Environmental justice assessment notices

Increases Fruit & Vegetable Program fees and revises the fee schedule to more accurately reflect the scope of services provided, including but not limited to adding fees for services that are not specifically identified in current rule.

Members of the public can direct their comments on this significant agency action to envjustice@agr.wa.gov. Community engagement, particularly for any communities identified as overburdened for this significant agency action, will also occur as part of the development of the environmental justice assessment.

This ARL will advance several key recommendations from Commerce’s recent green hydrogen and renewable fuels legislative report in order to support hydrogen deployment in Washington. Key items include: establishing a formal state target for in-state green electrolytic hydrogen production; creating a new tax incentive and grant program for hydrogen end users to help direct hydrogen to the most strategic sectors; and advancing environmental justice recommendations including hydrogen combustion testing to assess NOx emissions.

Those that have comments or feedback on the EJ assessment for the green electrolytic hydrogen and renewable fuels ARL can email them to Shannon Pressler, Engagement Specialist, at shannon.pressler@commerce.wa.gov.

The Lead Based Paint program at Commerce helps prevent lead exposure through certification, accreditation, enforcement, and compliance with lead-safe work practices. This agency request legislation (ARL) would update RCW 40A.420 to allow for rulemaking to set certification fees, update outdated rules, and clarify that Commerce is at least as protective as federal and state regulations. It supports efforts to reduce lead exposure in houses or child-occupied facilities built prior to 1978. Lead based paint is extremely harmful and toxic to the environment and human health.

The Lead Based Paint program has notified its stakeholders of the proposed agency-request legislation and is requesting feedback via email, electronic survey, and/or virtual meeting.

The State Board of Health (Board), in collaboration with the Department of Health (Department) is conducting an Environmental Justice Assessment for proposed rules regulating environmental health and safety standards for K-12 schools. This rulemaking is required by a budget proviso that was included in the Washington State 2024 supplemental operating budget, (Section 222, subsection 159, page 492).
The new chapter will establish updated, minimum statewide health and safety standards for schools and formalize school environmental health and safety inspection procedures. Topics that may be addressed in proposed rules are:
• Indoor air quality including heating, cooling, and ventilation
• Water quality
• Noise
• Moisture and mold
• Lighting
• Restrooms/showers
• Playgrounds
• Laboratory and shop safety
• Sewage
• Food safety

~ May 2024: Invite Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Members – The proviso named specific organizations to work in collaboration with the Board to update the rules as part of a technical advisory committee (TAC). A full list of required representatives can be found on the agency webpage linked. The Board will include additional members such as Parent-Teacher Organizations, Teachers Unions, Students, and private schools. ~ Aug 2024 – Nov 2024: TAC Meetings – Work with members of the TAC to draft rule language and discuss implementation. TAC meetings are open to the public and everyone is welcome to join. ~ Dec 2024: Focus Groups- Virtual and in-person meetings will be held to discuss preliminary draft language to help the Board rulemaking team make informed decisions about finalized draft rule language. These meetings will take place across Washington state. All members of the public are welcome to participate in these focus groups. ~ Dec 2024: Informal Comment Period – Invite all interested parties to review and share feedback on the draft rule language. All members of the public are welcome to provide comments during the informal comment period.

The Washington Families Clean Energy Credits Grant Program dedicates $150 million to assist low- and moderate-income households with the clean energy transition. This initiative will offer bill credits of $200 per income qualified household to eligible residential customers through their electric utility provider.The Department of Commerce will distribute grants to all utility companies in Washington, enabling them to pass on $200 bill credits to customer accounts by September 15, 2024.

March – September 2024: Community Meetings (as guest) Email comments OTHER Print Media Web-based comment form A call center may be supported and furnished with Commerce’s administrative funding. However, this has not yet established in contract.

Department of Commerce administered the Home Rehabilitation Loan Program (HRLP). In 2023 the Legislature passed substitute HB 1250, mandating Commerce to go through the rule process and convert HRLP from a loan program to a grant program.

Public comments may be sent to Commerce about the draft EJA: https://deptofcommerce.box.com/s/3zwj7r91bnhye0uqfnrvw42sei18k05b. Commerce will participate in a Tribal briefing, release a Request for Information and hold virtual stakeholder input meetings.

