities and vulnerable populations in order to inform decision making on the proposal and the Environmental Justice Assessment during the summer of 2025.