The legislature finds that land disposal and incineration of solid and hazardous waste can be both harmful to the environment and costly to those who must dispose of the waste. In order to address this problem in the most cost-effective and environmentally sound manner, and to implement the highest waste management priority as articulated in RCW 70A.205.005 and 70A.300.260, public and private efforts should focus on reducing the generation of waste. Waste reduction can be achieved by encouraging voluntary efforts to redesign industrial, commercial, production, and other processes to result in the reduction or elimination of waste by-products and to maximize the in-process reuse or reclamation of valuable spent material.

In the interest of protecting the public health, safety, and the environment, the legislature declares that it is the policy of the state of Washington to encourage reduction in the use of hazardous substances and reduction in the generation of hazardous waste whenever economically and technically practicable.

The legislature finds that hazardous wastes are generated by numerous different sources including, but not limited to, large and small business, households, and state and local government. The legislature further finds that a goal against which efforts at waste reduction may be measured is essential for an effective hazardous waste reduction program. The Pacific Northwest hazardous waste advisory council has endorsed a goal of reducing, through hazardous substance use reduction and waste reduction techniques, the generation of hazardous waste by fifty percent by 1995. The legislature adopts this as a policy goal for the state of Washington. The legislature recognizes that many individual businesses have already reduced the generation of hazardous waste through appropriate hazardous waste reduction techniques. The legislature also recognizes that there are some basic industrial processes which by their nature have limited potential for significantly reducing the use of certain raw materials or substantially reducing the generation of hazardous wastes. Therefore, the goal of reducing hazardous waste generation by fifty percent cannot be applied as a regulatory requirement.

As used in this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Department" means the department of ecology.

(2) "Director" means the director of the department of ecology or the director's designee.

(3) "Dangerous waste" shall have the same definition as set forth in RCW 70A.300.010(1) and shall specifically include those wastes designated as dangerous by rules adopted pursuant to chapter 70A.300 RCW.

(4) "EPA/state identification number" means the number assigned by the EPA (environmental protection agency) or by the department of ecology to each generator and/or transporter and treatment, storage, and/or disposal facility.

(5) "Extremely hazardous waste" shall have the same definition as set forth in RCW 70A.300.010(7) and shall specifically include those wastes designated as extremely hazardous by rules adopted pursuant to chapter 70A.300 RCW.

(6) "Fee" means the annual hazardous waste fees imposed under RCW 70A.218.020 and 70A.218.030.

(7) "Generate" means any act or process which produces hazardous waste or first causes a hazardous waste to become subject to regulation.

(8) "Hazardous substance" means any hazardous substance listed as a hazardous substance as of March 21, 1990, pursuant to section 313 of Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, any other substance determined by the director by rule to present a threat to human health or the environment, and all ozone depleting compounds as defined by the Montreal Protocol of October 1987.

(9)(a) "Hazardous substance use reduction" means the reduction, avoidance, or elimination of the use or production of hazardous substances without creating substantial new risks to human health or the environment.

(b) "Hazardous substance use reduction" includes proportionate changes in the usage of hazardous substances as the usage of a hazardous substance or hazardous substances changes as a result of production changes or other business changes.

(10) "Hazardous substance user" means any facility required to report under section 313 of Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, except for those facilities which only distribute or use fertilizers or pesticides intended for commercial agricultural applications.

(11) "Hazardous waste" means and includes all dangerous and extremely hazardous wastes, but does not include radioactive wastes or a substance composed of both radioactive and hazardous components and does not include any hazardous waste generated as a result of a remedial action under state or federal law.

(12) "Hazardous waste generator" means any person generating hazardous waste regulated by the department.

(13) "Office" means the office of waste reduction.

(14) "Plan" means the plan provided for in RCW 70A.214.110.

(15) "Person" means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, partnership, association, state, public or private or municipal corporation, commission, political subdivision of a state, interstate body, the federal government, including any agency or officer thereof, and any Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization.

(16) "Process" means all industrial, commercial, production, and other processes that result in the generation of waste.

