HB 2009 — Establishing a healthy environment for all by addressing environmental health disparities.

H-1408.3HOUSEENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 2009State of Washington66th Legislature2019 Regular SessionByRepresentatives Reeves, Lekanoff, Thai, Gregerson, Jinkins, Ortiz-Self, Ryu, Doglio, Valdez, Stanford, Chapman, Shewmake, Santos, Fitzgibbon, Fey, Appleton, Slatter, Senn, Pettigrew, Pollet, Stonier, Pellicciotti, Tarleton, Frame, Leavitt, and MacriRead first time 02/11/19.Referred to Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations.AN ACT Relating to establishing a healthy environment for all by addressing environmental health disparities;

(1) The legislaturedefinitions recognizesin thatthis itsection isapply statethroughout policythis chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Cumulative impact analysis" means the analysis tool used by the department of health's Washington tracking network to encourageidentify productivehighly impacted communities and enjoyablevulnerable harmonypopulations betweenand humankindenvironmental health disparities in identified areas and populations.(2) "Environmental burdens" means the environment;cumulative risks to communities caused by historic and current:(a) Exposure to conventional and toxic hazards in the air, water, and land;(b) Adverse environmental effects, which include environmental conditions caused or made worse by contamination or pollution or that create vulnerabilities to climate impacts;

and(c) Exposure to promotehazards effortsmade whichworse willby preventchanges in the climate, such as water stress and drought, flooding, wildfire, air quality, ocean acidification, and infectious disease.(3) "Environmental justice" means the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or eliminateincome damagewith respect to the environmentdevelopment, implementation, and biosphere;enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.(4) "Equity analysis" means an analysis used to determine or evaluate environmental justice considerations.(5) "Fair treatment" means that no group of people, including racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic groups, should bear disproportionately high exposure to pollution or adverse human health or environmental impacts.(6) "Highly impacted communities" means communities designated by state agencies based on their findings from implementing the cumulative impact analysis defined in this section and census tracts that are fully or partially on "Indian country" as defined in 18 U.S.C.

and to stimulate the health and welfare of human beings.(2) It is also the continuing policy of the state of Washington to use all practicable means and measures, including financial and technical assistance, in a manner calculated to:

(a) Foster and promote the general welfare;

(b) create and maintain conditions under which human beings and nature can exist in productive harmony;

and (c) fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations of Washington citizens.(3) The legislature has further established that it is the continuing responsibility of the state of Washington and all agencies of the state to use all practicable means, consistent with other essential considerations of state policy, to improve and coordinate plans, functions, programs, and resources to the end that the state and its citizens may:(a) Fulfill the responsibilities of each generation as trustee of the environment for succeeding generations;(b) Assure for all people of Washington safe, healthful, productive, and aesthetically and culturally pleasing surroundings;(c) Maintain, wherever possible, an environment which supports diversity and variety of individual choice;

and(d) Achieve a balance between population and resource use which will permit high standards of living and a wide sharing of life's amenities.(4) The legislature has further recognized that all citizens of the state have a fundamental and inalienable right to a healthful environment and that each person has a responsibility to contribute to the preservation and enhancement of the environment.(5) The legislature finds that there are communities and residents that face greater barriers to a healthy environment because of cumulative environmental hazards and population vulnerabilities.(6) The legislature further finds that a fundamental principle of environmental justice and our democracy is that people most impacted by government actions should have advance notice of government decisions that could impact them, a clear understanding of the options and their impacts, and a meaningful opportunity to provide input and be heard before decisions are made.(7) Multiple agency actions recognize the need for public participation and outreach including, but not limited to, education, rule making, enforcement, permitting, grant making, planning, and other government actions.

However, individuals and organizations representing vulnerable populations often face barriers to participation such as limited time, lack of funds for technical experts and reviews, ability to attend meetings that conflict with work, parenting, child care responsibilities, and language barriers.(8) While state agencies have identified a need to more effectively target their implementation and enforcement actions and funding opportunities to those areas and populations in the state that face greater exposure and susceptibility to environmental burdens, there is limited understanding of which communities across the state are most likely highly impacted.(9) Therefore, the legislature finds that it is necessary to incorporate environmental justice principles into the operations and activities of state agencies in order to achieve state policies of assuring all people of Washington safe, healthful, productive, and aesthetically and culturally pleasing surroundings, assuring the right of all Washington residents to a healthful environment, and achieving a balance between population and resource use which will permit high standards of living and wide sharing of life's amenities, including through a task force on environmental justice, and agency analysis and consideration of environmental justice in decision making.NEW SECTION.  Sec.

