Implementation Working Group (IWG)
State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA)

The goal of the SEPA IWG is to develop recommendations to ensure that consideration of climate change is included in the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). The SEPA IWG will prepare recommendations on changes to SEPA rules, guidance and/or environmental review documents to provide clarity and predictability to project proponents and administering agencies regarding how climate change is to be addressed through the environmental review process. The SEPA IWG has divided its work into three activity areas:

Work Area #1 - Measurement and Disclosure: This work area will focus on SEPA's traditional processes for identifying, measuring, and reporting environmental impacts and how they will apply to climate change impacts.
Work Area #2 - Mitigation and Adaptation: This work area will focus on the use of SEPA by local governments and agencies to consider climate change mitigation and adaptation issues.
Work Area #3: Leveraging SEPA: This work area will focus on leveraging SEPA to promote "climate friendly" development.

Final Recommendations

SEPA IWG Final Report 10/30/2008
SEPA Appendix F - SEPA Tools Matrix MS Excel Spreadsheet 09/20/2008

Meetings and Agendas
(all documents are in PDF format)

Past Meetings

October 23, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. (teleconference – see call-in number, above)
Meeting Summary
Meeting Documents:

September 30, 9:00a-4:30p This meeting will be in-person at the Lakefront Room of the Pan Pacific Hotel in Seattle. People are encouraged to use public transit or other climate friendly means to get to the meeting. The focus of this meeting will be making decisions about what to recommend to the CAT in four key areas: 1) threshold determination, 2) vulnerability/adaptation, 3) leveraging SEPA, and 4) measurement tools. A call-in number is available for those who wish to participate by phone (see above).
Meeting Summary
Meeting Documents:

Agenda
Decision Guide – this document identifies what questions will be asked of the IWG at the meeting, and possible responses.
Threshold Determination PowerPoint – the presentation describes key discussion items from the 9/17 thresholds team meeting and provides high-level background for making decisions about Threshold Determination.
Proposed revised language for recommendations related to measurement tools.
A concept and proposed recommendations for including analysis of climate vulnerability/adaptation in the SEPA checklist. The IWG will discuss the proposed recommendations and vote on whether to carry them forward to the CAT.
Write-ups of six “leveraging SEPA” ideas – these ideas are being presented by members of the Bucket 3 group for full IWG consideration on the 30th. The IWG will briefly discuss each idea and then decide whether, and if so, how, to carry it forward to the CAT.
Analysis of the implications of the various options for statewide consistency in threshold determination. This is a background document for members as they think through a preferred approach to statewide consistency.

September 9, 10:00a-12:00p
Meeting Summary
Meeting Documents:

Agenda
Summary of SEPA IWG "Bucket 3": A document authored by the Bucket 3 group that summarizes ideas for SEPA incentives and disincentives to encourage climate friendly development. The SEPA IWG will discuss these ideas and decide which to further pursue as a group.
Linking Threshold Determination to Statewide GHG Goals : Two documents describe and illustrate draft policy King County is considering which could link its significance standard to the statewide greenhouse gas reduction requirements. The question of how to make the linkage between SEPA threshold determination and Washington State’s goals came up at the last SEPA meeting; this is a possible rationale King County is considering.
Project Emission Examples for Threshold Discussion: This document lists the estimated greenhouse gas emissions from a variety of projects and shows the volume of “allowable” emissions under various % reduction scenarios. It is intended to offer some real world examples of what percent or volume-based approaches to the significant standard could look like.

August 28, 9:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Meeting Summary
Meeting Documents:

Agenda
Session: “What do we measure?” Emissions Sources and Test Cases
Session: Measurement Tools
- 2a Measurement tools matrix
Session: SEPA Mitigation
Session: Threshold Determination: Options for Significance Standards
- 4a Threshold Determination PowerPoint
- 4b “Test Case Worksheet for Significance Threshold Standard” table (Note: discussion on Thursday will focus on two test cases described in the table: 1) County Comprehensive Plan and 2) Small Suburban Subdivision)
- 4c “Appendix A – Options for Significance Standard
- 4d “(Draft) Sub-options for Addressing Significance in Statewide Standard, Framework, Safe Harbor, and Procedural Options”
- Significance Threshold Approaches PowerPoint slide
Session: Overview of Current Bucket 3 “Leveraging SEPA” Ideas
- 5a Bucket 3 update PowerPoint – to be provided at meeting
Measurement Test Cases:

