Environmental justice assessment notices

The Forest Fire Protection Assessment (FFPA) provides a crucial source of revenue for DNR, paid by private forest landowners and certain exempt entities, to cover the costs of preparing to fight forest fires rather than the actual suppression costs. The state’s contributions toward forest fire protection have significantly increased over the last 21 years, while the rates for FFPA have not changed since 2005. The revenue generated from the FFPA does not adequately cover the cost for protection. DNR is pursuing agency request legislation to adjust the FFPA rates to provide a dedicated source of revenue to fund DNR’s forest fire protection priorities including training wildland firefighters, equipping wildland firefighters through the DNR fire cache, keeping wildland firefighters safe, and preventing forest fires with wildfire prevention programming. This proposal will also align the FFPA with statutory requirements for the State and private forestland owners to cover an equitable share of the forest fire protection costs in the state. This proposal will make more resources available to enhance forest fire protection across the state and better position DNR to implement the Washington State Wildland Fire Protection 10-Year Strategic Plan. Wildfire disasters and poor air quality often hit marginalized populations the hardest. This proposal will better ensure protection resources are available, helping to reduce wildfire related health impacts for overburdened communities, vulnerable populations, and all Washingtonians.

Information on the Forest Fire Protection Assessment (FFPA) is available on DNR’s website and the Environmental Justice and Legislative Priorities webpages. Please submit public comment online.

This bill would expand access to the Multi-Use Roadway Safety Account (MURSA) to the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) for management of Green Dot Roads. This is aimed at increasing available maintenance funds for roads open to motorized recreation in Yakima, Kittitas, and Chelan counties. Improved maintenance would reduce environmental resource damage, improve public access, improve safety, and enhance the visitor experience.

Information on the bill and opportunities for public comment will be posted on the DNR Environmental Justice and Legislative Priorities webpages. Please submit a public comment online on this proposed action.

Agency-request legislation to amend RCW 79.10.460, RCW 79.15.080, and RCW 79.15.100 to clarify DNR’s authority to establish payment terms for timber sale contracts. The proposal would allow DNR and the Board of Natural Resources to use tools such as periodic payments, advance payments, security, or other financial assurances when appropriate. This would help reduce revenue volatility, improve predictability for trust beneficiaries and junior taxing districts, and maintain transparency through existing Board approval and timber sale notice processes.

Information on the bill and opportunities for public comment will be posted on the DNR Environmental Justice and Legislative Priorities webpages. Please submit public comment online.

The DNR Recreation Program does not have a dedicated account in the State Treasury for donations or collected fees for permits or other activities. This creates issues with transparency and accounting. The Department proposes agency request legislation to create this account. The legislation will not create any fees, nor will it generate revenue; it is just the creation of the account.

Information on the bill and opportunities for public comment will be posted on the DNR Environmental Justice and Legislative Priorities webpages. Please submit public comment online.

DNR’s goal is to address the management issues surrounding mooring buoys on state-owned aquatic lands via three mechanisms: 1) requiring a registration for recreational mooring buoys, 2) clearly defining DNR’s authority in statute, and 3) implementing a Watercraft Excise Tax diversion to fund enforcement and compliance of unauthorized buoys. By adding a registration requirement for no-fee mooring buoys, DNR gains the ability to track and effectively manage recreational buoys. By clearly defining DNR’s authority to take possession of trespassing buoys, DNR gains the ability to enforce compliance with licensing and registration requirements. By implementing a 5% diversion of the Watercraft Excise Tax, DNR gains the resources needed to fund these compliance efforts and improve the condition of and access to state-owned aquatic lands for all users. These combined efforts will reduce the hazards to public health, safety, and access caused directly and indirectly from impacts of unauthorized and abandoned buoys, mitigate the impacts of mooring buoys on tribal treaty rights, and improve the agency’s overall ability to protect the environment and foster public enjoyment of the aquatic environment. This proposal honors requests from Tribes for better management of mooring buoys and recreational structures that may interfere with treaty fishing and shellfish rights. It will also benefit those overburdened communities or vulnerable populations who rely on water access for subsistence fishing and/or commercial use, which can be hampered by mooring buoy interference.

Information on the bill and opportunities for public comment will be posted on the DNR Mooring Buoys webpage: https://dnr.wa.gov/aquatics/aquatic-leasing-licensing-and-transactions/mooring-buoys and the Environmental Justice and Legislative Priorities webpages. Please submit public comment online or email Buoy-Comments@dnr.wa.gov.

Planning, technical assistance, and predevelopment grants to local governments and federally recognized tribal governments for projects that would directly benefit overburdened communities, as defined by RCW 70A.02.010, that have been historically underserved by capital grant programs. In awarding grants under this section, the department shall prioritize applications that advance community housing, energy, and infrastructure needs.

Capital Project Capacity Grants for Local Governments and Tribes 2/6/2026 WA Dept. of Commerce Tribal Quarterly Briefing 2/9 and10/2026 WA Dept. of Commerce HEAL Information Sessions Summer 2026: OFM website for 30-day public comment period Ongoing: Comments submitted to program should be emailed to CapacityBuilding@Commerce.wa.gov and via the website at https://www.commerce.wa.gov/cci/.