2.

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Cumulative impact analyses" refers to analyses required under section 5 of this act.(2) "Environmental burdens" means the cumulative risks to communities caused by historic and current:(a) Exposure to conventional and toxic hazards in the air, water, and land;(b) Adverse environmental effects, which include environmental conditions caused or made worse by contamination or pollution or that create vulnerabilities to climate impacts;

and(c) Exposure to hazards made worse by changes in the climate, such as water stress and drought, flooding, wildfire, air quality, ocean acidification, and infectious disease.(3) "Environmental justice" means the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.(4) "Equity analyses" refer to analyses that can be used to determine or evaluate environmental justice.(5) "Fair treatment" means that no group of people, including racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic groups, should bear disproportionately high exposure to pollution or adverse human health or environmental impacts and all groups of people have appropriate access to meaningful public participation in decisions that affect their environment.(6) "Highly impacted communities" are those communities designated by state agencies based on cumulative impact analyses required under section 5 of this act, and census tracts that are fully or partially on Indian country as defined in 18 U.S.C.

1151.(7) "Precautionary"Meaningful approach"involvement" means thatall wheregroups there are threats of seriouspeople orhave irreversibleappropriate damage,access lackto ofmeaningful fullpublic scientificparticipation certaintyin isdecisions notthat usedaffect astheir aenvironment.(8) reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation.(8) "State agency" means a state agency that is represented on the task force created under section 43 of this act.(9) "Vulnerable populations" aremeans communities that experience disproportionate cumulative risk from environmental burdens due to:(a) Adverse socioeconomic factors, including unemployment, high housing and transportation costs relative to income, access to food and health care, and linguistic isolation;

2.

To ensure implementation and adherence to state policies of fostering and promoting the general welfare by ensuring that all people of Washington have a safe and healthful environment, state agencies shall use all practicable means and measures to promote environmental justice and fair treatment.NEW SECTION.  Sec.

To(1) ensureSubject implementationto andthe adherenceavailability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, a task force is established to recommend strategies for incorporating environmental justice principles into how state policiesagencies discharge their responsibilities.(2) The membership of fosteringthe andtask promotingforce established under this section is as follows:(a) The director of the generaldepartment welfareof bycommerce, assuringor allth peopledirector's designee;(b) The director of Washingtonthe havedepartment aof safeecology, andor healthfulthe environmentdirector's anddesignee;(c) servingThe asexecutive trusteedirector of the environmentPuget forSound succeedingpartnership, generations,or the stateexecutive agenciesdirector's representeddesignee;(d) The secretary of the department of transportation, or the secretary's designee;(e) The secretary of the department of health, or the secretary's designee;(f) The chair of the energy facility site evaluation council, or the chair's designee;(g) The chair of the governor's interagency council on health disparities, or the taskchair's forcedesignee;(h) createdThe undercommissioner sectionof 4public lands, or the commissioner's designee;(i) Two members of thisthe actsenate, shallone usefrom alleach practicablemajor meanscaucus, appointed by the president of the senate, and measurestwo tomembers promoteof the house of representatives, one from each major caucus, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;(j) A member who is well-informed on the principles of environmental justice and fairwith treatment.NEWexpertise SECTION.  Sec.in statewide environmental justice issues, appointed by the governor;(k) Three members from community-based organizations, appointed by the cochairs specified under subsection (3) of this section, the nominations of which are based upon maintaining a balanced and diverse distribution, where practicable, of:

(i) Representation from census tracts that are ranked at an eight or higher on the cumulative impact analysis;

and (ii) ethnic, geographic, gender, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, and occupational representation;(l) A tribal leader, invited by the governor;(m) One member from an association representing business interests, appointed by the governor;(n) One member from a union or other organized labor association in the building trade representing worker interests, appointed by the governor;(o) One member from a minority-owned small business located in, and serving, one or more census tracts that are ranked at an eight or higher on the cumulative impact analysis, appointed by the governor;(p) One member from a midsize economic development organization or a midsize organization representing business interests, appointed by governor who must solicit and consider nominations from economic development organizations and organizations representing business interests;

and(q) One member from an organization representing statewide agricultural interests, selected by the commissioner of public lands.(3) The representative of statewide environmental justice interests, and the chair of the governor's interagency council on health disparities, or the chair's designee, must cochair the task force.(4) The governor's interagency council on health disparities shall provide staff support to the task force.

The interagency council may work with other agencies, departments, or offices as necessary to provide staff support to the task force.(5) The task force must submit a final report of its findings and recommendations to the appropriate committees of the legislature and the governor by October 31, 2020, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036.