(17) "Recycled for beneficial use" means the use of hazardous waste, either before or after reclamation, as a substitute for a commercial product or raw material, but does not include: (a) Use constituting disposal; (b) incineration; or (c) use as a fuel.

(18) "Recycling" means reusing waste materials and extracting valuable materials from a waste stream. Recycling does not include burning for energy recovery.

(19) "Treatment" means the physical, chemical, or biological processing of waste to render it completely innocuous, produce a recyclable by-product, reduce toxicity, or substantially reduce the volume of material requiring disposal as described in the priorities established in RCW 70A.300.260. Treatment does not include incineration.

(20) "Used oil" means (a) lubricating fluids that have been removed from an engine crankcase, transmission, gearbox, hydraulic device, or differential of an automobile, bus, truck, vessel, plane, heavy equipment, or machinery powered by an internal combustion engine; (b) any oil that has been refined from crude oil, used, and as a result of use, has been contaminated with physical or chemical impurities; and (c) any oil that has been refined from crude oil and, as a consequence of extended storage, spillage, or contamination, is no longer useful to the original purchaser. "Used oil" does not include used oil to which hazardous wastes have been added.

(21) "Waste" means any solid waste as defined under RCW 70A.205.015, any hazardous waste, any air contaminant as defined under RCW 70A.15.1030, and any organic or inorganic matter that shall cause or tend to cause water pollution as defined under RCW 90.48.020.

(22) "Waste generator" means any individual, business, government agency, or any other organization that generates waste.

(23) "Waste reduction" means all in-plant practices that reduce, avoid, or eliminate the generation of wastes or the toxicity of wastes, prior to generation, without creating substantial new risks to human health or the environment. As used in RCW 70A.214.110 through 70A.214.150, "waste reduction" refers to hazardous waste only.

(1) There is established in the department an office of waste reduction. The office shall use its authorities to encourage the voluntary reduction of hazardous substance usage and waste generation by waste generators and hazardous substance users. The office shall prepare and submit a quarterly progress report to the director.

(2) The office shall be the coordinating center for all state agency programs that provide technical assistance to waste generators and hazardous substance users and shall serve as the state's lead agency and promoter for such programs. In addition to this coordinating function, the office shall encourage hazardous substance use reduction and waste reduction by:

(a) Providing for the rendering of advice and consultation to waste generators and hazardous substance users on hazardous substance use reduction and waste reduction techniques, including assistance in preparation of plans provided for in RCW 70A.214.110;

(b) Sponsoring or co-sponsoring with public or private organizations technical workshops and seminars on waste reduction and hazardous substance use reduction;

(c) Administering a waste reduction and hazardous substance use reduction database and hotline providing comprehensive referral services to waste generators and hazardous substance users;

(d) Administering a waste reduction and hazardous substance use reduction research and development program;

(e) Coordinating a waste reduction and hazardous substance use reduction public education program that includes the utilization of existing publications from public and private sources, as well as publishing necessary new materials on waste reduction;

(f) Recommending to institutions of higher education in the state courses and curricula in areas related to waste reduction and hazardous substance use reduction; and

(g) Operating an intern program in cooperation with institutions of higher education and other outside resources to provide technical assistance on hazardous substance use reduction and waste reduction techniques and to carry out research projects as needed within the office.

(1) The office shall establish a waste reduction and hazardous substance use reduction consultation program to be coordinated with other state waste reduction and hazardous substance use reduction consultation programs.

(2) The director may grant a request by any waste generator or hazardous substance user for advice and consultation on waste reduction and hazardous substance use reduction techniques and assistance in preparation or modification of a plan, executive summary, or annual progress report, or assistance in the implementation of a plan required by RCW 70A.214.110. Pursuant to a request from a facility such as a business, governmental entity, or other process site in the state, the director may visit the facility making the request for the purposes of observing hazardous substance use and the waste-generating process, obtaining information relevant to waste reduction and hazardous substance use reduction, rendering advice, and making recommendations. No such visit may be regarded as an inspection or investigation, and no notices or citations may be issued, or civil penalty be assessed, upon such a visit. A representative of the director providing advisory or consultative services under this section may not have any enforcement authority.

