BILL REQ. #: S-3589.1
| State of Washington | 63rd Legislature | 2014 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/20/14. Referred to Committee on Energy, Environment & Telecommunications.
AN ACT Relating to enhancing the safety of the transportation of oil; amending RCW 88.16.035, 88.16.170, 88.16.190, 88.16.200, 90.56.010, 90.48.366, 90.48.367, 43.21B.110, and 43.21B.110; adding new sections to chapter 90.56 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 88.16 RCW; creating new sections; prescribing penalties; providing an effective date; and providing an expiration date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature finds that the
transportation of crude oil and refined petroleum products by vessels
on Puget Sound, Grays Harbor, the Columbia river, and other waters of
the state pose a potential hazard to the natural resources and economic
vitality of the state. Measures to prevent spills from oil
transportation vessels are critical to lowering risks to the state's
natural resources and economic base. Furthermore, as the location and
type of oil extracted in North America changes with the advent of new
technology, there are associated changes in the patterns and methods of
transporting crude oil and refined petroleum products. New risks of
spillage accompany those changes in the routes and methods of oil
transportation in the state and, according to the United States
department of transportation, the new types of oil being transported
through the state may also be particularly flammable and dangerous.
Recent accidents, such as the oil train explosions in North Dakota, New
Brunswick, and Quebec, as well as the frequent incidence of leaks and
spills from pipelines, railcars, and vessels carrying oil across the
nation, highlight the risks to human health and the environment caused
by the transportation of oil. It is therefore the intent and purpose
of this act to establish appropriate measures to reduce the risk of oil
spills from vessels, to encourage the adoption of spill prevention
measures by transporters of oil by vessel, to ensure that the public
has access to information about the movement of oil through the state,
and to ensure that communities are fully informed about any risks posed
to their safety by the transportation of oil.
Sec. 2 RCW 88.16.035 and 2009 c 496 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) The board of pilotage commissioners shall:
(a) Adopt rules, pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW, necessary for the
enforcement and administration of this chapter, except for rules
adopted after July 1, 2014, that implement RCW 88.16.190, 88.16.195,
88.16.200, and section 11 of this act, for which the department of
ecology may adopt rules;
(b)(i) Issue training licenses and pilot licenses to pilot
applicants meeting the qualifications provided for in RCW 88.16.090 and
such additional qualifications as may be determined by the board;
(ii) Establish a comprehensive training program to assist in the
training and evaluation of pilot applicants before final licensing; and
(iii) Establish additional training requirements, including a
program of continuing education developed after consultation with pilot
organizations, including those located within the state of Washington,
as required to maintain a competent pilotage service;
(c) Maintain a register of pilots, records of pilot accidents, and
other history pertinent to pilotage;
(d) Determine from time to time the number of pilots necessary to
be licensed in each district of the state to optimize the operation of
a safe, fully regulated, efficient, and competent pilotage service in
each district;
(e) Annually fix the pilotage tariffs for pilotage services
provided under this chapter: PROVIDED, That the board may fix extra
compensation for extra services to vessels in distress, for awaiting
vessels, for all vessels in direct transit to or from a Canadian port
where Puget Sound pilotage is required for a portion of the voyage, or
for being carried to sea on vessels against the will of the pilot, and
for such other services as may be determined by the board: PROVIDED
FURTHER, That as an element of the Puget Sound pilotage district
tariff, the board may consider pilot retirement plan expenses incurred
in the prior year in either pilotage district. However, under no
circumstances shall the state be obligated to fund or pay for any
portion of retirement payments for pilots or retired pilots;
(f) File annually with the governor and the chairs of the
transportation committees of the senate and house of representatives a
report which includes, but is not limited to, the following: The
number, names, ages, pilot license number, training license number, and
years of service as a Washington licensed pilot of any person licensed
by the board as a Washington state pilot or trainee; the names,
employment, and other information of the members of the board; the
total number of pilotage assignments by pilotage district, including
information concerning the various types and sizes of vessels and the
total annual tonnage; the annual earnings or stipends of individual
pilots and trainees before and after deduction for expenses of pilot
organizations, including extra compensation as a separate category; the
annual expenses of private pilot associations, including personnel
employed and capital expenditures; the status of pilotage tariffs,
extra compensation, and travel; the retirement contributions paid to
pilots and the disposition thereof; the number of groundings, marine
occurrences, or other incidents which are reported to or investigated
by the board, and which are determined to be accidents, as defined by
the board, including the vessel name, location of incident, pilot's or
trainee's name, and disposition of the case together with information
received before the board acted from all persons concerned, including
the United States coast guard; the names, qualifications, time
scheduled for examinations, and the district of persons desiring to
apply for Washington state pilotage licenses; summaries of dispatch
records, quarterly reports from pilots, and the bylaws and operating
rules of pilotage organizations; the names, sizes in deadweight tons,
surcharges, if any, port of call, name of the pilot or trainee, and
names and horsepower of tug boats for any and all oil tankers subject
to the provisions of RCW 88.16.190 together with the names of any and
all vessels for which the United States coast guard requires special
handling pursuant to their authority under the Ports and Waterways
Safety Act of 1972; the expenses of the board; and any and all other
information which the board deems appropriate to include;
(g) Make available information that includes the pilotage act and
other statutes of Washington state and the federal government that
affect pilotage, including the rules of the board, together with such
additional information as may be informative for pilots, agents,
owners, operators, and masters;
(h) Appoint advisory committees and employ marine experts as
necessary to carry out its duties under this chapter;
(i) Provide for the maintenance of efficient and competent pilotage
service on all waters covered by this chapter; and do such other things
as are reasonable, necessary, and expedient to insure proper and safe
pilotage upon the waters covered by this chapter and facilitate the
efficient administration of this chapter.
