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Senate committee hears competing views on SB 5,609 to require cultural‑resource review for SEPA categorical exemptions
Summary
Supporters, including tribal leaders and local planners, praised SB 5,609 for protecting irreplaceable cultural sites and encouraging early consultation; builders, counties and developers warned it could delay housing, increase costs and create legal uncertainty without statutory guardrails and phased implementation.
A Washington State Senate committee heard public testimony Jan. 30 on Senate Bill 5,609, a proposed substitute that would require cultural‑resource review when projects proceed under certain SEPA categorical exemptions, committee staff said.
The measure, as described by Alicia Kinney Clawson, staff to the committee, would expand the role of the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) to develop minimum standards and would condition the use of certain categorical exemptions on adoption of local ordinances or cultural resource management plans meeting DAHP standards. Clawson told the committee that the substitute narrows earlier language and that a fiscal note exists for the underlying bill, with ongoing costs to both the Department of Ecology and DAHP.
Tribal leaders and preservation officials urged lawmakers to…
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