Washington lawmakers take action to protect the environment

House passes legislation to care for
everything from state’s infants to waterways

March 5, 2009

OLYMPIA – The Washington State House of Representatives on Wednesday tackled a package of environmental-related legislation, passing bills that will do everything from shielding infants from harmful chemicals to protecting our state’s water supply from pollution.

“With all the talk surrounding the economy, it’s easy to forget about our state’s other priorities,” said Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D-Seattle). “The environment affects every aspect of our lives and today we took steps to protect it.”

Headlining the day’s bills was Dickerson’s House Bill 1180, which aims to reduce children’s exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) by eliminating it from products they eat and drink out of every day such as baby bottles and sippy cups.

BPA is a hormone-disrupting chemical that can have health effects at extremely low exposure levels. Laboratory studies have linked BPA to cancer, miscarriages, obesity, reproductive problems and hyperactivity.

“BPA is a dangerous chemical that should never get anywhere near a baby or young child’s lips,” Dickerson said. “Imagine giving a baby a bottle laced with a cancer-causing chemical.”

A rally was held Wednesday on the steps of the Legislative Building on the Capitol campus in favor of passing Dickerson’s bill.

Also making its way through the House on Wednesday was House Bill 2116, which allows for the Department of Ecology to award federal stimulus funds to local governments for water-quality improvement projects.

Rep. Marcie Maxwell’s bill allows the Department of Ecology to grant federal stimulus funds to local governments for water-quality improvement projects. Since 1987, the federal State Clean Water Revolving Fund has provided low-interest loans to help local governments, utility districts and their ratepayers complete high-priority water quality projects that they may not be able to afford otherwise. These projects include wastewater treatment plants, main sewers, storm water control and more. In Washington, the fund is administered by the Department of Ecology. Maxwell’s bill would make the Department of Ecology’s rules line up with the federal stimulus criteria, so that it can allocate the state’s incoming $65 million for the SRF program.

“This bill opens the door to our state receiving millions of dollars of federal stimulus funds so local governments can break ground on water-quality projects, creating jobs and economic activity,” Maxwell said.

Other environmental measures making it through the House on Wednesday include:

• Rep. Fred Finn’s HB 1997 aims to create research programs and projects to restore the health and well-being of Puget Sound. Finn’s plan limits expenditures from the Puget Sound Scientific Research Account to research programs and projects selected by the Puget Sound Science Panel.

• Rep. John McCoy’s HB 1135 promotes the use of alternative energy by streamlining the permitting process for anaerobic digesters, exempting them from the otherwise required solid waste handling permit. This bill makes it easier for us to use anaerobic digestion, which produces heat and electricity, by cutting out extra steps in the process.

• Rep. Kevin Van De Wege’s HB 1484 expands the riparian open space program to include the acquisition of forest lands containing critical habitat for threatened or endangered species.

• Rep. Dan Newhouse’s HB 1864, with bi-partisan support from Rep. Sam Hunt, exempts a component city or town with a population of 1,000 or fewer located
within an Indian reservation from paying a local air pollution control authority.