(2) If the department of ecology adopts rules after July 1, 2014,
pursuant to subsection (1)(a) of this section, any rules previously
adopted by the board pursuant to subsection (1)(a) of this section that
implement RCW 88.16.190, 88.16.195, and 88.16.200 are no longer in
effect as of the date of the adoption of the rules by the department of
ecology.
(3) The board may pay stipends to pilot trainees under subsection
(1)(b) of this section.
Sec. 3 RCW 88.16.170 and 1991 c 200 s 601 are each amended to
read as follows:
Because of the danger of spills, the legislature finds that the
transportation of crude oil and refined petroleum products by tankers
on the Columbia river, Grays Harbor, and on Puget Sound and adjacent
waters creates a great potential hazard to important natural resources
of the state and to jobs and incomes dependent on these resources.
The legislature recognizes that the Columbia river has many natural
obstacles to navigation and shifting navigation channels that create
the risk of an oil spill. The legislature also recognizes Grays Harbor
and Puget Sound and adjacent waters are a relatively confined salt
water environment with irregular shorelines and therefore there is a
greater than usual likelihood of long-term damage from any large oil
spill.
The legislature further recognizes that certain areas of the
Columbia river, Grays Harbor, and Puget Sound and adjacent waters have
limited space for maneuvering a large oil tanker and that these waters
contain many natural navigational obstacles as well as a high density
of commercial and pleasure boat traffic.
For these reasons, it is important that large oil tankers be
piloted by highly skilled persons who are familiar with local waters
and that such tankers have sufficient capability for rapid maneuvering
responses.
It is therefore the intent and purpose of RCW 88.16.180 and
88.16.190 to decrease the likelihood of oil spills on the Columbia
river, Grays Harbor, and on Puget Sound and its shorelines by requiring
all oil tankers above a certain size to employ licensed pilots and to
be escorted by a tug or tugs ((while navigating on certain areas of
Puget Sound and adjacent waters)).
Sec. 4 RCW 88.16.190 and 1994 c 52 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) ((Any oil tanker, whether enrolled or registered, of greater
than one hundred and twenty-five thousand deadweight tons shall be
prohibited from proceeding beyond a point east of a line extending from
Discovery Island light south to New Dungeness light.)) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section,
an oil tanker larger than five thousand gross tons may not enter any of
the following waters, to the extent that these waters are within the
territorial boundaries of Washington, unless the oil tanker is under
the escort of a tug or tugs in compliance with the requirements of
subsections (4) and (5) of this section:
(2) An oil tanker, whether enrolled or registered, of forty to one
hundred and twenty-five thousand deadweight tons may proceed beyond the
points enumerated in subsection (1) if such tanker possesses all of the
following standard safety features:
(a) Shaft horsepower in the ratio of one horsepower to each two and
one-half deadweight tons; and
(b) Twin screws; and
(c) Double bottoms, underneath all oil and liquid cargo
compartments; and
(d) Two radars in working order and operating, one of which must be
collision avoidance radar; and
(e) Such other navigational position location systems as may be
prescribed from time to time by the board of pilotage commissioners:
PROVIDED, That, if such forty to one hundred and twenty-five
thousand deadweight ton tanker is in ballast or is under escort of a
tug or tugs with an aggregate shaft horsepower equivalent to five
percent of the deadweight tons of that tanker, subsection (2) of this
section shall not apply: PROVIDED FURTHER, That additional tug shaft
horsepower equivalencies may be required under certain conditions as
established by rule and regulation of the Washington utilities and
transportation commission pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW: PROVIDED
FURTHER, That
(a) East of a line extending from Discovery Island light south to
New Dungeness light and all points in the Puget Sound area north and
south of these lights, including but not limited to Haro Strait,
Rosario Strait, the Strait of Georgia, Puget Sound, Hood Canal, and
those portions of the Strait of Juan de Fuca east of the line between
New Dungeness light and Discovery Island light;
(b) Within a two mile radius of the Grays Harbor pilotage district
as defined by RCW 88.16.050;
(c) Within three miles of Cape Disappointment at the mouth of the
Columbia river; or
(d) Any inland portion of the Columbia river.
