HB 2682

H-3193.1
  HOUSE BILL 2682
State of Washington  69th Legislature      2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Reeves, Parshley, and Pollet
Read first time 01/27/26.     Referred to Committee on Environment &
Energy.
1      AN ACT Relating to ensuring the consistent application of
2  environmental justice principles; amending RCW 70A.02.010; creating
3  new sections; and declaring an emergency.
4  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
5     Sec. 1.   RCW 70A.02.010 and 2021 c 314 s 2 are each amended to
6 read as follows:
7     The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter
8 unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
9     (1) "Council" means the environmental justice council established
10 in RCW 70A.02.110.
11     (2)(a) "Covered agency" means the departments of ecology, health,
12 natural resources, commerce, agriculture, and transportation, the
13 Puget Sound partnership, the forest practices board, and any agency
14 that opts to assume all of the obligations of chapter 314, Laws of
15 2021 pursuant to RCW 70A.02.030.
16     (b) For the department of natural resources, "covered agency"
17 includes the board of natural resources.
18     (3) "Cumulative environmental health impact" means the combined,
19 multiple environmental impacts and health impacts on a vulnerable
20 population or overburdened community.
21     (4) "Environmental benefits" means activities that:
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1     (a) Prevent or reduce existing environmental harms or associated
2 risks that contribute significantly to cumulative environmental
3 health impacts;
4     (b) Prevent or mitigate impacts to overburdened communities or
5 vulnerable populations from, or support community response to, the
6 impacts of environmental harm; or
7     (c) Meet a community need formally identified to a covered agency
8 by an overburdened community or vulnerable population that is
9 consistent with the intent of this chapter.
10     (5) "Environmental harm" means the individual or cumulative
11 environmental health impacts and risks to communities caused by
12 historic, current, or projected:
13     (a) Exposure to pollution, conventional or toxic pollutants,
14 environmental hazards, or other contamination in the air, water, and
15 land;
16     (b)    Adverse    environmental   effects,   including  exposure   to
17 contamination, hazardous substances, or pollution that increase the
18 risk    of    adverse    environmental    health   outcomes   or   create
19 vulnerabilities to the impacts of climate change;
20     (c) Loss or impairment of ecosystem functions or traditional food
21 resources or loss of access to gather cultural resources or harvest
22 traditional foods; or
23     (d) Health and economic impacts from climate change.
24     (6) "Environmental health disparities map" means the data and
25 information developed pursuant to RCW 43.70.815.
26      (7) "Environmental impacts" means environmental benefits or
27 environmental harms, or the combination of environmental benefits and
28 harms, resulting or expected to result from a proposed action.
29     (8) "Environmental justice" means the fair treatment and
30 meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color,
31 national origin, or income with respect to the development,
32 implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, rules, and
33 policies. Environmental justice includes addressing disproportionate
34 environmental and health impacts in all laws, rules, and policies
35 with environmental impacts by prioritizing vulnerable populations and
36 overburdened communities, the equitable distribution of resources and
37 benefits, and eliminating harm.
38      (9) "Equitable distribution" means a fair and just, but not
39 necessarily equal, allocation intended to mitigate disparities in
40 benefits and burdens that are based on current conditions, including
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1 existing legacy and cumulative impacts, that are informed by
2 cumulative environmental health impact analysis.
3     (10) "Evidence-based" means a process that is conducted by a
4 systematic review of available data based on a well-established and
5 widely used hierarchy of data in current use by other state and
6 national programs, selected by the departments of ecology and health.
7 The environmental justice council may provide input on the
8 development of the process.
9     (11) "Overburdened community" means a geographic area where
10 vulnerable populations face combined, multiple environmental harms
11 and health impacts, and includes, but is not limited to, highly
12 impacted communities as defined in RCW 19.405.020.
13     (12) "Significant agency action" means the following actions as
14 identified at the beginning of a covered agency's consideration of
15 the significant agency action or at the time when an environmental
16 justice assessment would normally be initiated in conjunction with an
17 agency action:
18     (a) The development and adoption of significant legislative rules
19 as defined in RCW 34.05.328, including approval of such rules by the
20 board of natural resources;
21     (b) The development and adoption of any new grant or loan program
22 that a covered agency is explicitly authorized or required by statute
23 to carry out;
24     (c) A capital project, grant, or loan award by a covered agency
25 of at least $12,000,000 or a transportation project, grant, or loan
26 by a covered agency of at least $15,000,000;
27     (d) The submission of agency request legislation to the office of
28 the governor or the office of financial management for approval; and
29     (e) Any other agency actions deemed significant by a covered
30 agency consistent with RCW 70A.02.060.
31     (13) "Tribal lands" has the same meaning as "Indian country" as
32 provided in 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1151, and also includes sacred sites,
33 traditional cultural properties, burial grounds, and other tribal
34 sites protected by federal or state law.
35     (14)(a) "Vulnerable populations" means population groups that are
36 more likely to be at higher risk for poor health outcomes in response
37 to environmental harms, due to: (i) Adverse socioeconomic factors,
38 such as unemployment, high housing and transportation costs relative
39 to income, limited access to nutritious food and adequate health
40 care, linguistic isolation, and other factors that negatively affect
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1  health outcomes and increase vulnerability to the effects of
2  environmental harms; and (ii) sensitivity factors, such as low birth
3  weight and higher rates of hospitalization.
4      (b) "Vulnerable populations" includes, but is not limited to:
5      (i) Racial or ethnic minorities;
6      (ii) Low-income populations;
7      (iii) Populations disproportionately impacted by environmental
8  harms; and
9      (iv) Populations of workers experiencing environmental harms.
10     NEW SECTION.    Sec. 2.   (1) The forest practices board shall
11 suspend any rule adopted prior to, but not yet in effect as of, the
12 effective date of this section. Such rule may not go into effect
13 until the forest practices board has complied with its obligations as
14 a covered agency under chapter 70A.02 RCW, including specifically
15 with respect to the rule as a significant agency action under that
16 chapter.
17     (2) The forest practices board may not adopt any rule on or after
18 the effective date of this section until the board has complied with
19 its obligations as a covered agency under chapter 70A.02 RCW,
20 including specifically with respect to the rule as a significant
21 agency action under that chapter.
22     (3) By July 1, 2027, the forest practices board must provide a
23 report to the appropriate committees of the legislature with a
24 retrospective analysis on any rule adopted by the board and any other
25 significant agency actions as defined under RCW 70A.02.010 taken
26 since the effective date of chapter 314, Laws of 2021. The
27 retrospective analysis must examine and describe any differences
28 between the process and results of the rule or other action taken and
29 the likely process and potential results if the board had been
30 considered a covered agency under RCW 70A.02.010 during that time.
31     NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The board of natural resources may not
32 adopt or approve any rule on or after the effective date of this
33 section until the board has complied with its obligations as a
34 covered agency under chapter 70A.02 RCW, including specifically with
35 respect to the rule as a significant agency action under that
36 chapter.
37     (2) By July 1, 2027, the board of natural resources must provide
38 a report to the appropriate committees of the legislature with a
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1  retrospective analysis on any rule adopted or approved by the board
2  and any other significant agency actions as defined under RCW
3  70A.02.010 taken since the effective date of chapter 314, Laws of
4  2021. The retrospective analysis must examine and describe any
5  differences between the process and results of the rule or other
6  action taken and the likely process and potential results if the
7  board had been considered a covered agency under RCW 70A.02.010
8  during that time.
9     NEW SECTION.   Sec. 4.  This act is necessary for the immediate
10 preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of
11 the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes
12 effect immediately.
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