Bill
SB 5450
Ecology must publish a public spill-notice website and run an opt-in alert system for untreated/undertreated sewage spills, with annual public reporting.
Status and context
- Bill: SB 5450 (69th Legislature, 2025). Substitute bill S-1599.1 is the current version as of Feb 19, 2025.
- Committee action: Passed out of the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology as the 1st substitute (ENET majority), referred to Senate Ways & Means (public hearings and executive sessions held; no final floor action noted). The bill was reintroduced and retained in present status by resolution in 2024–2025.
- Note: An earlier 2023 draft of SB 5450 addressed parenting plans; the active 2025 bill concerns public reporting and notification of sewage-containing spills.
Purpose and intent
- To improve public access to timely information about unauthorized discharges of untreated or undertreated sewage from wastewater treatment plants and collection systems by requiring the Washington State Department of Ecology to publish spill notices and implement a public notification system. The stated goal is to help people who rely on clean water (commercial fishers, aquaculture, recreationists, tribal communities, etc.) receive near-real-time notice of spills that may affect them.
Key provisions (substitute S-1599.1)
- Definitions: establishes terms used in the act, including “combined sewer,” “sewage spill” (intentional or accidental discharge of untreated or undertreated wastewater that violates permit requirements), and “sewage treatment plant or collection system.”
- Website requirement (deadline: July 1, 2026):
- Ecology must develop and publish a public-facing website that includes notices of locations where sewage spills reported under individual water quality permits occur.
- Each posted notice must (as reported to Ecology) include: estimated volume or rate (and final volume when known); level of treatment; initiation date/time; discharge location; estimated/actual cease time (when known); geographic area potentially impacted; and containment steps (when known).
- Ecology must update the website after a spill concludes to reflect final data (total volumes, dates/times/duration, waters impacted, etc.).
- Website must be designed to communicate effectively with people who have limited English proficiency.
- Public notification system (deadline: July 1, 2027):
- Ecology must implement an opt-in notification system for the public to receive alerts about untreated or undertreated sewage spills.
- Notifications must be issued no later than four hours after Ecology receives notice of a spill — within “regular working business hours” (defined in the substitute as 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Monday–Friday, excluding state holidays).
- Notifications must reflect or link to the website information.
- Annual reporting:
- By March 15, 2026, Ecology must publish a list of spills reported during the preceding calendar year.
- By March 15, 2027, and each March 15 thereafter, Ecology must publish an annual report (post on the website) including waters impacted, duration, volume, and actions taken for reported spills.
Who is affected
- Primary: Department of Ecology (must build and maintain the website, notification system, and reports).
- Regulated parties: municipal wastewater treatment plant owners/operators and wastewater collectors holding NPDES/individual water quality permits (they already report spills to Ecology; the bill increases public dissemination requirements).
- Public stakeholders: fishers, aquaculture operators, recreationists, tribal communities, local governments, public health officials, and communities near impacted waters.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Increased transparency and timeliness of public information about sewage spills, enabling faster precautions and response by affected communities and businesses.
- Administrative and technical workload for Ecology to build and operate an accessible, multilingual website and notification platform and to process/validate incoming spill reports within short timeframes.
- The substitute clarifies timing of notifications (limited to business hours) and slightly narrows earlier language in prior drafts (e.g., changes to retention or notification specifics between versions).
- The bill does not itself create new enforcement penalties; it focuses on public disclosure and notification obligations.
Key deadlines
- March 15, 2026 — initial annual list of prior-year spills due.
- July 1, 2026 — public-facing website must be live.
- March 15, 2027 — first full annual report under the new system.
- July 1, 2027 — public notification (alert) system must be implemented.
For further action tracking: SB 5450 (S‑1599.1) was reported out of ENET (Feb 18, 2025) and referred to Ways & Means (Feb 19, 2025); subsequent committee steps will determine final passage.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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