(2)(a) If an oil tanker is in ballast, the requirements of
subsection (1) of this section do not apply.
(b) If an oil tanker is a single-hulled oil tanker over five
thousand gross tons, the requirements of subsection (1) of this section
do not apply and the oil tanker must instead comply with 33 C.F.R. Part
168, as of the effective date of this section.
(3) If an oil tanker is larger than one hundred twenty five
thousand deadweight tons, it is prohibited from proceeding into the
waters listed in subsection (1)(a) of this section as provided in 33
C.F.R. Part 165, as of the effective date of this section.
(4) Escort tugs must have an aggregate shaft horsepower equivalent
to at least five percent of the deadweight tons of the escorted oil
tanker. The department of ecology may adopt rules to require that
escort tugs possess specified navigational capabilities, including the
performance of tug power and steering systems.
(5) The department of ecology may adopt rules that require the
escort of more than one tug, require an oil tanker to be tethered to
the escort tug or tugs, or require other safeguards related to tanker
escorts in order for an oil tanker covered by subsection (1) of this
section to be allowed to enter the areas listed in subsection (1)(a),
(b), (c), or (d) of this section. However, if an oil tanker is
equipped with fully redundant systems, the department of ecology may
not:
(a) Require escort by more than one tug;
(b) Require the oil tanker to be tethered to the escort tug; and
(c) Subject the oil tanker to any requirements adopted by rule
under this subsection (5).
(6) A tanker assigned a ((deadweight)) weight of less than
((forty)) five thousand ((deadweight)) gross tons at the time of
construction or reconstruction as reported in Lloyd's Register of Ships
is not subject to the provisions of RCW 88.16.170 through 88.16.190.
(7) For the purposes of this section, "redundant systems" includes,
at minimum, all of the following features:
(a) A double hull;
(b) Two independent propellers each with a dedicated engine or
motor, propulsion system, electrical system, fuel system, lube oil
system, and any other system required to provide an independent means
of propulsion;
(c) Two independent rudders, each with separate steering systems;
and
(d) The arrangement of the propulsion and steering systems in (b)
and (c) of this subsection such that a fire or flood in one space will
not affect the equivalent system in the other space or spaces.
Sec. 5 RCW 88.16.200 and 2008 c 128 s 14 are each amended to read
as follows:
Any vessel designed for the purpose of carrying as its cargo
liquefied natural or liquefied petroleum gas shall adhere to the
provisions of RCW 88.16.190 (((2))) as though it were an oil tanker.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 A new section is added to chapter 90.56 RCW
to read as follows:
The department shall make available on its web site a quarterly
report on the maritime and terrestrial transportation of oil in
Washington. The report must include information including, but not
limited to, the following sources:
(1) Information submitted to the department pursuant to section 7
of this act;
(2) Advanced notices of transfer and other information provided to
the department pursuant to RCW 88.46.165, including aggregated
information on the quantities and types of oil being transferred, the
models of railcars from which the oil was transferred, the frequency
and duration of oil transfers, and the locations of product transfers;
(3) Reported information on spills, accidents, discharges, or other
prohibited occurrences submitted to the department pursuant to RCW
90.56.050(1), 90.56.280, or 88.46.100; and
(4) Relevant information about the volume and type of oil
transported through Washington that is collected by federal agencies
including the United States department of transportation, United States
coast guard, United States department of energy, and United States army
corps of engineers.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7 A new section is added to chapter 90.56 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The owner or operator for each facility other than a
transmission pipeline shall submit to the department the following
information:
(a) The number of tank vessels and the number and model of railcars
that transferred or delivered oil at the facility each week;
(b) The volume and type of oil that arrived at and departed from
the facility each week, including the volume and type of oil:
(i) By mode of arrival at the facility, including but not limited
to arrival by vessel, rail, pipeline, or motor vehicle;
(ii) By mode of departure from the facility, including but not
limited to departure by vessel, rail, pipeline, or motor vehicle;
(iii) The route taken by any oil that arrived at the facility by
railcar.
