Before March 9—Act on State Environmental Bills
Charlotte Persons
As of February 25, when I am sending in this article, many bills with important environmental impacts are still alive in the Washington State Legislature until March 9. Note that this is a very short list – for updates on many more environmental bills, subscribe to the Environmental Priorities Coalition’s weekly “hot lists”. Contact Clifford Traisman at clifford@nullctassociates.org
Please contact your state congresspeople to express your support for the bills below that most stir your passions. Go to this website for help in finding your district or to send an email to your representatives: https://app.leg.wa.gov/memberemail/
Even easier and often more important, you can express your opinion by entering the bill number into this website https://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/ This will take you to the bill’s summary page—click on the “comment” button at the top to vote “pro” or “con” and optionally to enter a short comment. Your “pro” vote is important since groups opposing environment bills often organize many “con” votes.
Bills with Local Interest
HB 1791 – Many local residents are alarmed at the possibility of Thurston County as the site for a mega airport that will be 2/3 the size of SEATAC. By June, the Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission (CACC) must report their final recommendations to the state legislature. HB 1791 replaces the CACC and starts over with a new work group to study how to meet future air service demand and report each year to the legislature. Their task is broadened to require more public input and to consider the expansion of regional airports, costs of supporting services for each possible site, and alternative means of transportation.
SB 1689 – Sponsored by District 22’s Senator Sam Hunt, this was a response to the Cooper Crest logging in Olympia last June and other controversial urban logging in the state. Department of Natural Resources would have been required to respect city critical areas when granting timbering licenses. The bill has been “pulled” for this session, but the Local Government, Land & Tribal Affairs Committee will request a study to know the full impact of the bill across the state.
Bills with State-wide Interest
HB 1047 – Removes harmful chemicals from cosmetic products.
SB 5372 – Requested by the Department of Natural Resources, this bill revives the Transfer Land Trust to provide funds to buy replacement land for older complex forest they own and thus protect it permanently from timber sales.
HB 1181 – Ensures that comprehensive plans, development regulations, and regional policies:
* adapt to and mitigate the effects of a changing climate;
* support reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and per capita vehicle miles traveled;
* foster resiliency to climate impacts and natural hazards (such as sea level rise, flooding, and wildfires)
*advance environmental justice
HB 5651 – With a smaller scope than HB 1181, this bill requires equity and environmental justice elements in local jurisdictions Comprehensive Plans.
SB 5688 – Requested by the Department of Natural Resources in response to lawsuits against their recent carbon sequestration credit program for state lands. However, the bill is controversial because it requires each acre of land in the program to be matched by required logging elsewhere on state forest lands. This defeats the purpose of sequestration. Watch for better versions of the bill before endorsing it.
Photo credit: Washington State Capitol, by Masaccio, 2013. Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Washington_State_Capitol.jpg
