LACEY — An advisory committee to the state Department of Ecology will discuss changes in the State Environmental Policy Act, or SEPA, in Lacey on Thursday.
The advisory committee meets monthly. This month’s meeting will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Ecology headquarters building, 300 Desmond Drive S.E.
The panel, created to propose streamlining of the act, will hear an update on cultural and historic issues that should be considered, and will discuss a proposal to update how SEPA notices could be made public.
Members also will discuss potential changes to give local governments the option to allow some minor construction projects, depending on their size and scale, to be exempt from review.
Enacted in 1971, SEPA helps state and local agencies — including cities, counties, ports and special districts such as school and water districts — identify possible environmental impacts that could result from governmental decisions such as issuing permits for private projects, constructing public facilities or adopting regulations, policies or plans.
The 2012 state Legislature amended SEPA and directed Ecology to update its implementing rules in two phases.
The first set of rules was adopted in January. Ecology is working to complete the next update by December 2013.
Committee meetings are open to the public via participation in person or by phone.
The telephone conference number is 800-704-9804. The participant PIN code is 8386377#.
