Stillaguamish tribal members harvesting a clam garden.

Environmental Justice Assessments

An Environmental Justice Assessment (EJA) is a process DNR staff follow to determine the impacts of significant agency actions on tribes, overburdened communities and vulnerable populations and to ensure environmental benefits are equitably distributed.

An EJA asks agencies to identify the following:

  • Overburdened communities and vulnerable populations that may be impacted by the action.
  • Environmental benefits and harms caused by the action, and any associated health impacts.
  • Options to mitigate, reduce or eliminate environmental harms and to equitably distribute benefits associated with the action.

To complete an EJA, agencies must meaningfully engage with members of overburdened communities and vulnerable populations and offer consultation to impacted tribes. Agencies must also use tools like the Environmental Health Disparities Map to identify areas exposed to pollution and other environmental harms.

Washington Environmental Health Disparities Map (opens in new window).
Click above to access the Washington State Environmental Health Disparities Map.

What Are Significant Agency Actions?

The Healthy Environmental for All (HEAL) Act defines “Significant Agency Actions” as those which can cause environmental harm or benefits to tribes, overburdened communities and vulnerable populations.

At DNR, EJAs are conducted on Significant Agency Actions (SAAs) such as the development and adoption of significant legislative rules, new grants or loan programs, submission of agency-requested legislation, and any other actions deemed significant consistent with the law.*

For specific requirements, please visit the Revised Codes of Washington (RCW) here:

* DNR is in the process of including Sustainable Harvest Calculations as a Significant Agency Action.

 

Environmental Justice Assessments in Progress

This section contains information about “active” SAAs for which we are currently working on an EJA. Because these are in progress, it is a great time to provide feedback on these actions by following the link (if provided) or emailing our team at: Envjustice@dnr.wa.gov

Omak Consolidation, Expansion, and Relocation 
SAA Category
  • A capital project, grant, or loan award by DNR of at least $12,000,000
Description of Action

Capital construction project to support DNR’s wildland firefighting, forest resiliency, and other programs in the northeast region of the state. This project will improve DNR’s ability to mitigate and fight wildland fires that threaten local communities, trust resources, and wildlife habitat. Completion of this project will assist DNR in limiting economic losses, reduce threats to public safety, and will support long-term health and resilience of forests and other landscapes.

Link to EJA
  • Available upon completion
Status
  • In progress
Resources
Multi-Use Roadway Safety Account Expansion
SAA Category
  • Agency-Request Legislation
Description of Action

This bill would expand access to the Multi-Use Roadway Safety Account (MURSA) to the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) for management of Green Dot Roads. This is aimed at increasing available maintenance funds for roads open to motorized recreation in Yakima, Kittitas, and Chelan counties. Improved maintenance would reduce environmental resource damage, improve public access, improve safety, and enhance the visitor experience.

Link to EJA
  • Available upon completion
Status
  • Ongoing
Resources
Timber Payments
SAA Category
  • Agency-Request Legislation
Description of Action

Agency-request legislation to amend RCW 79.10.460, RCW 79.15.080, and RCW 79.15.100 to clarify DNR’s authority to establish payment terms for timber sale contracts. The proposal would allow DNR and the Board of Natural Resources to use tools such as periodic payments, advance payments, security, or other financial assurances when appropriate. This would help reduce revenue volatility, improve predictability for trust beneficiaries and junior taxing districts, and maintain transparency through existing Board approval and timber sale notice processes.

Link to EJA
  • Available upon completion
Status
  • Ongoing
Resources
Creating a Recreation Account
SAA Category
  • Agency-Request Legislation
Description of Action

The DNR Recreation Program does not have a dedicated account in the State Treasury for donations or collected fees for permits or other activities. This creates issues with transparency and accounting. The Department proposes agency request legislation to create this account. The legislation will not create any fees, nor will it generate revenue; it is just the creation of the account.     

Link to EJA
  • Available upon completion
Status
  • Ongoing
Resources
Increasing the effectiveness of mooring buoy management
SAA Category
  • Agency-Request Legislation
Description of Action

DNR's goal is to address the management issues surrounding mooring buoys on state-owned aquatic lands via three mechanisms: 1) requiring a registration for recreational mooring buoys, 2) clearly defining DNR’s authority in statute, and 3) implementing a Watercraft Excise Tax diversion to fund enforcement and compliance of unauthorized buoys.

By adding a registration requirement for no-fee mooring buoys, DNR gains the ability to track and effectively manage recreational buoys. By clearly defining DNR’s authority to take possession of trespassing buoys, DNR gains the ability to enforce compliance with licensing and registration requirements. By implementing a 2.5% diversion of the Watercraft Excise Tax, DNR gains the resources needed to fund these compliance efforts and improve the condition of and access to state-owned aquatic lands for all users. These combined efforts will reduce the hazards to public health, safety, and access caused directly and indirectly from impacts of unauthorized and abandoned buoys, mitigate the impacts of mooring buoys on tribal treaty rights, and improve the agency's overall ability to protect the environment and foster public enjoyment of the aquatic environment.

