(The Center Square) – The Washington State Senate has passed a bill that would enhance enforcement of state environmental laws by making entities subject to those laws and increasing penalties for those who violate them.

Backers of Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5360 “concerning environmental crimes” say it’s a necessary step to ensure environmental regulations are followed, while opponents fear it will lead to the prosecution of individuals who unwittingly break those laws.

Among Washington’s environmental laws are the Water Pollution Control Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Hazardous Waste Management Act. Under existing state law, there are penalties for individuals who violate their provisions, including fines and prosecution.

However, the Department of Ecology notes that criminal charges are pursued in “severe cases” and penalties occur “sometimes as a last resort.” Between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2024, the state Department of Ecology issued $1.9 million in penalties of $1,000 or more.

“When an individual or business is not in compliance, education, and technical assistance is often enough to correct the problem,” Ecology’s website states.

ESSB 5360, sponsored by Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma, would expand the definition of “person” in those laws to include corporations, public agencies, and cities, which would be held accountable based on the actions of agents acting “within the scope of his or her duties and on behalf of the entity” if it “knowingly violates” those laws. Each day the violation occurs may be considered separate violations.

The bill also sets out criminal penalties for those violations; a first-degree violation of the those laws would be punishable as a Class B Felony, while second-degree violations would constitute a Class C Felony. Class B felonies can result in 10 years in prison, up to $20,000 in fines, and consist of crimes such as:

• Second-degree manslaughter
• Stealing a gun or possessing a stolen gun
• Residential burglary
• Restraining order violation

On the Senate floor prior to a March 4 vote on the bill, Trudeau told colleagues that “environmental disasters, and toxic pollution often falls on future generations to clean up. I believe that it is time that we ensure that we have really strong protections against environmental crimes. We have to be able to figure out how to protect our laws and our environment here in the state of Washington.”

She added that “however, our feelings are about what’s happening at the federal level” it is possible “that federal enforcement when it comes to the Environmental Protection Agency are likely to go away.

Much of the committee and floor debates centered around concerns by opponents that the bill would open individuals up to criminal prosecution who unwittingly or unintentionally break the laws.

Prior to the Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee vote advancing the bill, Sen. Shelly Short, R-Addy, said, “I feel like it really sets it in more of a potential to weaponize this, and I use that strong word, again, just because of the nature of how these policies and these rules are enacted.”

The bill uses the terms “knowing” and “knowingly” to describe a violation subject to the bill; a floor amendment sponsored by Trudeau clarifies that those terms are in reference to existing Washington Criminal Code definitions. The amendment was adopted.

Another proposed amendment that didn’t pass would have made violations a misdemeanor for the first offense. Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Cheney, told colleagues on the Senate Floor “if you have a learning curve problem after that, say this becomes a felony at that point, that makes more sense. The last thing the state needs is more felons.”

Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, warned that the bill could undermine the state’s ability to meet other environmental goals, such as those outlined in the Climate Commitment Act and the Clean Energy Transformation Act that mandate new construction.

“We have to go build things … and we’re not very good at it. We make it very hard in our state to build things. From the folks from the perspective of folks who build things, it’s SB 5360) very uncomplicated. It means additional regulation, additional risk of building things. That’s what it means.”

SB 5260 has not yet been referred to a House committee.