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Ecology outlines SEPA basics, exemptions and recent housing-focused changes
Summary
Department of Ecology staff briefed the House Local Government Committee on the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), describing the law's purpose, common categorical exemptions, planned actions, and recent statutory changes that expand housing-related exemptions and narrow SEPA appeal pathways for some local non-project actions.
The Department of Ecology told the House Local Government Committee that the State Environmental Policy Act, or SEPA, requires public agencies to consider environmental impacts before taking action and applies to state, regional and local agencies, including cities, counties, ports and school districts.
Ecology staff said SEPA is a process that informs permitting decisions rather than a binary permit denial tool. Carrie Sessions, Ecology's governmental relations director, introduced the department's presentation and said Ecology's roles include administering and amending the SEPA rules, providing training and technical assistance, maintaining the SEPA register and, in some cases, acting as lead agency on reviews.
Brenda McFarland, who manages Ecology's environmental…
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