(3) Consultation and advice given under this section shall be limited to the matters specified in the request and shall include specific techniques of waste reduction and hazardous substance use reduction tailored to the relevant process. In granting any request for advisory or consultative services, the director may provide for an alternative means of affording consultation and advice other than on-site consultation.

(4) Any proprietary information obtained by the director while carrying out the duties required under this section shall remain confidential and shall not be publicized or become part of the database established under RCW 70A.214.060 without written permission of the requesting party.

The office, in coordination with all other state waste reduction technical assistance programs, shall sponsor technical workshops and seminars on waste reduction techniques that have been successfully used to eliminate or reduce substantially the amount of waste or toxicity of hazardous waste generated, or that use in-process reclamation or reuse of spent material.

(1) The office shall establish a statewide waste reduction hotline with the capacity to refer waste generators and the public to sources of information on specific waste reduction techniques and procedures. The hotline shall coordinate with all other state waste hotlines.

(2) The director shall work with the state library to establish a database system that shall include proven waste reduction techniques and case studies of effective waste reduction. The database system shall be: (a) Coordinated with all other state agency databases on waste reduction; (b) administered in conjunction with the statewide waste reduction hotline; and (c) readily accessible to the public.

(1) The office may administer a waste reduction research and development program. The director may contract with any public or private organization for the purpose of developing methods and technologies that achieve waste reduction. All research performed and all methods or technologies developed as a result of a contract entered into under this section shall become the property of the state and shall be incorporated into the database system established under RCW 70A.214.060.

(2) Any contract entered into under this section shall be awarded only after requests for proposals have been circulated to persons, firms, or organizations who have requested that their names be placed on a proposal list. The director shall establish a proposal list and shall review and evaluate all proposals received.

(1) The director may solicit and accept gifts, grants, conveyances, bequests, and devises, in trust or otherwise, to be directed to the office of waste reduction.

(2) The director may enter into contracts with any public or private organization to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

The legislature finds and declares that the buildings and facilities owned and leased by state government produce significant amounts of solid and hazardous wastes, and actions must be taken to reduce and recycle these wastes and thus reduce the costs associated with their disposal. In order for the operations of state government to provide the citizens of the state an example of positive waste management, the legislature further finds and declares that state government should undertake an aggressive program designed to reduce and recycle solid and hazardous wastes produced in the operations of state buildings and facilities to the maximum extent possible.

The office of waste reduction, in cooperation with the department of enterprise services, shall establish an intensive waste reduction and recycling program to promote the reduction of waste produced by state agencies and to promote the source separation and recovery of recyclable and reusable materials.

All state agencies, including but not limited to, colleges, community colleges, universities, offices of elected and appointed officers, the supreme court, court of appeals, and administrative departments of state government shall fully cooperate with the office of waste reduction and recycling in all phases of implementing the provisions of this section. The office shall establish a coordinated state plan identifying each agency's participation in waste reduction and recycling. The office shall develop the plan in cooperation with a multiagency committee on waste reduction and recycling. Appointments to the committee shall be made by the director of the department of enterprise services. The director shall notify each agency of the committee, which shall implement the applicable waste reduction and recycling plan elements. All state agencies are to use maximum efforts to achieve a goal of increasing the use of recycled paper by fifty percent by July 1, 1993.

(1) The office of waste reduction shall develop, in consultation with the superintendent of public instruction, an awards program to achieve waste reduction and recycling in public schools, and to encourage waste reduction and recycling in private schools, grades kindergarten through high school. The office shall develop guidelines for program development and implementation. Each public school shall, and each private school may, implement a waste reduction and recycling program conforming to guidelines developed by the office.

(2) For the purpose of granting awards, the office may group all participating schools into not more than three classes, based upon student population, distance to markets for recyclable materials, and other criteria, as deemed appropriate by the office. Except as otherwise provided, five or more awards may be granted to each of the three classes. Each award shall be no more than $5,000 until 2026, and no more than $10,000 beginning January 1, 2026. Awards shall be granted each year to the schools that achieve the greatest levels of waste reduction and recycling. A single award of not less than $5,000 until 2026 or $10,000 beginning in 2026 may be presented to the school having the best recycling program as measured by the total amount of materials recycled, including materials generated outside of the school. A single award of not less than $5,000 until 2026 or $10,000 beginning in 2026 may be presented to the school having the best waste reduction program as determined by the office.