(2) Beginning November 1, 2014, the owner or operator of each
facility must submit the information required pursuant to subsection
(1) of this section by February 1st, May 1st, August 1st, and November
1st of each year and each quarterly submission must include the
information in subsection (1) of this section for each week of the
quarter covered by the submission. The department may develop a
reporting form and guidance for the submission of the information in
subsection (1) of this section by facility owners or operators. To the
extent feasible, the department must integrate the reporting form with
other forms used by facilities to submit information to the department,
including forms used to submit the information required by RCW
88.46.165.
(3) Prior to making any confidential information submitted pursuant
to this section available on its web site, the department must
aggregate the submitted information to the extent necessary to ensure
confidentiality if public disclosure of the specific information or
data would result in an unfair competitive disadvantage to the owner or
operator submitting the information.
Sec. 8 RCW 90.56.010 and 2007 c 347 s 6 are each amended to read
as follows:
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter
unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Best achievable protection" means the highest level of
protection that can be achieved through the use of the best achievable
technology and those staffing levels, training procedures, and
operational methods that provide the greatest degree of protection
achievable. The director's determination of best achievable protection
shall be guided by the critical need to protect the state's natural
resources and waters, while considering (a) the additional protection
provided by the measures; (b) the technological achievability of the
measures; and (c) the cost of the measures.
(2) "Best achievable technology" means the technology that provides
the greatest degree of protection taking into consideration (a)
processes that are being developed, or could feasibly be developed,
given overall reasonable expenditures on research and development, and
(b) processes that are currently in use. In determining what is best
achievable technology, the director shall consider the effectiveness,
engineering feasibility, and commercial availability of the technology.
(3) "Board" means the pollution control hearings board.
(4) "Cargo vessel" means a self-propelled ship in commerce, other
than a tank vessel or a passenger vessel, three hundred or more gross
tons, including but not limited to, commercial fish processing vessels
and freighters.
(5) "Bulk" means material that is stored or transported in a loose,
unpackaged liquid, powder, or granular form capable of being conveyed
by a pipe, bucket, chute, or belt system.
(6) "Committee" means the preassessment screening committee
established under RCW 90.48.368.
(7) "Covered vessel" means a tank vessel, cargo vessel, or
passenger vessel.
(8) "Department" means the department of ecology.
(9) "Director" means the director of the department of ecology.
(10) "Discharge" means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring,
emitting, emptying, or dumping.
(11)(a) "Facility" means any structure, group of structures,
equipment, pipeline, or device, other than a vessel, located on or near
the navigable waters of the state that transfers oil in bulk to or from
a tank vessel or pipeline, that is used for producing, storing,
handling, transferring, processing, or transporting oil in bulk.
(b) A facility does not include any: (i) Railroad car, motor
vehicle, or other rolling stock while transporting oil over the
highways or rail lines of this state; (ii) underground storage tank
regulated by the department or a local government under chapter 90.76
RCW; (iii) motor vehicle motor fuel outlet; (iv) facility that is
operated as part of an exempt agricultural activity as provided in RCW
82.04.330; or (v) marine fuel outlet that does not dispense more than
three thousand gallons of fuel to a ship that is not a covered vessel,
in a single transaction.
(12) "Fund" means the state coastal protection fund as provided in
RCW 90.48.390 and 90.48.400.
(13) "Having control over oil" shall include but not be limited to
any person using, storing, or transporting oil immediately prior to
entry of such oil into the waters of the state, and shall specifically
include carriers and bailees of such oil.
(14) "Marine facility" means any facility used for tank vessel
wharfage or anchorage, including any equipment used for the purpose of
handling or transferring oil in bulk to or from a tank vessel.
(15) "Navigable waters of the state" means those waters of the
state, and their adjoining shorelines, that are subject to the ebb and
flow of the tide and/or are presently used, have been used in the past,
or may be susceptible for use to transport intrastate, interstate, or
foreign commerce.
(16) "Necessary expenses" means the expenses incurred by the
department and assisting state agencies for (a) investigating the
source of the discharge; (b) investigating the extent of the
environmental damage caused by the discharge; (c) conducting actions
necessary to clean up the discharge; (d) conducting predamage and
damage assessment studies; and (e) enforcing the provisions of this
chapter and collecting for damages caused by a discharge.
(17) "Oil" or "oils" means oil of any kind that is liquid at
atmospheric temperature and any fractionation thereof, including, but
not limited to, crude oil, petroleum, gasoline, fuel oil, diesel oil,
biological oils and blends, oil sludge, oil refuse, and oil mixed with
wastes other than dredged spoil. Oil does not include any substance
listed in Table 302.4 of 40 C.F.R. Part 302 adopted August 14, 1989,
under section 101(14) of the federal comprehensive environmental
response, compensation, and liability act of 1980, as amended by P.L.
99-499.