State agencies may not adopt rules, policies, or guidelines under section 4 of this act until after the legislature approves the recommendations of the task force through the amendment of this chapter or through specific reference in an appropriations act.

The goal of the final report is to provide guidance to agencies, the legislature, and the governor, and at a minimum must include the following:(a) Guidance for state agencies when adopting rules, policies, or guidelines regarding how to use the cumulative impact analysis, defined under section 1 of this act.

Guidance must cover how agencies identify highly impacted communities and must be based on best practices and current demographic data.

The guidance provided relating to the designation of a highly impacted community must utilize as a basis for this determination the cumulative impact analysis, and may use exposure scenarios developed by tribes for use in remediation decisions at, or to mitigate and address natural resource damage from, national priority list sites pursuant to the federal comprehensive environment response, compensation, and liability act, 42 U.S.C.

9601 et seq., or sites regulated under chapter 70.105D RCW, and additional factors as the task force deems appropriate;(b) Best practices for increasing public participation and engagement by providing meaningful opportunities for involvement for all people, taking into account barriers to participation that may arise due to race, color, ethnicity, religion, income, or education level.

In addition, a specific recommendation on how to best meaningfully consult vulnerable populations, including how to consider exposure scenarios developed by tribes as described in (a) of this subsection, when periodically evaluating and updating the cumulative impact analysis;(c) Recommendations for establishing measurable goals for reducing environmental health disparities for each community in Washington state and ways in which state agencies may focus their work towards meeting those goals;(d) Guidelines for prioritizing highly impacted communities and vulnerable populations by identifying and implementing, where practicable, procedures, processes, applications, and reporting requirements so that inspections, enforcement actions, investment of resources, planning and permitting, and public participation are maximized for the purpose of reducing environmental health disparities and advancing a healthy environment for all residents;(e) Best practices for how local governments that plan under RCW 36.70A.040 may incorporate environmental justice principles into the development of comprehensive plans to evaluate the ways in which the plans they propose or adopt disproportionately contribute to or threaten displacement of low-income communities and people of color particularly in urban areas, or exacerbate environmental burdens to vulnerable populations;

and(f) Recommendations for how to address the equity implications of historical applications of environmental and land use laws with respect to rural communities, including any disproportionate economic burdens placed on rural communities attributable to or correlated with the implementation of federal and state environmental or land use laws.(6) If time and resources permit, the task force may also include in its final report:(a) Recommendations for creating and implementing equity analysis into all significant planning, programmatic and policy decision making, and investments.

The equity analysis methods may include a process for describing potential risks to, benefits to, and opportunities for highly impacted communities and vulnerable populations;(b) Best practices and needed resources for cataloging and cross-referencing current research and data collection for programs within all state agencies relating to the health and environment of people of all races, cultures, and income levels, including minority populations and low-income populations of the state;

and(c) Recommendations for criteria for identifying and addressing gaps in current research and data collection to inform agency actions, to refine the common cumulative impact methodology, and to identify factors that may impede the achievement of environmental justice.(7) By December 1, 2019, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, the task force must submit a preliminary report to the appropriate committees of the legislature and the governor if the task force is not able to complete the tasks required under this section because of insufficient funds appropriated to implement this section.

The preliminary report must include the following information:(a) Tasks that could not be completed as a result of insufficient funds appropriated;(b) The status of the task force's activities;

and(c) Additional resources the task force needs to complete all of the requirements under this section.(8)(a) For attendance at meetings of the task force or in attending to such other business of the task force as may be authorized, legislative members of the task force shall be reimbursed and receive allowances in accordance with RCW 44.04.120.(b) Nonlegislative members of the task force who are not state employees must be compensated in accordance with RCW 43.03.240 and are entitled to reimbursement individually for travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the task force in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

Such expenses of the task force must be paid by the governor's interagency council on health disparities.(9) The task force may form work groups or consult with stakeholders as necessary to assist the task force in carrying out its duties.(10) The task force must hold four regional meetings to seek input from, present their work plan and proposals to, and receive feedback from communities throughout the state.

The following locations must be considered for these meetings:

Northwest Washington, central Puget Sound region, south Puget Sound region, southwest Washington, central Washington, and eastern Washington.(11)(a) Upon adoption of rules, policies, or guidelines related to the cumulative impact analysis, as required under section 4 of this act, each state agency must notify the governor's interagency council on health disparities and submit a report to the appropriate committees of the legislature.(b) One year after the effective date of rules, policies, or guidelines, and two years thereafter, each state agency must submit a report to the governor, governor's interagency council on health disparities, and appropriate committees of the legislature regarding progress made towards reducing disproportionate environmental burdens and attaining environmental health targets.

