§19.4 - State Environmental Policy Act

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§19.4 State Environmental Policy Act

The State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) was adopted in 1971 to achieve several purposes, including encourag[ing] productive and enjoyable harmony between humankind and the environment. RCW 43.21C.010. Impacts to listed species from a project can be highly problematic for developers under SEPA. Typically such impacts require the development of an environmental impact statement, along with measures to avoid or minimize such impacts.

SEPA authorizes a state or local agency decision maker to condition or deny project approval based on its assessment of project impacts and the degree of mitigation that is...