Committee hears HB 1303 (CURB Act) to add environmental justice review to SEPA and restrict some permits in overburdened areas

The House Environment & Energy Committee heard House Bill 1303, the Curb Pollution Act (sponsored by Rep. Charlotte Mena), which would add environmental justice requirements to Washington’s State Environmental Policy Act and restrict certain Clean Air Act permits in the state’s most pollution‑burdened communities.

Under the bill’s three main components, the Department of Ecology would be required to adopt rules to explicitly include environmental justice among SEPA’s elements; certain covered projects in communities ranked 7 or higher on the state’s environmental health disparities map (or adjacent to them) would require an environmental justice impact statement (EJIS) before a SEPA threshold determination; and construction orders or approvals for certain large air sources in census tracts ranked 9 or 10 would be prohibited for specified types of facilities, including major sources and incinerators.

Sponsor Representative Charlotte Mena (29th Legislative District) framed the bill…