Environmental justice assessment notices
The Healthy Environment for All Act (HEAL Act) requires specific state agencies to conduct an environmental justice assessment for significant agency actions.
- The development and adoption of significant legislative rules as defined in RCW 34.05.328.
- The development and adoption of any new grant or loan program that the agency is explicitly authorized or required by statute to implement.
- A capital project, grant, or loan award costing at least $12,000,000.
- A transportation project, grant, or loan costing at least $15,000,000.
- The submission of agency request legislation to the Office of the Governor or OFM for approval.
An environmental justice assessment is a process to:
- identify and assess the impacts of a significant agency action on overburdened communities, vulnerable populations, and Tribes;
- solicit community and tribal input in the development of the action and on options to mitigate, reduce or eliminate harms and equitably distribute benefits associated with the action;
- report on how the agency did or did not modify the action based upon community and tribal input.
The goal of an EJ assessment is to help a state agency make decisions and to assist with:
- equitably distributing environmental benefits;
- reducing environmental harms;
- identifying and reducing environmental and health disparities through the implementation of the action.
Agencies covered by the HEAL Act or who have opted in to the HEAL Act requirements include these departments:
- Agriculture (WSDA)
- Commerce
- Ecology
- Health (DOH)
- Natural Resources (DNR)
- Transportation (WSDOT)
- Office of the Attorney General
- Puget Sound Partnership (PSP)
Under RCW 70A.02.090 each covered agency must file a notice with us of significant agency actions for which the agency is initiating an environmental justice assessment. We prepare a list of all filings received from covered agencies each week to post here every Friday.
Below is list of state agency environmental justice assessments that you can filter by agency or type of action, or use the search bar to find certains terms. Select the "+" symbol for desciptions of the action, how the public can provide input, and a link to the EJ assessment when completed.
Date submitted |
Date initiated | Date completed | Agency | Type | Agency action | Description | Methods for providing public comment | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08/25/2023 | 08/01/2023 | 09/13/2023 | Agriculture, Department of | Agency-request legislation | Private Cannabis Lab Accreditation Transition from Ecology to WSDA | This significant agency action moves the authority to conduct lab accreditation of private cannabis laboratories from the Dept. of Ecology to WSDA. | Members of the public can direct their comments on this significant agency action to envjustice@agr.wa.gov. Community engagement, particularly in any communities identified as overburdened for this significant agency action, will also occur as part of the development of the environmental justice assessment. |
Completed An Environmental Justice Assessment of Transferring the Authority to Accredit Cannabis Labs from ECY to WSDAs |
|
| 08/25/2023 | 08/01/2023 | 03/04/2024 | Agriculture, Department of | Agency-request legislation | Agricultural Pest and Disease Revolving Funds | This significant agency action establishes permanent funding to prepare for, prevent, detect, contain, and eradicate identified agricultural pest and disease threats before they become established and authorizes funding for WSDA to take immediate actions to build capacity, execute rapid response, and maintain trade resiliency. | Members of the public can direct their comments on this significant agency action to envjustice@agr.wa.gov. Community engagement, particularly in communities identified as overburdened for this significant agency action, will also occur as part of the development of the environmental justice assessment. |
Completed An Environmental Justice Assessment of the Establishment of an Agricultural Pest & Disease Revolving Fund |
|
| 08/01/2023 | 08/01/2023 | 05/20/2024 | Health, Department of | Significant legislative rules | Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program Rulemaking | The Department of Health (DOH) is conducting an environmental justice assessment for rulemaking under the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program (Chapter 246-296 WAC). Through this rulemaking, we will determine qualifications for "disadvantaged community" status within this program. The DWSRF program supports safe and reliable drinking water by providing infrastructure loans, grants, and loan principal forgiveness for public water systems across Washington. | The DWSRF team has shared draft criteria and tools for identifying "disadvantaged communities" on the DWSRF website (https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/drinking-water/water-system...) and comments can be sent to DWSRF@doh.wa.gov. We are also planning virtual and in-person community engagement events to take place from August 2023 - January 2024. After draft rule language is posted (anticipated April 2024), we will hold a 60-day formal public comment period (anticipated April - May 2024). |
Completed EJ Assessment Report: Chapter 246-296 WAC a Rule Concerning Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program |
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| 07/21/2023 | 07/18/2023 | Ongoing | Puget Sound Partnership | Capital project, grant, or loan award of at least $12 million | PSAR Large Capital Grant Round Request for Proposals | The Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration large capital grant round requested proposals for projects that recover salmon and protect and recover salmon habitat in Puget Sound. The state legislature appropriates money for PSAR every 2 years in the Capital Budget. The projects selected and ranked on a Capital Projects list will be part of the Capital Budget request submitted for the 2025 Legislative session. | Community engagement followed our agency's draft community engagement and tribal engagement policies. The Salmon Team with guidance from our Environmental Justice Team scheduled outreach opportunities, offered tribal consultation, and provided an online public comment form to collect responses. |
Ongoing |
