The purposes of this chapter are: (1) To declare a state policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between humankind and the environment; (2) to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere; (3) and [to] stimulate the health and welfare of human beings; and (4) to enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the state and nation.
RCW 43.21C.010
Purposes.
Known as the State Environmental Policy Act
The act spans §§ 43–43 (74 sections).
Applied in 31 court decisions — leading case 84 Wash. 2d 271 - Leschi Improvement Council v. Washington State Highway Commission (1974)
Most recently applied in 189 Wash. App. 800 - Columbia Riverkeeper v. Port Of Vancouver (August 2015)
2009 c 549 s 5095; 1971 ex.s. c 109 s 1.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: Washington State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Washington statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.