Concerning sampling or testing of biosolids for PFAS chemicals.

CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5033 Chapter 317, Laws of 2025 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session PFAS CHEMICALS —BIOSOLID SAMPLING AND TESTING EFFECTIVE DATE: July 27, 2025 Passed by the Senate April 17, 2025 Yeas 49 Nays 0 JOHN LOVICK President of the Senate Passed by the House April 10, 2025 Yeas 95 Nays 0 LAURIE JINKINS Speaker of the House of Representatives CERTIFICATE I, Sarah Bannister, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5033 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth. SARAH BANNISTER Secretary Approved May 17, 2025 2:00 PM FILED May 19, 2025 BOB FERGUSON Governor of the State of Washington Secretary of State State of Washington AN ACT Relating to sampling or testing of biosolids for PFAS 1 chemicals; amending RCW 70A.226.005, 70A.226.007, 70A.226.010, 2 70A.226.020, and 70A.226.030; and adding a new section to chapter 3 70A.226 RCW . 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5 Sec. 1. RCW 70A.226.005 and 1992 c 174 s 1 are each amended to 6 read as follows: 7 (1) The legislature finds that: 8 (a) Municipal sewage sludge is an unavoidable by-product of the 9 wastewater treatment process; 10 (b) Population ((increases)) growth and technological 11 improvements in wastewater treatment processes will ((double the 12 amount of sludge generated within the next ten years )) increase the 13 production of biosolids in the future ; 14 (c) Sludge management is often a financial burden to 15 municipalities and to ratepayers; 16 (d) Properly managed municipal sewage sludge is a valuable 17 commodity and can be beneficially used in agriculture, silviculture, 18 and in landscapes as a soil conditioner; and 19 (e) Municipal sewage sludge can contain metals and microorganisms 20 that, under certain circumstances, may pose a risk to public health.21 SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5033 AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE Passed Legislature - 2025 Regular Session State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session By Senate Environment, Energy & Technology (originally sponsored by Senators J. Wilson, Lovelett, Bateman, Chapman, Dhingra, Dozier, Krishnadasan, Nobles, Saldaña, Trudeau, and Wellman) READ FIRST TIME 02/19/25. p. 1 SSB 5033.SL (2) The legislature declares that a program shall be established 1 to manage municipal sewage sludge and that the program shall, to the 2 maximum extent possible, ensure that municipal sewage sludge is 3 reused as a beneficial commodity and is managed in a manner that 4 minimizes risk to public health and the environment.5 Sec. 2. RCW 70A.226.007 and 1992 c 174 s 2 are each amended to 6 read as follows: 7 The purpose of this chapter is to provide the department ((of 8 ecology)) and local governments with the authority and direction to 9 meet federal regulatory requirements for municipal sewage sludge. The 10 department ((of ecology )) may seek delegation and administer the 11 sludge permit program required by the federal clean water act as it 12 existed ((February 4, 1987 )) on the effective date of this section .13 Sec. 3. RCW 70A.226.010 and 2020 c 20 s 1239 are each amended to 14 read as follows: 15 ((Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the )) The 16 definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the 17 context clearly requires otherwise . 18 (1) "Biosolids" means municipal sewage sludge that is a primarily 19 organic, semisolid product resulting from the wastewater treatment 20 process, that can be beneficially recycled and meets all requirements 21 under this chapter. For the purposes of this chapter, "biosolids" 22 includes septic tank sludge, also known as septage, that can be 23 beneficially recycled and meets all requirements under this chapter.24 (2) "Department" means the department of ecology.25 (3) "Local health department" has the same meaning as 26 "jurisdictional health department" in RCW 70A.205.015.27 (4) "Municipal sewage sludge" means a semisolid substance 28 consisting of settled sewage solids combined with varying amounts of 29 water and dissolved materials generated from a publicly owned 30 wastewater treatment plant. 31 (5) "PFAS chemicals" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 32 70A.350.010.33 Sec. 4. RCW 70A.226.020 and 1992 c 174 s 4 are each amended to 34 read as follows: 35 (1) The department shall adopt rules to implement a biosolid 36 management program within ((twelve)) 12 months of the adoption of 37 p. 2 SSB 5033.SL federal rules, 40 C.F.R. ((Sec.)) Part 503, relating to technical 1 standards for the use and disposal of sewage sludge. The biosolid 2 management program shall, at a minimum, conform with all applicable 3 federal rules adopted pursuant to the federal clean water act as it 4 existed on ((February 4, 1987 )) the effective date of this section .5 (2) In addition to any federal requirements, the state biosolid 6 management program may include, but not be limited to, an education 7 program to provide relevant legal and scientific information to local 8 governments and citizen groups. 