HB1381 – Reporting on urban heat island effects on salmon, and awards for projects mitigating those.
Prime Sponsor – Representative Dye (R; 9th District; Southeast Washington) (Co-Sponsors Lekanoff & Pollet – Ds)
Current status – Had a hearing in the House Committee on Environment & Energy January 23rd. Replaced by a substitute and passed out of committee February 16th. Referred to Appropriations, had a hearing there on February 21st, and passed out of committee February 21st. Referred to Rules. Returned to the House Committee on Environment and Energy for the 2024 Session.
Next step would be – Action by the committee.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

Comments –
See also HB1166.

Summary –
The bill would require municipal governments in the most populated areas of the state, which operate under the NPDES Phase I stormwater permit, to monitor and report annually on the impact of urban heat island effects on the temperature of salmon-bearing waterbodies in their jurisdiction. Reports would have to include the amount of impervious surface and canopy coverage within the jurisdiction, as a percentage and overall, how those have changed since the issuance of the previous permit; the monthly median temperature of all waterbodies within the jurisdiction that have been designated as critical habitat for salmon, steelhead, or bull trout under the Endangered Species Act; how those have changed since the issuance of the previous permit; a narrative description of factors in addition to urban heat islands that may have had a measurable impact on those temperature in the report year; and a description of the Jurisdiction’s approach to reducing the impact of the urban heat island effect on its waterbodies.

Within three months after these annual report were submitted, Ecology would issue awards recognizing the jurisdictions whose work to address the urban heat island during the previous year best demonstrated innovation and achievement in a number of areas. There would be:
(1) An award for innovative urban forest conservation and sustainability programs designed to reduce power loads during peak heat and cold weather events, and documenting greenhouse gas emissions reductions, reduced stormwater runoff, and water quality improvements as a result of new urban forestry design and implemented practices;
(2) An award for the most effective vertical garden installation, or programs that produce significant adoption of vertical gardens, with focus on stormwater capture and use and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions due to reduced power demand;
(3) An award to recognize the innovative programs increasing the adoption of green roof technology, emphasizing stormwater runoff reductions, stormwater reuse, and local and sustainable fresh produce and fruit production in the most impacted areas of urban heat islands;
(4) An award for the newest and most innovative development of reflective roof technology, based on its effectiveness in reducing stormwater runoff temperature and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through lower energy usage;
(5) An award for the most innovative use of permeable pavement technology and its adoption in locations providing the most improvements in water quality needed to improve salmon habitat; and,
(6) An award for restoring streams from pipes and buried locations under the urban core to natural channels, restoring natural environments within urban canyons, and providing natural cooling and filtration of water within those streams.

Beginning in 2027, the Department, in consultation with Fish and Wildlife, could designate one or more jurisdictions as a “salmon-safe community” for that year, based on its achievements in reporting and monitoring complying with the letter and spirit of the bill; its objectively quantifiable progress in implementing the bill’s mitigation strategies  and its achievement of measurable gains toward salmon recovery in the waterbodies in its jurisdiction.