(3) The superintendent of public instruction shall distribute guidelines and other materials developed by the office to implement programs to reduce and recycle waste generated in administrative offices, classrooms, laboratories, cafeterias, and maintenance operations.

Findings—Intent—2024 c 341: See note following RCW 70A.207.040.

(1) Each hazardous waste generator who generates more than two thousand six hundred forty pounds of hazardous waste per year and each hazardous substance user, except for those facilities that are primarily permitted treatment, storage, and disposal facilities or recycling facilities, shall prepare a plan for the voluntary reduction of the use of hazardous substances and the generation of hazardous wastes. Hazardous waste generated and recycled for beneficial use, including initial amount of hazardous substances introduced into a process and subsequently recycled for beneficial use, shall not be used in the calculation of hazardous waste generated for purposes of this section. The department may develop reporting requirements, consistent with existing reporting, to establish recycling for beneficial use under this section. Used oil to be rerefined or burned for energy or heat recovery shall not be used in the calculation of hazardous wastes generated for purposes of this section, and is not required to be addressed by plans prepared under this section. A person with multiple interrelated facilities where the processes in the facilities are substantially similar, may prepare a single plan covering one or more of those facilities.

(2) Each user or generator required to write a plan is encouraged to advise its employees of the planning process and solicit comments or suggestions from its employees on hazardous substance use and waste reduction options.

(3) The department shall adopt by April 1, 1991, rules for preparation of plans. The rules shall require the plan to address the following options, according to the following order of priorities: Hazardous substance use reduction, waste reduction, recycling, and treatment. In the planning process, first consideration shall be given to hazardous substance use reduction and waste reduction options. Consideration shall be given next to recycling options. Recycling options may be considered only after hazardous substance use reduction options and waste reduction options have been thoroughly researched and shown to be inappropriate. Treatment options may be considered only after hazardous substance use reduction, waste reduction, and recycling options have been thoroughly researched and shown to be inappropriate. Documentation of the research shall be available to the department upon request. The rules shall also require the plans to discuss the hazardous substance use reduction, waste reduction, and closed loop recycling options separately from other recycling and treatment options. All plans shall be written in conformance with the format prescribed in the rules adopted under this section. The rules shall require the plans to include, but not be limited to:

(a) A written policy articulating management and corporate support for the plan and a commitment to implementing planned activities and achieving established goals;

(b) The plan scope and objectives;

(c) Analysis of current hazardous substance use and hazardous waste generation, and a description of current hazardous substance use reduction, waste reduction, recycling, and treatment activities;

(d) An identification of further hazardous substance use reduction, waste reduction, recycling, and treatment opportunities, and an analysis of the amount of hazardous substance use reduction and waste reduction that would be achieved, and the costs. The analysis of options shall demonstrate that the priorities provided for in this section have been followed;

(e) A selection of options to be implemented in accordance with the priorities established in this section;

(f) An analysis of impediments to implementing the options. Impediments that shall be considered acceptable include, but are not limited to: Adverse impacts on product quality, legal or contractual obligations, economic practicality, and technical feasibility;

(g) A written policy stating that in implementing the selected options, whenever technically and economically practicable, risks will not be shifted from one part of a process, environmental media, or product to another;

(h) Specific performance goals in each of the following categories, expressed in numeric terms:

(i) Hazardous substances to be reduced or eliminated from use;

(ii) Wastes to be reduced or eliminated through waste reduction techniques;

(iii) Materials or wastes to be recycled; and

(iv) Wastes to be treated;

If the establishment of numeric performance goals is not practicable, the performance goals shall include a clearly stated list of objectives designed to lead to the establishment of numeric goals as soon as is practicable. Goals shall be set for a five-year period from the first reporting date;

(i) A description of how the wastes that are not recycled or treated and the residues from recycling and treatment processes are managed may be included in the plan;

(j) Hazardous substance use and hazardous waste accounting systems that identify hazardous substance use and waste management costs and factor in liability, compliance, and oversight costs;

(k) A financial description of the plan;

(l) Personnel training and employee involvement programs;

(m) A five-year plan implementation schedule;

(n) Documentation of hazardous substance use reduction and waste reduction efforts completed before or in progress at the time of the first reporting date; and

(o) An executive summary of the plan, which shall include, but not be limited to:

(i) The information required by (c), (e), (h), and (n) of this subsection; and

(ii) A summary of the information required by (d) and (f) of this subsection.

