Legislation strengthening criminal penalties against corporate actors responsible for pollution spills and other environmental crimes was introduced Thursday by Sen. Yasmin Trudeau (D-Tacoma).
SB 5360 comprehensively updates these statutes to more closely align with federal law. This includes stronger criminal penalties to ensure that those who violate Washington’s laws on clean air, clean water, and hazardous waste are held accountable for their actions.
“Criminal polluters who violate our environmental laws must pay the price of doing dirty business here in Washington,” Trudeau said. “Too often our criminal justice system has a double standard — it comes down hard on lower income individuals who commit crimes, while businesses and corporate actors avoid meaningful accountability when they violate our laws. This bill ensures that we hold those who poison our water and air adequately responsible.”
The legislation will apply to situations like the spill of toxic rubber and plastic field turf into the Puyallup River by the Electron Dam in July 2020. In that case, the company Electron Hydro and its chief operating officer both pled guilty to criminal charges but the penalties levied were minor and do not serve to deter other bad actors, nor did they reflect an appropriate response for the harm caused. Four and a half years later, the Puyallup Tribe continues working to restore the damage done to the river and its fish by Electron Hydro and its leadership, and the impacts to the river will likely be discovered for years to come.
The bill would update the criminal penalties for violations of the Clean Air Act, the Hazardous Waste Management Act, and the Water Pollution Control Act. The most serious cases, where a person was put in imminent danger of death or substantial bodily harm, would be a first-degree violation and a class B felony, with a minimum sentencing range of 6-12 months in prison. A second-degree violation — a violation done knowingly — would be a class C felony, and a third-degree violation — a violation caused by negligence — would be a gross misdemeanor.
The bill builds upon another environmental crimes bill Trudeau sponsored, SB 5884, which the Legislature passed into law in 2024. That bill clarified courts’ existing authority to order restitution for harms to the environment in environmental criminal cases and allowed them to impose fines for criminal offenses related to water pollution, air pollution, and hazardous waste.
The bill is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee 10:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 24, in Senate Hearing Room 1. The hearing can be watched on TVW here.