This proposal honors requests from Tribes for better management of mooring buoys and recreational structures that may interfere with treaty fishing and shellfish rights. It will also benefit those overburdened communities or vulnerable populations who rely on water access for subsistence fishing and/or commercial use, which can be hampered by mooring buoy interference.

Link to EJA
  • Available upon completion
Status
  • Ongoing
Resources
Forest Fire Protection Assessment (FFPA) Adjustments
SAA Category
  • Agency-Request Legislation
Description of Action

The Forest Fire Protection Assessment (FFPA) provides a crucial source of revenue for DNR, paid by private forest landowners and certain exempt entities, to cover the costs of preparing to fight forest fires rather than the actual suppression costs.

The state’s contributions toward forest fire protection have significantly increased over the last 21 years, while the rates for FFPA have not changed since 2005. The revenue generated from the FFPA does not adequately cover the cost for protection.

DNR is pursuing agency request legislation to adjust the FFPA rates to provide a dedicated source of revenue to fund DNR's forest fire protection priorities including training wildland firefighters, equipping wildland firefighters through the DNR fire cache, keeping wildland firefighters safe, and preventing forest fires with wildfire prevention programming. This proposal will also align the FFPA with statutory requirements for the State and private forestland owners to cover an equitable share of the forest fire protection costs in the state.

This proposal will make more resources available to enhance forest fire protection across the state and better position DNR to implement the Washington State Wildland Fire Protection 10-Year Strategic Plan. Wildfire disasters and poor air quality often hit marginalized populations the hardest. This proposal will better ensure protection resources are available, helping to reduce wildfire related health impacts for overburdened communities, vulnerable populations, and all Washingtonians.

Link to EJA
  • Available upon completion
Status
  • Ongoing
Resources
Timber Sale Efficiencies Amendment
SAA Category
  • Agency-Request Legislation
Description of Action

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is proposing amendments to RCW 79.11.130, RCW 79.11.430, RCW 79.15.070, RCW 79.15.080, and RCW 79.15.150 to modernize our advertising processes and better serve both the agency and our purchasers. These updates are designed to give DNR greater flexibility and authority to use contemporary advertising methods, such as digital platforms and online listings, in addition to traditional newspaper notices and pamphlets. By embracing modern technology, we can reach a wider audience, provide more timely and accessible information about sales, and streamline the purchasing process. This modernization will benefit the department by increasing operational efficiency, reducing costs, and potentially boosting participation in sales. For our purchasers, it means easier access to sale information, improved transparency, and a more user-friendly experience, ensuring that our processes keep pace with current expectations and technological advancements.

Link to EJA
  • Available upon completion
Status
  • Ongoing
Resources
Eastside Sustainable Harvest Calculation
SAA Category
  • Other action deemed necessary by the Agency
Description of Action

The sustainable harvest calculation is a multi-year planning effort by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to determine how much timber can be sustainably harvested from forested state trust lands in Washington over a planning decade. Required by state law (RCW 79.10.300-340), this calculation helps DNR balance its legal trust obligations, such as generating revenue for schools and counties, with forest health, wildlife habitat, carbon storage, and other public values. DNR calculates a separate sustainable harvest level for forested state trust lands located east and west of the Cascade Crest because growing conditions and management strategies in these areas are so different. DNR is currently working on the sustainable harvest calculation for eastern Washington.

Although the sustainable harvest calculation does not directly fall under the significant agency impact category in the HEAL Act, DNR has decided to designate it as such because it would govern a series of connected actions (such as timber sales) across the state. This decision means an environmental justice assessment will be required for both the eastern and western Washington sustainable harvest calculations.

Link to EJA
  • Available upon completion
Status
  • Ongoing
Contact for Action
Resources

 

Environmental Justice Assessments Completed

Below are completed EJAs for Significant Agency Actions.

Certified Burner Rulemaking
SAA Category
  • Significant legislative rules
Description of Action

The certified burn manager program managed by the department offers to any individual seeking to become a certified prescribed burn manager (certified burner) through the Washington Prescribed Burn Manager Program outlined in RCW 76.04.183. Participation in the program is not mandatory but encouraged so that an individual can enjoy the benefits of RCW 76.04.183 and RCW 76.04.196. The certified manger program is seeking to create a Washington Administrative Code for rules of the program.

Link to EJA
Status
  • Completed
Resources
Fallen Firefighters Memorial
SAA Category
  • Agency-Request Legislation
Description of Action

This Agency Request Legislation would direct the Department of Enterprise Services to establish a new memorial for fallen firefighters on the Capitol Campus.

Link to EJA
Status
  • Completed
Smokey the Bear License Plate
SAA Category
  • Agency-Request Legislation
Description of Action

This Agency Request Legislation would establish a Smokey Bear license plate that would be available for purchase in October 2024. Revenue from Smokey Bear License plates would be devoted to wildfire prevention programs administered by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). This would be the agency's first license plate, the state's only license plate for wildfire prevention, and is the symbol of support for wildland fire fighters.

