Legislation strengthening criminal penalties against corporate actors responsible for pollution spills and other environmental crimes passed the Washington State Senate Tuesday on a 29-20 vote.

Under current law, violations of federal environmental law face harsher penalties than state violations. Senate Bill 5360, sponsored by Sen. Yasmin Trudeau (D-Tacoma), comprehensively updates state statutes to more closely align with federal penalties, enabling stronger enforcement of Washington’s clean air, clean water, and hazardous waste laws.

“Cracking down on criminal pollution is more important than ever right now,” Trudeau said. “With so much uncertainty around how and whether the EPA will actually enforce federal laws for clean air and water, Washington state needs to step up and make sure the Evergreen State stays evergreen. We need stronger protections at the state level now.”

The bill would update the state’s criminal penalties for violations of the Clean Air Act, the Hazardous Waste Management Act, and the Water Pollution Control Act to more closely align with the current federal penalties. 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 was amended on the Senate floor to clarify that people doing normal agricultural practices or necessary agency activities, like burnings for forest health that have been approved and permitted by the Department of Natural Resources, are not subject to prosecution, and to clarify that the standard of negligence requires a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise. The goal of the amendments will ensure that any prosecution focuses on the worst actors who are intentionally causing harm, not normal people doing standard practices in their industry.

“Our justice system can too often be upside-down,” Trudeau said. “A low-income individual gets thrown in jail for years for a minor offense while massive corporations poison our air and water and get away with paying a fine that barely disrupts business as usual. We need real accountability when criminal pollution occurs, and it is time to stop leaving messes to be cleaned up by future generations.”

The bill builds upon another environmental crimes bill Trudeau sponsored, SB 5884, which was signed into law in 2024. That bill clarified courts’ existing authority to order restitution for harms to impacted jurisdictions, landowners, and businesses when environmental crimes occur.

Senate Bill 5360 now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.