(18) "Offshore facility" means any facility located in, on, or
under any of the navigable waters of the state, but does not include a
facility any part of which is located in, on, or under any land of the
state, other than submerged land.
(19) "Onshore facility" means any facility any part of which is
located in, on, or under any land of the state, other than submerged
land, that because of its location, could reasonably be expected to
cause substantial harm to the environment by discharging oil into or on
the navigable waters of the state or the adjoining shorelines.
(20)(a) "Owner or operator" means (i) in the case of a vessel, any
person owning, operating, or chartering by demise, the vessel; (ii) in
the case of an onshore or offshore facility, any person owning or
operating the facility; and (iii) in the case of an abandoned vessel or
onshore or offshore facility, the person who owned or operated the
vessel or facility immediately before its abandonment.
(b) "Operator" does not include any person who owns the land
underlying a facility if the person is not involved in the operations
of the facility.
(21) "Passenger vessel" means a ship of three hundred or more gross
tons with a fuel capacity of at least six thousand gallons carrying
passengers for compensation.
(22) "Person" means any political subdivision, government agency,
municipality, industry, public or private corporation, copartnership,
association, firm, individual, or any other entity whatsoever.
(23) "Ship" means any boat, ship, vessel, barge, or other floating
craft of any kind.
(24) "Spill" means an unauthorized discharge of oil or hazardous
substances into the waters of the state.
(25) "Tank vessel" means a ship that is constructed or adapted to
carry, or that carries, oil in bulk as cargo or cargo residue, and
that:
(a) Operates on the waters of the state; or
(b) Transfers oil in a port or place subject to the jurisdiction of
this state.
(26) "Waters of the state" includes lakes, rivers, ponds, streams,
inland waters, underground water, salt waters, estuaries, tidal flats,
beaches and lands adjoining the seacoast of the state, sewers, and all
other surface waters and watercourses within the jurisdiction of the
state of Washington.
(27) "Worst case spill" means: (a) In the case of a vessel, a
spill of the entire cargo and fuel of the vessel complicated by adverse
weather conditions; and (b) in the case of an onshore or offshore
facility, the largest foreseeable spill in adverse weather conditions.
(28) "Transmission pipeline" means an interstate or intrastate
pipeline subject to regulation by the United States department of
transportation under Part 195 of Title 49 of the code of federal
regulations in effect as of January 1, 2014, through which oil moves in
transportation, including line pipes, valves, and other appurtenances
connected to line pipes, pumping units, and fabricated assemblies
associated with pumping units.
(29) "Type of oil" means crude oil or refined petroleum products
including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, blending components, and other
petroleum products.
Sec. 9 RCW 90.48.366 and 2011 c 122 s 9 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) The department, in consultation with the departments of fish
and wildlife and natural resources, and the parks and recreation
commission, shall adopt rules establishing a compensation schedule for
the discharge of oil in violation of this chapter and chapter 90.56
RCW. The amount of compensation assessed under this schedule shall be:
(a) For spills totaling one thousand gallons or more in any one
event other than spills involving a barge tank vessel towed by a tug if
the department determines that the owner or operator acted recklessly
or negligently in an area listed in RCW 88.16.190(1) (a),(b),(c), or
(d), no less than three dollars per gallon of oil spilled and no
greater than three hundred dollars per gallon of oil spilled; ((and))
(b) For spills totaling less than one thousand gallons in any one
event other than spills involving a barge tank vessel towed by a tug if
the department determines that the owner or operator acted recklessly
or negligently in an area listed in RCW 88.16.190(1) (a),(b),(c), or
(d), no less than one dollar per gallon of oil spilled and no greater
than one hundred dollars per gallon of oil spilled;
(c) For spills totaling one thousand gallons or more in any one
event involving a barge tank vessel towed by a tug where the department
determines that the owner or operator of the barge tank vessel or tug
acted recklessly or negligently in an area listed in RCW 88.16.190(1)
(a),(b),(c), or (d), no less than nine dollars per gallon of oil
spilled and no greater than nine hundred dollars per gallon of oil
spilled; and
(d) For spills totaling less than one thousand gallons in any one
event involving a barge tank vessel towed by a tug where the department
determines that the owner or operator of the barge tank vessel or tug
acted recklessly or negligently in an area listed in RCW 88.16.190(1)
(a),(b),(c), or (d), no less than three dollars per gallon of oil
spilled and no greater than three hundred dollars per gallon of oil
spilled.
(2) The department may not determine that the owner or operator of
a barge tank vessel operated recklessly or negligently if there were at
least two qualified individuals in the control bridge of the tug for
the duration of the voyage as recorded in the ship's log, one of whom
was assigned to serve exclusively as lookout.
