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Burke‑Gilman missing‑link bill sparks sharply divided testimony as committee weighs narrow SEPA exemption
Summary
The Senate committee heard more than three hours of testimony Tuesday on House Bill 1814, a narrowly targeted proposal to exempt some trail or path projects from SEPA review, prompted by a long‑running dispute over the Burke‑Gilman Trail ‘missing link’ through Ballard in Seattle.
The Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee received extended, often heated testimony on Engrossed House Bill 1814, a narrowly tailored proposal to create a categorical exemption from the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) for certain trail or path projects.
Staff summarized the bill as establishing a SEPA exemption for trail or path projects of 10 acres or less located on railroad rights‑of‑way designated for interim trail use and situated in cities with populations of at least 500,000. The bill requires public notice at the project start, middle and end of the proposed location and mandates that applicants seek “meaningful consultation” with any federally recognized tribe that may be affected, with procedural requirements for that consultation included in the bill text.
Representative Joe Fitzgibbon (30th Legislative District), the prime sponsor, said the measure responds…
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