Environmental justice assessment notices

Replace all 75 open-grid deck panels at the end of their service life along northbound SR 99, between MP 26.83 to MP 26.88, to extend the lifespan of the structure.

Agency, Tribal and community engagement will be conducted throughout the project. Specific engagement opportunities will be updated as the project advances.

Change registration fees for new fertilizer products in statute from $150/biennium to $200/biennium, registration renewal fees from $120/biennium to $200/biennium, allow for WSDA to set rule-based fee changes, clarify heavy metal testing requirements and add agricultural amendments as regulated materials that require registration.

Email to: envjustice@agr.wa.gov

Change registration fees in statute from $325/yr to $500/yr and allow for rule-based fee changes up to $650/year.

Email: envjustice@agr.wa.gov

Repair and rebuild a 4-mile stretch of southbound Interstate-5 in Ridgefield, using a crack, seat and overlay method.

• The final Environmental Justice Assessment will be posted on the project webpage and maintained throughout the life of the project. Tribal consultation will be conducted to provide an opportunity for review and comment on the assessment.
• Because this work involves construction along I-5 with construction-related travel impacts, communications best practices will be used throughout the project, including:
  • Create and maintain a project webpage with current construction schedules and travel information.
  • Distribute a news release ahead of construction.
  • Issue travel advisories as needed for significant traffic impacts and closures.
  • Post construction impacts and closures to WSDOT’s real-time travel map.
  • Share social media updates at key project milestones, including the start and completion of construction, and amplify significant travel advisories through regional social media channels.
  • Coordinate construction activities, when feasible, to minimize impacts during major cultural and community events.

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.

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 2.5% 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.

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.