(3) Persistent oil recovered from the surface of the water within
forty-eight hours of a discharge must be deducted from the total spill
volume for purposes of determining the amount of compensation assessed
under the compensation schedule.
(((3))) (4) The compensation schedule adopted under this section
shall reflect adequate compensation for unquantifiable damages or for
damages not quantifiable at reasonable cost for any adverse
environmental, recreational, aesthetic, or other effects caused by the
spill and shall take into account:
(a) Characteristics of any oil spilled, such as toxicity,
dispersibility, solubility, and persistence, that may affect the
severity of the effects on the receiving environment, living organisms,
and recreational and aesthetic resources;
(b) The sensitivity of the affected area as determined by such
factors as:
(i) The location of the spill;
(ii) Habitat and living resource sensitivity;
(iii) Seasonal distribution or sensitivity of living resources;
(iv) Areas of recreational use or aesthetic importance;
(v) The proximity of the spill to important habitats for birds,
aquatic mammals, fish, or to species listed as threatened or endangered
under state or federal law;
(vi) Significant archaeological resources as determined by the
department of archaeology and historic preservation; and
(vii) Other areas of special ecological or recreational importance,
as determined by the department; and
(c) Actions taken by the party who spilled oil or any party liable
for the spill that:
(i) Demonstrate a recognition and affirmative acceptance of
responsibility for the spill, such as the immediate removal of oil and
the amount of oil removed from the environment; or
(ii) Enhance or impede the detection of the spill, the
determination of the quantity of oil spilled, or the extent of damage,
including the unauthorized removal of evidence such as injured fish or
wildlife.
(5) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this
section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(a) "Barge" means a vessel that is not self-propelled.
(b) "Tank vessel" means a tank vessel as defined by RCW 90.56.010.
Sec. 10 RCW 90.48.367 and 1991 c 200 s 813 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) After a spill or other incident causing damages to the natural
resources of the state, the department shall conduct a formal
preassessment screening as provided in RCW 90.48.368.
(2) The department shall use the compensation schedule established
under RCW 90.48.366 to determine the amount of damages if the
preassessment screening committee determines that: (a) Restoration or
enhancement of the injured resources is not technically feasible; (b)
damages are not quantifiable at a reasonable cost; and (c) the
restoration and enhancement projects or studies proposed by the liable
parties are insufficient to adequately compensate the people of the
state for damages.
(3)(a) If the preassessment screening committee determines that the
compensation schedule should not be used((,)):
(i) Compensation shall be assessed for the amount of money
necessary to restore any damaged resource to its condition before the
injury, to the extent technically feasible, and compensate for the lost
value incurred during the period between injury and restoration;
(ii) For spills totaling one thousand gallons or more in any one
event involving a barge tank vessel towed by a tug that the department
determines acted recklessly or negligently in an area listed in RCW
88.16.190(1) (a), (b),(c), or (d), compensation must be assessed up to
three times the amount of money:
(A) Necessary to restore any damaged resource to its condition
before the injury, to the extent technically feasible; and
(B) To compensate for the lost value incurred during the period
between injury and restoration.
(b) The department may not determine that the owner or operator of
a barge tank vessel operated recklessly or negligently if there were at
least two qualified individuals in the control bridge of the tug for
the duration of the voyage as recorded in the ship's log, one of whom
was assigned to serve exclusively as lookout.
(4) Restoration shall include the cost to restock such waters,
replenish or replace such resources, and otherwise restore the stream,
lake, or other waters of the state, including any estuary, ocean area,
submerged lands, shoreline, bank, or other lands adjoining such waters
to its condition before the injury, as such condition is determined by
the department. The lost value of a damaged resource shall be equal to
the sum of consumptive, nonconsumptive, and indirect use values, as
well as lost taxation, leasing, and licensing revenues. Indirect use
values may include existence, bequest, option, and aesthetic values.
Damages shall be determined by generally accepted and cost-effective
procedures, including, but not limited to, contingent valuation method
studies.
(5) Compensation assessed under this section shall be recoverable
in an action brought by the attorney general on behalf of the people of
the state of Washington and affected counties and cities in the
superior court of Thurston county or any county in which damages
occurred. Moneys recovered by the attorney general under this section
shall be deposited in the coastal protection fund established under RCW
90.48.390, and shall only be used for the purposes stated in RCW
90.48.400.