9 (3) Rules adopted by the department under this section shall 10 provide for public input and involvement for all state and local 11 permits. 12 (4) Materials that have received a permit as a biosolid shall be 13 regulated pursuant to this chapter. 14 (5) The transportation of biosolids and municipal sewage sludge 15 shall be governed by Title 81 RCW. Certificates issued by the 16 utilities and transportation commission before June 11, 1992, that 17 include or authorize transportation of municipal sewage sludge shall 18 continue in force and effect and be interpreted to include biosolids.19 (6)(a) By July 1, 2026, the department must publish guidance to 20 clarify PFAS chemical sampling requirements, including frequency and 21 methodology, for facilities generating biosolids.22 (b) Facilities generating biosolids regulated under this chapter 23 must sample for PFAS chemical in accordance with the department's 24 guidance and have the biosolids analyzed by an accredited laboratory 25 for PFAS chemicals using the United States environmental protection 26 agency method 1633A as it existed in December 2024, no more than 27 quarterly starting no later than January 1, 2027, and ending by June 28 30, 2028.29 (c) Facilities that are required to sample their biosolids for 30 PFAS must provide all sampling results to the department no later 31 than September 30, 2028.32 (d) By July 1, 2029, the department must submit a report to the 33 appropriate committees of the legislature and the public with a 34 summary of the analysis of the levels of PFAS chemicals in biosolids 35 produced in and/or land applied in Washington state and 36 recommendations on how to proceed based on the analysis.37 (e) In developing the recommendations under (d) of this 38 subsection, the department must consult with the advisory committee 39 created in section 6 of this act.40 p. 3 SSB 5033.SL (f) For the purposes of this subsection, "biosolids" do not 1 include septic tank sludge, also known as septage.2 Sec. 5. RCW 70A.226.030 and 2014 c 76 s 7 are each amended to 3 read as follows: 4 (1) The department shall establish annual fees to collect 5 expenses for issuing and administering biosolids permits under this 6 chapter. An initial fee schedule shall be established by rule and 7 shall be adjusted no more often than once every two years. This fee 8 schedule applies to all permits, regardless of date of issuance, and 9 fees shall be assessed prospectively. Fees shall be established in 10 amounts to recover expenses incurred by the department in processing 11 permit applications and modifications, reviewing related plans and 12 documents, monitoring, evaluating, conducting inspections, overseeing 13 performance of delegated program elements, sampling or testing, and 14 providing technical assistance and supporting overhead expenses that 15 are directly related to these activities. 16 (2) The annual fee paid by a permittee for any permit issued 17 under this chapter shall be determined by the number of residences or 18 residential equivalents contributing to the permittee's biosolids 19 management system. If residences or residential equivalents cannot be 20 determined or reasonably estimated, fees shall be based on other 21 appropriate criteria. 22 (3) The biosolids permit account is created in the state 23 treasury. All receipts from fees under this section must be deposited 24 into the account. Moneys in the account may be spent only after 25 appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used only for the 26 purposes of administering permits under this chapter.27 (4) The department shall make available on the department's 28 website information on fees collected, actual expenses incurred, and 29 anticipated expenses for the current and following fiscal years.30 (5) The department shall work with the regulated community and 31 local health departments to study the feasibility of modifying the 32 fee schedule to support delegated local health departments and reduce 33 local health department fees paid by biosolids permittees.34 NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 70A.226 35 RCW to read as follows: 36 p. 4 SSB 5033.SL (1) By September 30, 2028, and before developing the report 1 required in RCW 70A.226.020(6)(d), the department must convene and 2 consult with an advisory committee of representatives from:3 (a) The farming community; 4 (b) Toxicologists; 5 (c) Utilities that produce soil amendments, including special 6 purpose districts, municipal utility providers, and public utility 7 districts; 8 (d) Local governments; 9 (e) Experts; 10 (f) Interested parties; and 11 (g) Other similar stakeholders. 12 (2) The purpose of consultation required under this section is to 13 ensure that the department is soliciting and receiving sufficient 14 input on requirements and standards for sampling or testing biosolids 15 for PFAS chemicals. 16 (3) For the purposes of this section, "biosolids" do not include 17 septic tank sludge, also known as septage. 18 Passed by the Senate April 17, 2025. Passed by the House April 10, 2025. Approved by the Governor May 17, 2025. Filed in Office of Secretary of State May 19, 2025. --- END --- p. 5 SSB 5033.SL