RCW 90.48.636 — Sewage spills—Website—Notices.

1. (1) By July 1, 2026, the department must develop and publish a public-facing website that includes, but is not limited to, notices of the locations where sewage spills occur that are reported to the department under individual water quality permits for discharges that contain sewage. The department must post on the website notice of the reported sewage spill. The notice on the department's website must include the following information, as reported to the department:

   1. (a) The estimated volume or rate of discharge and, once known, the final volume discharged;
   2. (b) The level of treatment of the discharge;
   3. (c) The date and time the incident initiated;
   4. (d) The location of the discharge;
   5. (e) Once known, the estimated or actual time the discharge ceased;
   6. (f) The geographic area potentially impacted by the discharge; and
   7. (g) Once known, the steps taken to contain the discharge.
2. (2) Within a reasonable amount of time following the conclusion of a reported sewage spill under this section, the department must update the website to reflect the total estimated volume of discharges, dates, times, and duration of the spill, waters impacted by the spill, and other final spill information reported to the department.
3. (3) The department must design the website in a way that effectively communicates with people who have limited English proficiency.

[ 2025 c 315 s 3.]

Notes:

Finding—Intent—2025 c 315: "The legislature finds that municipal wastewater treatment plant owners/operators and wastewater collectors with national pollutant discharge elimination system permits are required by their water quality permits to disclose unauthorized spills or discharges containing untreated or undertreated sewage to the department of ecology, but that such notices of sewage spills are not expeditiously or easily made publicly available. Those who count on clean water quality for their jobs in fishing or aquaculture, to enjoy their recreational interests, or to pursue their cultural traditions are likely to be especially impacted by sewage spills, and would particularly benefit from a system of timely public notice in the event of a spill. A number of other states have established systems in which public notification of a spill is available in nearly real time posted by a water quality regulator, and in which alerts can be issued to those interested in the event of a spill in a particular geographic area. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to improve the public's ability to know about sewage spills that may impact them by establishing such a system." [ 2025 c 315 s 1.]