(6) Compensation assessed under this section shall preclude claims
under this chapter by local governments for compensation for damages to
publicly owned resources resulting from the same incident.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11 A new section is added to chapter 88.16 RCW
to read as follows:
The department of ecology may issue a penalty of up to ten thousand
dollars a day for each violation of RCW 88.16.190 or 88.16.200. Each
violation is a separate and distinct offense, and in case of a
continuing violation, every day's continuance is a separate and
distinct violation. Every act of commission or omission which
procures, aids, or abets in the violation is considered a violation and
subject to the penalty. The penalty amount must be set in
consideration of the previous history of the violator and the severity
of the violation's impact on public health, the environment, or both,
in addition to other relevant factors. Penalties under this section
shall be imposed pursuant to the procedures set forth in RCW
43.21B.300.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12 (1) The office of financial management
shall work with all relevant state agencies to conduct a study
regarding the state's preparedness and capacity to respond to accidents
involving railcars transporting oil. In conducting this study, the
office of financial management shall consider the potential near-term
increase in the volume of oil being transported via rail through
Washington as a result of proposed new or expanded oil refining and
storage facilities. The office of financial management shall seek the
input of relevant stakeholders in carrying out this study.
(2) The study required under subsection (1) of this section must:
(a) Examine the current and projected prevalence of oil
transportation by railcar through Washington communities;
(b) Make a preliminary identification of the communities at the
greatest risk of an accident involving oil transportation by railcar;
(c) Examine, generally, the extent to which state and local
emergency plans address this threat;
(d) Determine whether adequate resources are available to respond
to such an accident in a timely and effective manner; and
(e) Address the potential impacts to transportation networks and
other critical infrastructure from an accident involving oil
transported by railcar.
(3) The office of financial management shall report its findings
from the study to the appropriate committees of the legislature by
October 15, 2014.
Sec. 13 RCW 43.21B.110 and 2013 c 291 s 33 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) The hearings board shall only have jurisdiction to hear and
decide appeals from the following decisions of the department, the
director, local conservation districts, the air pollution control
boards or authorities as established pursuant to chapter 70.94 RCW,
local health departments, the department of natural resources, the
department of fish and wildlife, the parks and recreation commission,
and authorized public entities described in chapter 79.100 RCW:
(a) Civil penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 18.104.155, 70.94.431,
70.105.080, 70.107.050, 76.09.170, 77.55.291, 78.44.250, section 11 of
this act, 88.46.090, 90.03.600, 90.46.270, 90.48.144, 90.56.310,
90.56.330, and 90.64.102.
(b) Orders issued pursuant to RCW 18.104.043, 18.104.060,
43.27A.190, 70.94.211, 70.94.332, 70.105.095, 86.16.020, 88.46.070,
90.14.130, 90.46.250, 90.48.120, and 90.56.330.
(c) A final decision by the department or director made under
chapter 183, Laws of 2009.
(d) Except as provided in RCW 90.03.210(2), the issuance,
modification, or termination of any permit, certificate, or license by
the department or any air authority in the exercise of its
jurisdiction, including the issuance or termination of a waste disposal
permit, the denial of an application for a waste disposal permit, the
modification of the conditions or the terms of a waste disposal permit,
or a decision to approve or deny an application for a solid waste
permit exemption under RCW 70.95.300.
(e) Decisions of local health departments regarding the grant or
denial of solid waste permits pursuant to chapter 70.95 RCW.
(f) Decisions of local health departments regarding the issuance
and enforcement of permits to use or dispose of biosolids under RCW
70.95J.080.
(g) Decisions of the department regarding waste-derived fertilizer
or micronutrient fertilizer under RCW 15.54.820, and decisions of the
department regarding waste-derived soil amendments under RCW 70.95.205.
(h) Decisions of local conservation districts related to the denial
of approval or denial of certification of a dairy nutrient management
plan; conditions contained in a plan; application of any dairy nutrient
management practices, standards, methods, and technologies to a
particular dairy farm; and failure to adhere to the plan review and
approval timelines in RCW 90.64.026.
(i) Any other decision by the department or an air authority which
pursuant to law must be decided as an adjudicative proceeding under
chapter 34.05 RCW.
(j) Decisions of the department of natural resources, the
department of fish and wildlife, and the department that are reviewable
under chapter 76.09 RCW, and the department of natural resources'
appeals of county, city, or town objections under RCW 76.09.050(7).
(k) Forest health hazard orders issued by the commissioner of
public lands under RCW 76.06.180.
(l) Decisions of the department of fish and wildlife to issue,
deny, condition, or modify a hydraulic project approval permit under
chapter 77.55 RCW.
(m) Decisions of the department of natural resources that are
reviewable under RCW 78.44.270.
(n) Decisions of an authorized public entity under RCW 79.100.010
to take temporary possession or custody of a vessel or to contest the
amount of reimbursement owed that are reviewable by the hearings board
under RCW 79.100.120.
(2) The following hearings shall not be conducted by the hearings
board:
(a) Hearings required by law to be conducted by the shorelines
hearings board pursuant to chapter 90.58 RCW.
