Environmental justice assessment notices

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.

This request covers three programs which in the past have either 1) been successfully piloted, 2) have a track record of success but inconsistent funding, or 3) have been built using other revenue streams that will dry up in the 2025-27 biennium. A final request describes an asset mapping exercise to identify all small business training and education activities at the local, state and federal level to identify gaps, reduce redundancies and build a more cohesive training and education system that is intuitive for small businesses to use.

Access to accurate, vetted business education and training is a historical barrier to those in underrepresented and underserved communities. For instance, while 90% of small businesses make it through their first year or two, 80% of black-owned businesses fail. The survival rate of any small business is 50% at year five, in part because owners don’t have the expertise and education to address the most common barriers to success – lack of capital or customers, poor location, incorrect pricing strategies, or lack of focus on core competencies.

The Washington State Small Business Training & Education Center is a trusted site that provides free access to education, training, tutorials, webinars and academies developed by, and in many cases taught by, small business owners.

This budget request will continue to provide stability to this vital resource where one’s bank account or first language aren’t barriers. Any individual can access the site and tap into its knowledge base. No registration is required.

Mystartup365.com provides a business owner with all the training they need, from concept through exit strategy. In between they can learn how to master financials, improve decision-making, build a business plan, secure funding and reach new customers and markets. They can do this in any one of 58 languages from the comfort of their office or home, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Email comments Stakeholder interviews

Proposing a change to RCW 42.56 Public Records Act which would exclude critical energy infrastructure information from public disclosure. This would encourage energy providers such as electric utilities to report physical and cybersecurity threats and damage with the Energy Resilience & Emergency Management Office, State Fusion Center, and other relevant agencies for coordination on response and restoration activities.

Advisory Groups, Email Comments, Focus Groups, Stakeholder Interviews

The purpose of this action came from the 2025 State Legislature which provided a 2025-27 Capital Budget appropriation for a one-time grant solely as state assistance to the cities of Aberdeen and Hoquiam for:
* Aberdeen-Hoquiam flood protection project.
North Shore Levee.
* North Shore Levee-West segments.

Anticipated benefits from the 2025-27 Capital Budget proviso include providing state funds that supplement other local, state, and federal funds for the ongoing Northshore Levee mitigation efforts for flood control by the communities in Hoquiam and Aberdeen. The project once constructed will remove large areas of Aberdeen and Hoquiam from the floodplain and will place them in a mapped Zone X through a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Protected properties will benefit from the elimination of mandatory flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The levee system will include two levies, and an interior drainage pump system as required by FEMA. The North Shore Levee implementation efforts bring significant environmental and public health benefits. Residential households, developers, shellfish industry and consumers, and Tribes may experience these benefits.

Ecology’s Office of Chehalis Basin (OCB) plans to conduct engagement, focused on connecting with overburdened communities and vulnerable populations, for the purpose of the environmental justice assessment of this 25-27 Legislative provision in May 2025. OCB will conduct public engagement in July 2025, through an informational blog post and article in area media outlets, as well as provide time for public comments through emails to OCB contacts. We will respond to comments regarding overburdened communities or populations with vulnerabilities and will seek further involvement as needed to address concerns. Through methods yet to be determined, OCB will identify additional opportunities to engage overburdened communities in Grays Harbor County and the local communities and provide opportunities for their involvement in this legislative funding opportunity. OCB will invite Tribal consultation and conduct staff outreach with impacted Tribes which includes but may not be limited to the Quinault Indian Tribe and Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation.

Ecology is proposing a new grant program that will invest $1 million in a Spokane River Basin Toxics Reduction grant program. The funding for this program comes from the state 2025-2027 operating budget, which provided Ecology with funds to address toxics and other contaminants in the Spokane River Basin. Eligible projects will be determined based on toxics reduction, feasibility of the project, benefit to the watershed, consideration of Tribal government priorities, alignment with other established watershed protection plans, and impact to overburdened communities. This grant program will invest state funds in Spokane watershed communities including Tribes for projects that reduce pollutants found in the river such as PCBs, PFAS, and mercury. These projects will result in cleaner water and healthier fish that are safe to eat.