(4) Upon completion of a plan, the owner, chief executive officer, or other person with the authority to commit management to the plan shall sign and submit an executive summary of the plan to the department.

(5) Plans shall be completed and executive summaries submitted in accordance with the following schedule:

(a) Hazardous waste generators who generated more than fifty thousand pounds of hazardous waste in calendar year 1991 and hazardous substance users who were required to report in 1991, by September 1, 1992;

(b) Hazardous waste generators who generated between seven thousand and fifty thousand pounds of hazardous waste in calendar year 1992 and hazardous substance users who were required to report for the first time in 1992, by September 1, 1993;

(c) Hazardous waste generators who generated between two thousand six hundred forty and seven thousand pounds of hazardous waste in 1993 and hazardous substance users who were required to report for the first time in 1993, by September 1, 1994;

(d) Hazardous waste generators who have not been required to complete a plan on or prior to September 1, 1994, must complete a plan by September 1 of the year following the first year that they generate more than two thousand six hundred forty pounds of hazardous waste; and

(e) Hazardous substance users who have not been required to complete a plan on or prior to September 1, 1994, must complete a plan by September 1 of the year following the first year that they are required to report under section 313 of Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act.

(6) Annual progress reports, including a description of the progress made toward achieving the specific performance goals established in the plan, shall be prepared and submitted to the department in accordance with rules developed under this section. Upon the request of two or more users or generators belonging to similar industrial classifications, the department may aggregate data contained in their annual progress reports for the purpose of developing a public record.

(7) Every five years, each plan shall be updated, and a new executive summary shall be submitted to the department.

A person required to prepare a plan under RCW 70A.214.110 because of the quantity of hazardous waste generated may petition the director to be excused from this requirement. The person must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the director that the quantity of hazardous waste generated was due to unique circumstances not likely to be repeated and that the person is unlikely to generate sufficient hazardous waste to require a plan in the next five years.

(1) The department may review a plan, executive summary, or an annual progress report to determine whether the plan, executive summary, or annual progress report is adequate pursuant to the rules developed under this section and with the provisions of RCW 70A.214.110. In determining the adequacy of any plan, executive summary, or annual progress report, the department shall base its determination solely on whether the plan, executive summary, or annual progress report is complete and prepared in accordance with the provisions of RCW 70A.214.110.

(2) Plans developed under RCW 70A.214.110 shall be retained at the facility of the hazardous substance user or hazardous waste generator preparing a plan. The plan is not a public record under the public records act, chapter 42.56 RCW. A user or generator required to prepare a plan shall permit the director or a representative of the director to review the plan to determine its adequacy. No visit made by the director or a representative of the director to a facility for the purposes of this subsection may be regarded as an inspection or investigation, and no notices or citations may be issued, nor any civil penalty assessed, upon such a visit.

(3) If a hazardous substance user or hazardous waste generator fails to complete an adequate plan, executive summary, or annual progress report, the department shall notify the user or generator of the inadequacy, identifying specific deficiencies. For the purposes of this section, a deficiency may include failure to develop a plan, failure to submit an executive summary pursuant to the schedule provided in RCW 70A.214.110(5), and failure to submit an annual progress report pursuant to the rules developed under RCW 70A.214.110(6). The department shall specify a reasonable time frame, of not less than ninety days, within which the user or generator shall complete a modified plan, executive summary, or annual progress report addressing the specified deficiencies.

(4) If the department determines that a modified plan, executive summary, or annual progress report is inadequate, the department may, within its discretion, either require further modification or enter an order pursuant to subsection (5)(a) of this section.

