Bill > SB5990

This bill aims to reduce disparities in cumulative environmental and health impacts in Washington and improve the health of all Washington residents. The key provisions of the bill are: 1. It defines various terms related to environmental justice, such as "adverse cumulative stressors," "pollution burdened community," and "potentially impactful project." These terms are used throughout the bill to identify and address environmental and public health issues in overburdened communities. 2. It requires lead agencies to complete an "environmental justice impact statement" when reviewing proposed actions associated with new, expanding, or renewing permits for potentially impactful projects located in whole or in part in pollution burdened communities. This statement must assess existing environmental and public health stressors, potential project impacts, and measures to avoid or mitigate disproportionate impacts. 3. It prohibits lead agencies from approving new or expanding potentially impactful projects in pollution burdened communities if they would cause or contribute to adverse cumulative environmental or public health stressors, unless the project serves a "compelling public interest" in the community. 4. It requires project proponents to propose control measures to avoid, minimize, or offset contributions to environmental and public health stressors in pollution burdened communities, with a preference for on-site and local measures. 5. It allows the Department of Ecology to update the definition of "pollution burdened community" to reference a similar successor to the federal climate and economic justice screening tool. Overall, the bill aims to integrate environmental justice considerations into certain project decisions in order to reduce disparities and improve public health in overburdened communities across Washington state.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5990&Year=2023&Initiative=false