On August 13, a group of 22 U.S. states and 7 cities filed a petition for review of the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule. The lawsuit, filed in…
Washington State Department of Ecology
Washington Resists U.S. EPA Revocation of State Water Quality Standards
Last week, U.S. EPA notified the Washington Department of Ecology of its plans to rescind Obama-era Washington state water quality standards and return to previous standards. In 2016, the Obama…
Washington Takes Action to Support Orca and Salmon Recovery
Washington State Governor Jay Inslee on May 8 signed five bills to promote salmon recovery and protect the safety and livelihood of the Southern Resident orca. The bills direct the…
Washington Awards its First VW Settlement Grants
The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) recently awarded its first grants from the state’s $28.4 million Volkswagen diesel emissions settlement. The department awarded $9.4 million to purchase 19 electric transit…
Washington Launches New Online ‘Dirt Alert’ Map
This month, Washington Department of Ecology (WDOE) launched a new online Dirt Alert Map that focuses on the Tacoma Smelter Plume, but also covers areas in the state where soil…
ECOS 2018 State Innovation Award Videos
In honor of ECOS’ 25th anniversary, the ECOS State Program Innovation Awards took to the big screen at the 2018 Fall Meeting in Stowe, Vermont. Twenty-two states submitted excellent video nominations showcasing the results of innovative programs…
Washington State Cleanup and Redevelopment Grant Yields Commerce
Washington State is celebrating new commerce and jobs from the cleanup and redevelopment of an old sawmill in the city of Cashmere. The state’s Department of Ecology granted the Port…
Washington Helps Local Communities Respond to Oil Spills
The Washington Department of Ecology announced this week the recipients of 25 equipment cache grants and four Coastal Protection Fund grants aimed to help local communities respond to and restore…
Washington State Enacts Landmark Phaseout of Certain Perfluorinated Chemicals
Washington Governor Jay Inslee last week signed two bills to combat perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs). The first will phase out the use of the chemicals, which are commonly used to make packaging…
Washington State Addresses Mercury Concerns
This week, to mark the United Nations’ launch of the first Minamata Convention on Mercury, the Washington Department of Ecology wrote a blog post highlighting the ways in which the state…