Environmental justice assessment notices

As a result of a petition for rule making, the department is considering expanding the apple maggot quarantine area in Okanogan County.

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.

Adopts the latest version of the Association of American Control Officials (AAFCO) Official Publication (OP), clarifying areas of the rule regarding livestock feed and including additional categories of product types that were previously absent.

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.

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.

Adds additional species to the noxious weed seed and plant quarantine, which would prohibit their sale and distribution.

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 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.

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.

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.