(5)(a) If, after having received a list of specified deficiencies from the department, a hazardous substance user or hazardous waste generator required to prepare a plan fails to complete modification of a plan, executive summary, or annual progress report within the time period specified by the department, the department may enter an order pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW finding the user or generator not in compliance with the requirements of RCW 70A.214.110. When the order is final, the department shall notify the department of revenue to charge a penalty fee. The penalty fee shall be the greater of one thousand dollars or three times the amount of the user's or generator's previous year's fee, in addition to the current year's fee. If no fee was assessed the previous year, the penalty shall be the greater of one thousand dollars or three times the amount of the current year's fee. The penalty assessed under this subsection shall be collected each year after the year for which the penalty was assessed until an adequate plan or executive summary is completed.

(b) If a hazardous substance user or hazardous waste generator required to prepare a plan fails to complete an adequate plan, executive summary, or annual progress report after the department has levied against the user or generator the penalty provided in (a) of this subsection, the user or generator shall be required to pay a surcharge to the department whenever the user or generator disposes of a hazardous waste at any hazardous waste incinerator or hazardous waste landfill facility located in Washington state, until a plan, executive summary, or annual progress report is completed and determined to be adequate by the department. The surcharge shall be equal to three times the fee charged for disposal. The department shall furnish the incinerator and landfill facilities in this state with a list of environmental protection agency/state identification numbers of the hazardous waste generators that are not in compliance with the requirements of RCW 70A.214.110.

A user or generator may appeal from a department order or a surcharge under RCW 70A.214.130 to the pollution control hearings board pursuant to chapter 43.21B RCW.

(1) The department shall make available for public inspection any executive summary or annual progress report submitted to the department. Any hazardous substance user or hazardous waste generator required to prepare an executive summary or annual progress report who believes that disclosure of any information contained in the executive summary or annual progress report may adversely affect the competitive position of the user or generator may request the department pursuant to RCW 43.21A.160 to delete from the public record those portions of the executive summary or annual progress report that may affect the user's or generator's competitive position. The department shall not disclose any information contained in an executive summary or annual progress report pending a determination of whether the department will delete any information contained in the report from the public record.

(2) Any ten persons residing within ten miles of a hazardous substance user or hazardous waste generator required to prepare a plan may file with the department a petition requesting the department to examine a plan to determine its adequacy. The department shall report its determination of adequacy to the petitioners and to the user or generator within a reasonable time. The department may deny a petition if the department has within the previous year determined the plan of the user or generator named in the petition to be adequate.

(3) The department shall maintain a record of each plan, executive summary, or annual progress report it reviews, and a list of all plans, executive summaries, or annual progress reports the department has determined to be inadequate, including descriptions of corrective actions taken. This information shall be made available to the public.

(1) Not later than January 1, 1995, the department shall designate an industry type and up to ten individual facilities within that industry type to be the focus of a pilot multimedia program. The program shall be designed to coordinate department actions related to environmental permits, plans, approvals, certificates, registrations, technical assistance, and inspections. The program shall also investigate the feasibility of issuing facility-wide permits. The director shall determine the industry type and facilities based on:

(a) A review of at least three industry types; and

(b) Criteria which shall include at least the following factors:

(i) The potential for the industry to serve as a statewide model for multimedia environmental programs including pollution prevention;

(ii) Whether the industry type is subject to regulatory requirements relating to at least two of the following subject areas: Air quality, water quality, or hazardous waste management;

(iii) The existence within the industry type of a range of business sizes; and

(iv) Voluntary participation in the program.

(2) In developing the program, the department shall consult with and seek the cooperation of the environmental protection agency.

(3) For purposes of this section, "facility-wide permit" means a single multimedia permit issued by the department to the owner or operator of a facility incorporating the permits and any other relevant department approvals previously issued to the owner or operator or currently required by the department.

Conflict with federal requirements—1994 c 248: "If any part of this act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements, the conflicting part of this act is inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict and with respect to the agencies directly affected, and this finding does not affect the operation of the remainder of this act in its application to the agencies concerned." [ 1994 c 248 s 5.]