(b) Hearings conducted by the department pursuant to RCW 70.94.332,
70.94.390, 70.94.395, 70.94.400, 70.94.405, 70.94.410, and 90.44.180.
(c) Appeals of decisions by the department under RCW 90.03.110 and
90.44.220.
(d) Hearings conducted by the department to adopt, modify, or
repeal rules.
(3) Review of rules and regulations adopted by the hearings board
shall be subject to review in accordance with the provisions of the
administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW.
Sec. 14 RCW 43.21B.110 and 2013 c 291 s 34 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) The hearings board shall only have jurisdiction to hear and
decide appeals from the following decisions of the department, the
director, local conservation districts, the air pollution control
boards or authorities as established pursuant to chapter 70.94 RCW,
local health departments, the department of natural resources, the
department of fish and wildlife, the parks and recreation commission,
and authorized public entities described in chapter 79.100 RCW:
(a) Civil penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 18.104.155, 70.94.431,
70.105.080, 70.107.050, 76.09.170, 77.55.291, 78.44.250, section 11 of
this act, 88.46.090, 90.03.600, 90.46.270, 90.48.144, 90.56.310,
90.56.330, and 90.64.102.
(b) Orders issued pursuant to RCW 18.104.043, 18.104.060,
43.27A.190, 70.94.211, 70.94.332, 70.105.095, 86.16.020, 88.46.070,
90.14.130, 90.46.250, 90.48.120, and 90.56.330.
(c) Except as provided in RCW 90.03.210(2), the issuance,
modification, or termination of any permit, certificate, or license by
the department or any air authority in the exercise of its
jurisdiction, including the issuance or termination of a waste disposal
permit, the denial of an application for a waste disposal permit, the
modification of the conditions or the terms of a waste disposal permit,
or a decision to approve or deny an application for a solid waste
permit exemption under RCW 70.95.300.
(d) Decisions of local health departments regarding the grant or
denial of solid waste permits pursuant to chapter 70.95 RCW.
(e) Decisions of local health departments regarding the issuance
and enforcement of permits to use or dispose of biosolids under RCW
70.95J.080.
(f) Decisions of the department regarding waste-derived fertilizer
or micronutrient fertilizer under RCW 15.54.820, and decisions of the
department regarding waste-derived soil amendments under RCW 70.95.205.
(g) Decisions of local conservation districts related to the denial
of approval or denial of certification of a dairy nutrient management
plan; conditions contained in a plan; application of any dairy nutrient
management practices, standards, methods, and technologies to a
particular dairy farm; and failure to adhere to the plan review and
approval timelines in RCW 90.64.026.
(h) Any other decision by the department or an air authority which
pursuant to law must be decided as an adjudicative proceeding under
chapter 34.05 RCW.
(i) Decisions of the department of natural resources, the
department of fish and wildlife, and the department that are reviewable
under chapter 76.09 RCW, and the department of natural resources'
appeals of county, city, or town objections under RCW 76.09.050(7).
(j) Forest health hazard orders issued by the commissioner of
public lands under RCW 76.06.180.
(k) Decisions of the department of fish and wildlife to issue,
deny, condition, or modify a hydraulic project approval permit under
chapter 77.55 RCW.
(l) Decisions of the department of natural resources that are
reviewable under RCW 78.44.270.
(m) Decisions of an authorized public entity under RCW 79.100.010
to take temporary possession or custody of a vessel or to contest the
amount of reimbursement owed that are reviewable by the hearings board
under RCW 79.100.120.
(2) The following hearings shall not be conducted by the hearings
board:
(a) Hearings required by law to be conducted by the shorelines
hearings board pursuant to chapter 90.58 RCW.
(b) Hearings conducted by the department pursuant to RCW 70.94.332,
70.94.390, 70.94.395, 70.94.400, 70.94.405, 70.94.410, and 90.44.180.
(c) Appeals of decisions by the department under RCW 90.03.110 and
90.44.220.
(d) Hearings conducted by the department to adopt, modify, or
repeal rules.
(3) Review of rules and regulations adopted by the hearings board
shall be subject to review in accordance with the provisions of the
administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15 Section 13 of this act expires June 30,
2019.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16 Section 14 of this act takes effect June
30, 2019.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17 The department of ecology shall work with
the United States coast guard to urge that, with respect to the shared
inland marine waters of Puget Sound and coastal approaches to the Puget
Sound, the appropriate provincial and national regulatory entities in
Canada require comparable oil transportation safety standards to that
required under this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 18 This act may be known and cited as the oil
transportation safety act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 19 If any provision of this act or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other
persons or circumstances is not affected.