The report must be submitted in compliance with RCW 43.01.036.(12) Reports submitted under this section must be available for public inspection and copying through the governor's interagency council on health disparities and must be posted on its web site.NEW SECTION.  Sec.

(1)(a)(1) AUpon task force on recommending strategies for incorporating environmental justice principles into how the statelegislature's agenciesapproval represented on this task force discharge their responsibilities is established, with members as provided in this subsection.(i) The director of the departmenttask offorce's commerce,recommendations orpursuant histo orsection her3 designee;(ii) The director of thethis departmentact:(a) ofState ecology,agencies, orthrough hisrules, orpolicies, her designee;(iii) The executive director of the Puget Sound partnership, or hisguidelines, orshall heradopt designee;(iv) The secretary of the departmentuse of transportation, or his or her designee;(v) The secretary of the departmentcumulative ofimpact health,analysis orto hisidentify orhighly herimpacted designee;(vi)communities The secretary of the utilities and transportationvulnerable commission,populations or his or her designee;(vii) The chair of the governor's interagency council on health disparities, or his or her designee;(viii) The commissioner of public lands, or his or her designee;(ix) A member from an organization representing statewide environmental justice interests, appointed by the governor;(x) Three members from an organization, appointed by the cochairs specified under (b) of this subsection, the nominations of which are based upon maintaining a balanced and diversereduce distribution of ethnic, geographic, gender, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, and occupational representation, where practicable.(b) The representative of statewide environmental justice interests, and the chair of the governor's interagency council on health disparities orin hisidentified orareas herand designee,populations. shall cochair the task force.(2) Staff support for the task force must be provided by the governor's interagency council on health disparities.

TheIf interagencythe counciltask mayforce workcreated withunder othersection agencies,3 departments,of orthis officesact asissues necessaryguidance on how to provideuse staffthe supportcumulative toimpact analysis, the taskrules, force.(3)policies, Theor taskguidelines forceadopted shallpursuant reportto itsthis findingssubsection andmust recommendationsbe toconsistent with the appropriatetask committeesforce's ofguidance, theunless legislaturea andstate theagency governorprovides bya Julycompelling 31,reason 2020,to anddeviate infrom compliancethe withtask RCWforce's 43.01.036.guidance.

TheA reportstate agency that deviates from the task force's guidance when adopting a rule, policy, or guideline pursuant to this subsection must include:(a)report Modelsuch deviation in writing to the governor's interagency council on health disparities and the appropriate committees of the legislature;(b) State agencies may issue policies, guidance, or adopt practices, guidelines, or rules as necessary to identify highly impacted communities, establish measurable goals for agencyreducing adoptionenvironmental regardinghealth thedisparities, cumulativeand impactprioritize analyseshighly requiredimpacted undercommunities sectionand 5their vulnerable populations in the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of thisenvironmental act.laws, regulations, policies, and funding decisions;

Theand(c) modelIf rulesthe musttask provideforce created under section 3 of this act issues guidance on how to use the cumulative impact analysis, the department of health shall initiate a process, within sixty days after the issuance of the task force's guidance, to develop model policies for the purpose of providing uniform rules, policies, or guidelines to all state agencies willimplementing identifythe highlytask impactedforce communities,guidance andrelated mustto bethe basedcumulative onimpact analysis.(2) To the extent that the recommendations, guidelines, or best practices of the task force conflict with standards or requirements established under other state statutes or federal law, those standards and currentrequirements demographicsupersede, data.preempt, and take precedence over the recommendations of the task force.NEW SECTION.  Sec.

The guidance provided relating to the designation of "highly impacted community" must be based on the analyses of vulnerable populations and environmental burdens conducted by the University of Washington's department of environmental and occupational health sciences, and additional factors as the task force deems appropriate;(b) Recommendations for how to integrate an analysis of the distribution of environmental burdens across population groups into evaluations performed under the state environmental policy act, chapter 43.21C RCW;(c) Methods to increase public participation and engagement by providing meaningful opportunities for involvement to all people taking into account barriers to participation that may arise due to race, color, ethnicity, religion, income, or education level;(d) Best practices for meaningfully consulting vulnerable populations when the applicable state agencies periodically evaluate and update the designation of highly impacted communities and the cumulative impact analysis of vulnerable populations and environmental burdens;(e) Methods for creating and implementing equity analyses, including but not limited to cumulative impact analyses, into all significant planning, programmatic and policy decision making, and investments.