Link to EJA
Status
  • Completed
Commercial Use Fees
SAA Category
  • Agency-Request Legislation
Description of Action

Agency Request Legislation to amend RCW 4.24.210, the Recreational Immunity Statute, to give DNR the authority to charge fees for recreation permits, issued for organized recreation or educational activities. If successful, this statutory authority will provide DNR the ability to develop a fee structure for recreation permits, which will allow the program to pursue administrative cost recovery and will provide the certainty needed for the future development of an agency Commercial Recreation Policy.

Link to EJA
Status
  • Completed​​
Early Learning Facilities
SAA Category
  • Agency-Request Legislation
Description of Action

This Agency Request Legislation expands the definition of Common School, currently limited to K-12, to include early care and education. This allows for the construction and maintenance of early care and education facilities at public schools with revenue from DNR's Common School Construction Fund. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) will have the authority and discretion to allocate the proceeds received by the sale of timber or otherwise generated by state lands. A separate new capital gains tax now provides enough funding for K-12 school construction; this is proposed legislation is complementary and addresses an unfunded need.

Link to EJA
Status
  • Completed​
Trust Asset Leasing Bill
SAA Category
  • Agency-Request Legislation
Description of Action

DNR is proposing to adjust language throughout RCW 79.13 that would provide DNR the flexibility to lease other trust assets (such as water rights, equipment, buildings, etc.) in addition to leasing state land. Language changes proposed throughout the chapter modify leasing authority from just “state land” to “state land and other trust assets”. DNR is currently limited in revenue it can generate for its trust beneficiaries as any leasing activity needs to be tied to state land. For example, DNR’s water rights portfolio is estimated at almost a $1 billion value, but currently not all of the water rights utilized. DNR would be able to increase revenue and more effectively manage its water rights if they could be leased separately from state land. Water rights dictate the amount of water that can be used and each type of crop uses a specific amount of water so there are times when more water is available than needed for crops grown on state land. DNR is also proposing a couple of minor changes to its publication and noticing requirements for leasing to also allow the option of advertising online or as DNR determines is appropriate.

Link to EJA
Status
  • Completed​​
Housing on Public Land
SAA Category
  • Agency-Request Legislation
Description of Action

This Agency Request Legislation adds a new section to RCW 82.29A to create a leasehold excise tax (LET) exemption for leases on public land used for the placement of newly constructed affordable housing. Currently, the LET fee is 12.84% of the lease rate. This exemption is intended to incentivize developers to build affordable housing on leased DNR land. The exemption applies to the land and the length of exemption depends on the following conditions: A 12-year LET exemption if the lessee commits to renting or selling at least 20% of units as affordable to low and moderate-income households; A 20-year LET exemption if the lessee commits to renting or selling at least 25% of units as affordable to low and moderate-income households.

Link to EJA
Status
  • Completed​​
Surface Mine Reclamation Project
SAA Category
  • Agency-Request Legislation
Description of Action

DNR Surface Mine Reclamation Program (SMRP) administers the Surface Mining Act (RCW 78.44), regulating the reclamation of over 850 surface mines across Washington state. Reclamation includes ensuring that when mining is complete, slopes on site are stable, storm water quantity and quality are similar in nature to pre-mining conditions, and the site is well-prepared for its designated subsequent use. SMRP is fully fee-funded and requires a fee increase in order to continue meeting its minimum regulatory legal requirements. The proposal will standardize permit application fees (all will cost $4,500) and will increase annual permit fees for private and some public mines from $2,000 to $3,500. It will increase annual fees for public mines that use their sites for public works projects from $0, $1,000, or $2,000 to $2,500.

Link to EJA
Status
  • Completed​​
Drought Mitigation
SAA Category
  • Agency-Request Legislation
Description of Action

Revising RCW 79.13 to allow for DNR to lease assets as well as land and modernize publication/advertisement language.

Link to EJA
Status
  • Completed
Resources
  • Link to OFM site with EJA notices
Tribal Interlocal Agreements
SAA Category
  • Agency-request Legislation
Description of Action

This Significant Agency Action is Agency Request Legislation (ARL). This ARL amends RCWs 7.84.140 and 43.12.065 to authorize the Commissioner of Public Lands to enter into collaborative law enforcement agreements with federally recognized Tribes. This ARL does not require DNR or any federally recognized Tribe to enter into such an agreement.

Link to EJA
Status
  • Completed

 

Environmental Justice Assessments Dashboard (opens in new window)
Click image above to access the Environmental Justice Assessments dashboard at OFM.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

We want to hear from you

Please send us your feedback and comments on the following:

  • The above list of significant agency actions.
  • Other types of DNR actions you think would benefit from an assessment.
  • How you would like to stay informed about DNR's work in environmental justice.

We invite you to reach out to us at any time as comments will continue to be reviewed by DNR on an ongoing basis. We will use your input to help inform decisions on conducting assessments and how we communicate and engage with you.

Send us your comments

Comment by mail:

Department of Natural Resources

C/O Office of Equity and Environmental Justice

1111 Washington St SE

MS 47001 Olympia, WA 98504

Comment by email:

envjustice@dnr.wa.gov