House Bill 2338, recently passed during the 2026 Washington State legislative session, added a section to the existing weatherization statute in RCW 70A.35 establishing a pathway for new community scaled weatherization projects to be funded through the existing Commerce weatherization program. A community scaled project is a weatherization project that includes multiple dwelling units in the same neighborhood or area where overlapping factors such as environmental, social, or economic conditions may adversely impact residents, as determined by Commerce. Commerce received 11M in capital funding for FY 27 to grant via this new program.

Tribal Briefing and Community Involvement Sessions are scheduled for October 2026.

Additional questions can be answered by Nick Manning at nick.manning@commerce.wa.gov.

At the request of several nominating organizations, Ecology is starting a rulemaking to consider designating waterbodies as outstanding resource waters (ORW). This is the highest level of protection for areas with exceptional water quality, ecological or recreational value, or unique attributes. This designation protects a waterbody from any future action that would permanently lower water quality. The proposed areas are:

• Ruby, Granite, and Canyon creeks, tributaries to the Skagit River in Skagit and Whatcom counties
• Upper Sultan River upstream but not inclusive of Spada Lake Reservoir, including Williamson Creek, and South Fork Sultan River in Snohomish County
• Upper Lewis River from headwaters to the boundary of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Skamania County
• Tributaries to the Methow River, including the upper Methow River from headwaters to confluence with the Lost River, the Lost River from headwaters to just before the confluence with the Methow River, upper Chewuch River from headwaters to the confluence with Eightmile Creek, and Early Winters Creek from headwaters to the confluence with Cedar Creek in Okanogan County

Ecology will offer opportunities for vulnerable populations and overburdened communities who may be impacted by this rule to inform this rulemaking through specific engagement activities in 2026 and 2027. Ecology is also available to meet with individual organizations and small groups at their request during the rulemaking process. We will invite consultation with potentially impacted Tribes at each key phase of the rulemaking (rule announcement, proposal, and adoption). We will also meet regularly with Tribal water quality staff across Washington to answer questions and get feedback on the rulemaking.  As we develop the rule, we will offer opportunities to the public to learn more about the rulemaking and gather community questions and concerns about outstanding resource waters. We will address those issues in our draft rule documents for public review during the rule proposal and respond to comments received. Please check for engagement opportunities on the website linked or contact Marla Koberstein, the Rule Coordinator, at Marla.Koberstein@ecy.wa.gov.

Agency request legislation to amend RCW 79.10.460, RCW 79.15.080, and RCW 79.15.100 to clarify DNR’s authority to establish payment terms for timber sale contracts. The proposal would allow DNR and the Board of Natural Resources to use tools such as periodic payments, advance payments, security, or other financial assurances when appropriate. This would help reduce revenue volatility, improve predictability for trust beneficiaries and junior taxing districts, and maintain transparency through existing Board approval and timber sale notice processes.

DNR will advertise the proposal on OMF site, letters will be sent to Tribes related to the proposal, and an email will be sent to Purchasers notifying them of the law change proposals and proposed billing process.

The Department of Health, Office of Radiation submits an Agency Request Legislation (ARL) to support modifying RCW 70A.388.060 to add an annual license fee to the existing volumetric site surveillance fee for the commercial low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) disposal facility. This change stabilizes long-term funding for radiation control activities, inspections, licensing, and environmental surveillance. One-time funding is also requested to address the current $775,000 annual program deficit caused by declining disposal volumes. An Environmental Justice Assessment Report was created to support this ARL activity.

Please contact Office of Radiation Protection directly for comments and concerns.

• Jill Wood, Director
  jill.wood@doh.wa.gov
• John Martell, Associate Director
  john.martell@doh.wa.gov

Ecology has initiated an agency rulemaking action to update our Water Quality Permit Fees (Chapter 173-224 WAC). Ecology is updating our rule that sets annual fees for Water Quality permits. Under RCW 90.48.465, we are required to assess these fees to recover program costs to administer the Water Quality permit program, which protects Washington’s waters from pollution. Ecology strives to update this rule every two years to ensure our permit fees reflect the most current costs to Ecology and impacts to our permittees who discharge stormwater or wastewater. This rulemaking will consider the economic impact of our fees on small permitted businesses, individuals, and public entities, and make adjustments where appropriate. When we updates these rules, we look for opportunities to implement progressive fee structures, and minimize impacts of proposed changes to small businesses. We’ll share these analyses during the public comment period in the Spring of 2027. This rule covers a statewide geographical scope. The anticipated impact of this rulemaking action is limited to the permitted facilities who pay these fees. Ecology does not expect this action will introduce new environmental impacts or impacts that would be specific to overburdened communities, vulnerable populations, and Tribes.

Ecology is beginning to develop our rule language and will be inviting the public to participate over the next few months. This may include workshops, webinars, and public comment periods. To stay engaged with this process, please join our email list and visit our webpage for updates.