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Ecology director outlines permitting reforms, new templates and a push for customer service
Summary
Casey, director of the Washington State Department of Ecology, described early priorities including a new clean-energy unit, a customer-service strategy and three programmatic EIS templates intended to speed utility-scale solar, onshore wind and green hydrogen projects.
Casey, director of the Washington State Department of Ecology, used a business audience at an Association of Washington Business panel to outline early steps she says will make the agency easier to work with and shorten permitting timelines.
"Every day I'm learning something new about what we do," Casey said, framing her approach as twofold: improving systems and shifting culture. She told attendees Ecology tracks dozens of permit types and plans to use that data to change how success is measured.
As part of the systems work, Casey said Ecology has stood up a dedicated clean-energy permitting unit to provide consistent guidance to project proponents. "We want no surprises," she said, urging developers to engage "early and often" with Ecology staff so applications arrive complete.
Casey also announced that next month the agency will release three programmatic environmental-impact-statement templates under the state Environmental Policy Act — for utility-scale solar, onshore wind and green hydrogen. The templates will include checklists and mitigation guidance designed to reduce incomplete applications and, she said, could shave years off approval timelines by standardizing common analyses.
The director described federal funding and staffing changes as additional pressures on the agency: she said a recent termination of the state's AmeriCorps grant disrupted work and that loss of federal expertise can complicate Ecology's ability to implement federal laws it administers.
Casey asked the business community to help by participating in advisory forums and hosting Ecology staff for site visits across the state. She also said the agency is exploring a standing business advisory committee to create a regular channel for feedback.
The panel concluded with an audience exchange about targeted permitting tools and collaborative outreach; Casey repeated her invitation for industry groups to "invite our team out" to discuss local challenges and opportunities.
The panel moved on to audience questions; no formal actions or votes were taken at the session.