Ecology has presented and requested feedback on this potential grant program in three public meetings of the Spokane River Advisory Committee. In addition, Ecology has collaborated directly with members of the community that are interested in this proposed grant program. Through the fall of 2025, Ecology will initiate additional ways for members of overburdened communities, vulnerable populations, and community-serving organizations to inform this proposed grant program. Ecology does not plan to host a public comment period on this action.

This rulemaking will introduce a number of statutory changes to the Clean Buildings Performance Standard based on the recommendations of the Clean Buildings Workgroup and as passed in HB 1543 (2025). These changes are made with the intent of making it easier for buildings to comply with the standard. For example, the passage of HB 1543 gave Commerce the authority to grant extensions to buildings where there are circumstances that prevent compliance.

Email comments GovDelivery Emails Commerce-hosted Listening Sessions, including the Fall 2025 Community Involvement Session

Amend RCW 43.185C to modernize and streamline the statute. The key changes include:

– Replacing outdated terminology to ensure language reflects current understanding and values around homelessness and equity.

– Aligning timelines for the State Homeless Housing Strategic Plan and the Annual Report to reduce redundancy and improve strategic coherence.

– Removing obsolete statutory requirements that are no longer operational or relevant to current systems or funding streams

Surveys, web-based comments form

Legislation to exempt affordable housing units (those affordable to households at 60% of the Area Median Income or lower) from property taxes. This would include a simple, fair calculation to help exempt units in buildings that have mixed affordability limits.

Advisory groups, web-based comments, surveys

RCW 70A.35 (Low-Income Residential Weatherization Program) is outdated and restrictive.

As of 2016, the state weatherization program is no longer a matchmaker program, where state funds are matched dollar-for-dollar based on utility contributions. The state weatherization program is now Weatherization Plus Health, which is funded out of the capital budget. The state and utilities now fund weatherization separately via local agencies (Community Action Partnership agencies, municipalities, tribes).

Currently, the state weatherization program can only serve projects that involve whole-home weatherization and is limited to serving low-income households. Updating this policy and increasing its flexibility support Commerce and the ED’s goals to serve more overburdened communities (from a community approach) with less friction and more efficiencies.

We first recommend updating the outdated matchmaker program language to the current Residential Weatherization program language. This will increase compliance as the RCW has not been updated in years, and the program has evolved significantly.

Low-income verification is required for local agencies to use federal dollars. Local agencies typically use federal and state dollars together on projects. As such, we recommend maintaining this low-income verification process, but also recommend adding categorical eligibility (e.g., OFM Overburdened Communities Map). Additionally, we propose allowing both partial (some measures) and whole-home weatherization (all cost-effective measures that apply). This will allow us to serve more communities (e.g., weatherizing homes in an at-risk neighborhood with scalable measures and without having to income qualify all residents). This also may make it easier for agencies to work with utilities and the state, as if the state reduces barriers, the utilities will likely follow suit.

These updates will benefit Washington residents, weatherization providers (local agencies), utilities, other state agencies, and other Commerce programs.

With new staff across Commerce, the current federal and state landscape, increased state investment in weatherization, and the fact that this policy has been outdated for many years, it is pertinent to accurately reflect this legacy program to grow it.

As we encounter new programs and pilots from other state agencies, utilities, and Commerce, and increased community need, there is a greater opportunity to run new, more flexible, innovative, and scalable weatherization programs.

Public comment open for draft EJA: https://deptofcommerce.box.com/shared/static/ddst08sww7mtxc5fx47mpublklbeguio.pdf.

Advisory Groups

Expand RCW 36.22.250 Section 5 to include up to 50% AMI for Permanent Supportive Housing in rural areas.

Advisory groups, surveys