Editorial: Cheap oil slowing stormwater cleanup

The city of Spokane’s aggressive program to control stormwater could be slowed by, of all things, cheap oil.

Much of the funding for the state’s water pollution control programs is generated by a 0.7 percent tax on 8,000 hazardous substances, with petroleum being by far the biggest source of revenue.

As the wholesale price of oil has come spiraling down, so has income from the tax. Since October 2014, revenues have fallen $68 million short of projections, and budget forecasts due this week are expected to move that figure higher.

During the 2013-2015 biennium, the tax yielded $283 million, and that’s part of the problem. When oil prices were high and money from the hazardous substance tax flowed like water, legislators redirected some of the money into the general fund to support the Department of Ecology and projects that had nothing to do with toxics remediation.

Now, the department is looking at the loss of 80 employees, and Ecology officials and the Legislature are considering what capital programs will have to be cut and which reduced in response to the plunging revenues.

SB 6570 gives toxic cleanup efforts priority over stormwater projects. Spokane sewer and stormwater projects could lose $5.9 million in grants and $7.4 million in loans.

All money for the Public Participation Grant program could be eliminated. In Spokane, that money has funded the annual Spokane River Cleanup, a volunteer effort that removes about 5 tons of debris from the riverbanks. Hundreds participate.

But the river itself will not get needed remediation if oil prices do not rebound soon – to the consternation of vehicle owners enjoying the lowest pump prices in a decade – or alternative sources of revenue are tapped.

Although budgets for this year’s construction season will not be affected, 14 projects will not get the anticipated grants and loans that had been in the pipeline for the 2017 season. Progress on capture and cleanup of runoff in the Cochran Basin, which incorporates much of the North Side, would be the most disrupted, but other work from High Drive to the Perry District to the intersection of Erie Street and Trent Avenue could be delayed.

The Senate bill is sponsored by Sen. Doug Ericksen, D-Ferndale, who has tinkered with substance tax allocation before as he defended the interests of the oil refiners in his district. He and a representative of the Western States Petroleum Association were the only witnesses to testify for the bill.

Gov. Jay Inslee wants to keep toxic and stormwater projects going with money raised by selling $25 million in bonds. That’s a bad idea.

The chairman of the House Appropriations Committee has suggested a temporary surtax on hazardous substances. If that can be phased out as oil prices recover to a predetermined level, that might be a workable solution. At the same time, the state must roll back grant and loan commitments that disrupt the planning and execution of projects when the money may not be there.

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