As required by the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), Ecology is investigating the option of linking Washington’s Cap-and-Invest carbon market with the California-Québec carbon market. Through linkage, Washington’s carbon market would combine with the joint California-Québec market to create a single shared market with joint allowance auctions and a common allowance price across all jurisdictions. Allowances could be traded across jurisdictions and used to cover emissions in any of the three jurisdictions. The law also requires Ecology to evaluate specific criteria to ensure linkage would benefit Washington’s communities, economy, and climate goals.

Ecology is pursuing linkage with California and Québec based on a preliminary analysis that joining a larger carbon market will lead to lower and more consistent allowance prices, benefitting businesses and consumers in Washington.

This Environmental Justice Assessment is separate from the Environmental Justice Assessment being conducted on the Cap-and-Invest Linkage Rulemaking. Additionally, Ecology previously conducted an Environmental Justice Assessment on the 2024 carbon market linkage agency request legislation (Senate Bill 6058). We will consider input received through those other linkage related Environmental Justice Assessments in this Assessment.

While the completion of each of these Environmental Justice Assessments is a separate legal obligation, Ecology intends to approach them as a comprehensive, iterative process of engagement and consultation that will continually inform our awareness and understanding of potential impacts as well as potential methods to minimize or eliminate harms and maximize benefits for vulnerable populations and overburdened communities. All of these processes must be complete before Ecology can sign a linkage agreement.

Ecology plans to conduct public engagement starting in summer 2024, with outreach focused on people from overburdened communities, vulnerable populations, and Tribes, for the purpose of developing this Environmental Justice Assessment. Ecology will provide a variety of ways for the public to provide input to inform this Environmental Justice Assessment, including: online public meetings, individual and small group meetings with interested parties, and online public comments. We will also reach out to groups with an environmental and environmental justice focus and community-based groups by email and phone to see if they would like to provide input for this assessment. We will also ask if groups are hosting meetings that Ecology can participate in to share information, answer questions, and continue to gather input. As we schedule opportunities for feedback and participation, we will share them through our website and email distribution list. Visit the linkage webpage at cca.wa.gov/linkage for updates or email us at CCALinkage@ecy.wa.gov with comments or questions.

Section 3 of the Climate Commitment Act, RCW 70A.65.020, requires Ecology to take actions to reduce criteria air pollutant emissions in identified overburdened communities highly impacted by air pollution. To help meet these reduction requirements, Ecology is developing and implementing a new grant program to incentivize and support the reduction of non-regulated sources of criteria pollutant emissions in communities identified to be overburdened and highly impacted by air pollution. Ecology will lead an inclusive outreach effort to engage with Tribes, local municipalities, and non-governmental organizations in these communities to seek input on the design of the grant program. $10M will be available to organizations severing these communities to engage with people in their community towards the goal of identifying and developing local projects to improve air quality. Reducing criteria air pollution will improve air quality and protect public health in overburdened and highly impacted communities and will help to reduce environmental and health disparities. This grant program is supported with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA).

We will use a variety of methods to engage with people from overburdened communities and vulnerable populations to inform this work, including inviting formal consultation with Tribes and a virtual listening session for Tribal members and staff; virtual listening sessions for organizations serving overburdened communities, including community groups and local municipalities; an online public comment period; as possible, direct outreach and education, including tabling at community events and attending existing community meetings; web content; and GovDelivery distribution list. Outreach and engagement efforts will occur in May and June 2024 and focus on the communities Ecology identified as overburdened and highly impacted by air pollution and Tribes.