August 5, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Teleconference
Meeting Summary
Documents and Call Resources:

Agenda
SEPA IWG Roadmap to September
Significance Threshold Approaches: Options for Statewide Consistency
Threshold Determination Background Documents:
- Appendix A - Options for Significance Standards - describes different types of significance standards.
- Sub-options for Addressing Significance in Statewide Standard Framework - describes how options 1 and 2 might work for different types of standards.
GHG Emissions Measurement Tools Matrix

July 23, 10:00a-12:00p Teleconference
Meeting Summary
Documents and Call Resources:

July 8, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m .
Meeting Summary
Documents and Call Resources: Materials are linked according to their corresponding agenda session.

Agenda - this meeting will be in-person at the Foster Pepper offices in downtown Seattle (1111 Third Avenue). Participants are encouraged to take transit or other modes of transportation to the meeting. See the following links for more information: http://tripplanner.kingcounty.gov/ and http://www.soundtransit.org/x16.xml. A call-in number (see above) will also be available.
Session: What Emissions Should We Measure?
- SEPA IWG Key Questions/Discussion for Bucket #1: Types of Proposals to be Evaluated & Types of Emissions to be Measured
Session: Tools for Measuring GHG Emissions
- 7-7-08 TABLE 1. TOOLS TO CALCULATE FUEL CONSUMPTION AND GHG EMISSION RATES
- CEQA AND CLIMATE CHANGE: Addressing Climate Change Through California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Review (see pp. 15-17 for tools list)
Session: Threshold Determination for GHG Impacts
Session: Updates on Other SEPA IWG Work (Mitigation Strategies)
- Climate Change Mitigation Strategies

June 20, 10:00 a.m. - noon - Teleconference (see phone number, above)
Meeting Summary
Documents:

Agenda
Summary of Near-Term SEPA IWG Activities . This summary describes a proposed near-term agenda of decisions, information, and products identified by the work plan drafting teams and discussed with the co-leads. The IWG will review this list on the call and identify IWG members and technical staff to carry specific work items forward.
Bucket #1 "Measurement and Disclosure" - Draft Workplan
Bucket #2 "Mitigation and Adaptation" - Draft Workplan
Bucket #3 "Leveraging SEPA" - Draft Workplan

May 28, 8:30 a.m. - noon
Location: King County Executive Office, 701 5th Ave., Suite 3210, Seattle, WA 98104
Documents:

Related Information

SEPA and Climate Change

Members

Co-leads
- Jim Lopez, King County
- Dick Settle, Foster Pepper
- Jeannie Summerhays, Department of Ecology
Members
- Jayson Antonoff, Department of Planning and Development, City of Seattle
- Greg Carrington, Chelan PUD
- Anthony Chavez, Weyerhaeuser
- Sean Cryan, Mithun
- Valerie Grigg Devis, Community, Trade, and Economic Development
- Jennifer Dold, Bricklin, Newman, Dold, LLP
- Kari-lynn Frank, National Association of Industrial and Office Properties
- Hilary Franz, Bainbridge City Council
- Connie Krueger, City of Leavenworth
- Mark Kulaas, Douglas County
- Dan McGrady, Vulcan
- Bill Messenger, Washington Labor Council
- John Mohr, Port of Everett
- T.C. Richmond, GordenDerr Attorneys at Law
- Michael Robinson-Dorn, UW Law School
- Tim Trohimovich, Futurewise
- David Troutt, Nisqually Tribe
- Tayloe Washburn, Foster Pepper
- Perry Weinberg, Sound Transit
- Clay White, Stevens County
- Megan White, Department of Transportation
- Jim Wilder, Jones & Stokes

2008 CLIMATE ACTION TEAM (CAT)

Implementation Working Group (IWG) State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA)