MRSC Insight Blog

Posts for Environmental Policy

August 27, 2020 by Aly Jones
Category: Environmental Policy , Environmental Management , New Legislation and Regulations

This blog post provides an overview of ESSB 5323, which bans Washington-based retail establishments from providing single-use, plastic carryout bags.

Banning Plastic Straws and Utensils

August 16, 2018 by Flannary Collins
Category: Environmental Policy , Environmental Management

Is the era of plastic over in Seattle? Managing Attorney Flannary Collins looks at the city's, and other jurisdictions, attempts to ban various products made of plastic, from straws to bags to food-service ware.

Paper or Plastic? An Overview of Plastic Bag Bans in Washington State

August 17, 2016 by Paul Sullivan
Category: Environmental Policy , Environmental Management

This post aims to provide a general overview of what plastic bag bans look like, how effective they’ve been, and what authority cities and counties in Washington have to implement such bans.

SEPA Rule Changes Take Effect on May 2014!

May 7, 2014 by Bob Meinig
Category: Environmental Policy

The Department of Ecology (DOE) has finalized new State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) rules that update existing rules, and these new rules take effect on May 10. The 2012 Legislature tasked DOE with the responsibility of amending the SEPA rules in chapter 197-11 WAC to implement the parts of SEPA legislation enacted during the 2012 session that address issues such as increasing categorical...

New SEPA Regulations Implement 2012 Legislation

February 6, 2013 by Bob Meinig
Category: Environmental Policy

In my blog post of July 18, 2012, I discussed the 2012 amendments to the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) that directly affect local governments, and I noted that “[t]he amendments concerning increasing categorical exemptions for certain minor construction projects and authorizing flexibility in the SEPA checklist require rulemaking by DOE for full implementation.” The Department of...

Changes to SEPA Effective on July 10, 2012

July 18, 2012 by Bob Meinig
Category: Environmental Policy

This year, the legislature passed amendments to the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) that directly affect local governments. In Part Three of 2ESSB 6406 (Laws of 2012, 1st Spec. Sess., ch. 1), the legislature enacted a number of changes to SEPA that are designed to make this environmental law work better for cities, counties, and project applicants by coordinating it more effectively with...