The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) started a rulemaking to develop a new chapter in the Washington Administrative Code (WAC): Chapter 173-339 WAC—Cosmetic Products Restrictions. Ecology is conducting this rulemaking to:
• Make cosmetics safer for consumers and the environment.
• Reduce consumers’ and workers’ exposure to formaldehyde.
• Address the disproportionate harms caused by cosmetic products in overburdened communities and vulnerable populations.
• Reduce the amount of formaldehyde entering the environment.
Under the authority of Chapter 70A.560 RCW (Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act), Ecology may adopt a rule that identifies chemicals used in cosmetic products that release formaldehyde (formaldehyde releasers) and adopt restrictions for the identified formaldehyde releasers. This rule may include:
• Restrictions that apply to the use of specified formaldehyde releasers used in cosmetic products.
• Allowances for products currently in the chain of commerce—stockpiled or available for purchase.
• Compliance schedules.
• Definitions of key terms such as “intentionally added.”
• Other requirements or restrictions allowed by law.
Background
People use cosmetic products every day to clean their bodies or alter their appearance. Cosmetic products include items such as makeup, perfume, shampoo, hair gels, body wash, deodorant, hand lotion, and shaving cream. These products can contain chemicals that are toxic to people and the environment.
In the Chemicals in Cosmetics Used by Washington Residents report (January, 2023), Ecology and the Department of Health found that many cosmetic products contain toxic chemicals. Some products disproportionately marketed to women of color, such as hair relaxers and skin lightening creams, often contain toxic chemicals.
Some chemicals used in cosmetic products release formaldehyde, which exposes people to the chemical when they use the product. Formaldehyde can cause cancer, harm brain function, increase the risk of asthma, and irritate eyes and skin. Exposure can also lead to allergic reactions. Cosmetic products also can release formaldehyde into indoor and outdoor air. Formaldehyde can also enter wastewater streams as products are washed down the drain.
In 2023, Washington state adopted Chapter 70A.560 RCW to ensure the safety of cosmetic products and protect Washington residents from toxic exposure. The law:
• Restricts the manufacture, sale, and distribution of cosmetic products containing nine chemicals or chemical classes.
• Directs Ecology to assess the hazards of chemicals or chemical classes that can provide the same or similar function as the restricted chemicals or chemical classes and make that information available to the public.
• Directs Ecology to implement initiatives to support small businesses that manufacture cosmetic products, and to support independent cosmetologists and small businesses that provide cosmetology services in efforts to transition to safer cosmetic products.
• Authorizes Ecology to adopt a rule that restricts the use of specified formaldehyde releasers in cosmetic products.

We plan to conduct engagement for this rulemaking starting this summer and into the winter of 2024. Engagement efforts may include public meetings, a focus group, outreach with community-based organizations, opportunities to review and comment on draft rule requirements, public comment periods, and formal public hearings. We will focus on engaging with overburdened communities and vulnerable populations most impacted by formaldehyde releasers in cosmetic products. We will also invite consultation from Tribes who may additionally be interested in informing the development of this work. As this work continues to develop, we will share details about engagement opportunities and resources on our website and through our email distribution list. For more information, sign up for email announcements, visit our rulemaking webpage, or contact Stacey Callaway, rulemaking lead, at ToxicFreeCosmetics@ecy.wa.gov or 360-584-5661. As we schedule additional opportunities to provide feedback and participate in workshops, we will share details on our webpages and via our email list. We anticipate: • Developing draft rule requirements in the summer of 2024. Our next webinar will occur on June 11, 2024. See our events listing webpage for more information. Use our online comment form to provide feedback on draft rule requirements, the rulemaking process, and our efforts to implement Chapter 70A.560 RCW. • Proposing a formal draft rule, providing a public comment period, and hosting hearings, in the fall and winter of 2024. • Adopting the revised rule in the spring or summer of 2025.

The Portland Cement Concrete Panels (PCCP) within these sections of Interstate 5 are near or have exceeded their design life. Rehabilitate the concrete pavement through the combination of several strategies such as concrete panel replacement, milling and inlaying of hot-mix asphalt (HMA) road surfaces to match the concrete pavement on tapers and ramps.

TBD

WSDA is proposing to amend Chapter 16-240 WAC by increasing some of the Grain Inspection Program fees, revising some of the fee structures to more accurately reflect the scope of services provided (including but not limited to adding fees for services that are not specifically identified) and to clarify language to ease in the understanding of the rule.

Members of the public can direct their comments on this significant agency action to envjustice@agr.wa.gov. Community engagement, particularly for any communities identified as overburdened for this significant agency action, will also occur as part of the development of the environmental justice assessment.