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Regulations & Permits > Closed rulemaking > WAC 173-186

Chapter 173-186 WAC

Dec. 12, 2019, Ecology adopted amendments to Chapter 173-186 WAC, Oil Spill Contingency Plan – Railroad. This chapter requires railroads carrying oil as cargo to plan for oil spills to include how to make notifications, have the appropriate equipment and trained personnel to respond to spills that may occur. This rulemaking will:

  • Establish three tiers for railroad contingency planning and streamline requirements according to RCW 90.56.210.
  • Establish requirements for citing Spill Management Teams including entities providing wildlife rehabilitation and recovery services.
  • Enhance requirements for readiness for spills of oils that may weather and sink.
  • Update drill requirements to reflect legislative direction.
  • Make other edits to address inconsistent or unclear direction in the rule.

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Rulemaking timeline

Timeline

Announcement phase (CR-101)

Filing date:
Dec. 5, 2018


Announcement documents

Rule development phase

Dec. 5, 2018 – June 5, 2019

Rule proposal phase (CR-102)

Filing date:
June 5, 2019

Rule proposal documents:

Comment period

We held a comment period on this rulemaking from June 5 through July 26, 2019. During July 9–15, we held in-person hearings in Spokane and Seattle, and a hearing via webinar. At the hearings, we gave a presentation about the rulemaking, answered questions, and received testimonies.

Rule adoption phase (CR-103)

Adoption date:
Dec. 12, 2019


Rule effective date:
Jan. 18, 2020


Rule implementation information:

Additional languages

Español (Spanish) 中文 (Chinese) Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese) 한국어 (Korean)

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Contact information

Nhi Irwin
Rulemaking Lead
nhi.irwin@ecy.wa.gov
360-407-7039

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To request ADA accommodation for disabilities, or printed materials in a format for the visually impaired, contact Ecology's ADA Coordinator by email at ecyadacoordinator@ecy.wa.gov, or call 360-407-6831. People with impaired hearing may call Washington Relay Service at 711. People with speech disability may call TTY at 877-833-6341.