wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 2343 > Original Bill
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The legislature finds that protecting public health and the safety of drinking water supplies is a fundamental responsibility of the state. In 2024 and 2025, groundwater monitoring conducted by Lewis county, the city of Centralia, and the department of fish and wildlife identified nitrate concentrations in multiple private drinking water wells in the Fords Prairie area that exceeded the federal maximum contaminant level for nitrates. Subsequent investigations, including the Bob Oke game farm groundwater investigation completed in November 2025, determined that multiple sources contribute nitrates to the aquifer, and confirmed that manure generated by pheasants at the Bob Oke game farm is a contributing source of nitrate loading to groundwater.
The legislature further finds that, although the department of ecology administers a concentrated animal feeding operation permit program to prevent manure and nutrient pollution from animal feeding operations, the current rule-based thresholds do not expressly include state-operated game farms or other facilities raising pheasants or similar game birds. As a result, these facilities are not required to obtain concentrated animal feeding operation permits, even when the number of birds, site characteristics, or manure management practices present risks to groundwater quality that are comparable to operations currently regulated under the concentrated animal feeding operation program.
It is the intent of the legislature to ensure that all publicly operated game farms engage in manure and nutrient management practices sufficient to protect groundwater and drinking water supplies, and to align public operations with the same environmental protections expected of private agricultural producers.
The legislature, therefore, intends to:
Require publicly owned facilities, including each game farm operated by the department of fish and wildlife, to obtain a general permit for concentrated animal feeding operations as it applies to large concentrated animal feeding operations or an individual permit from the department of ecology where the number of animals at such facilities exceed the thresholds for concentrated animal feeding operation permit coverage applicable to privately owned or operated facilities;
Direct the department of ecology to include, in its next update its concentrated animal feeding operation permit, to explicitly include pheasants and similar game birds within the scope of concentrated animal feeding operations;
Ensure that manure management, groundwater monitoring, and nutrient pollution prevention measures at publicly owned facilities meet standards that safeguard public health, maintain compliance with federal and state water quality laws, and prevent further nitrate loading to aquifers serving residential drinking water wells; and
Affirm that state agencies and local governments must model best practices for environmental stewardship and the protection of public drinking water.
The legislature further intends that these actions will reduce nitrate contributions from public facilities, prevent future impacts to private wells, promote transparency and accountability in manure management practices, and ensure that publicly owned facilities are regulated under the same water quality protection framework as comparable privately owned concentrated animal feeding operations across Washington.
The department, in operating any publicly owned facility at which wildlife or other animals are held, confined, propagated, hatched, fed, or otherwise raised in numbers and circumstances that would otherwise qualify the facility as a concentrated animal feeding operation under chapter 90.48 RCW, must either:
Follow the requirements under the concentrated animal feeding operation general permit issued under chapter 90.48 RCW that are applicable to the owner or operator of any commercial or industrial operation; or
Obtain an individual discharge permit from the department of ecology under chapter 90.48 RCW.
At a minimum, a permit issued to the department under subsection (1)(b) of this section, or the concentrated animal feeding operation general permit applicable to the department under subsection (1)(a) of this section, must include:
A requirement that the permit holder prepare, maintain, and implement:
(A) Includes, at minimum, production area runoff controls, land application limits, and protocols for management of dead animals; and
(B) Ensures that sources of pollution related to the operation of the facility do not cause or contribute to a violation of water quality standards established by the department under this chapter; or
ii. Alternative measures required by the department of ecology under an updated concentrated animal feeding operation general permit that achieve equal or better outcomes to the approach specified in (a)(i) of this subsection;
b. A prohibition on discharges that cause or contribute to violations of water quality standards established by the department of ecology under chapter 90.48 RCW;
c. Protocols and procedures for the use of the enforcement authority of the department of ecology under chapter 90.48 RCW for violations of permit requirements; and
d. The following logistical and compliance requirements, or else alternative measures required by the department under an updated concentrated animal feeding operation general permit that achieve equal or better outcomes:
i. Monitoring requirements, including operations and maintenance monitoring and manure, litter, and wastewater monitoring;
ii. Recordkeeping requirements; and
iii. Reporting requirements.
Upon determining that a publicly owned or publicly operated facility at which animals are held, confined, propagated, hatched, fed, or otherwise raised in numbers and circumstances that would qualify the facility as a concentrated animal feeding operation under this chapter, the department must:
Begin applying and enforcing the requirements of the concentrated animal feeding operation general permit issued under this chapter with respect to the facility; or
Issue, upon application, an individual permit under this chapter to the facility.
At a minimum, a permit issued to a publicly owned facility under subsection (1)(b) of this section, or the concentrated animal feeding operation general permit applicable to publicly owned facilities under subsection (1)(a) of this section, must include:
A requirement that the permit holder prepare, maintain, and implement:
(A) Includes, at minimum, production area runoff controls, land application limits, and protocols for management of dead animals; and
(B) Ensures that sources of pollution related to the operation of the facility do not cause or contribute to a violation of water quality standards established by the department under this chapter; or
ii. Alternative measures required by the department under an updated concentrated animal feeding operation general permit that achieve equal or better outcomes to the approach specified in (a)(i) of this subsection;
b. A prohibition on discharges that cause or contribute to violations of water quality standards established by the department under this chapter;
c. Protocols and procedures for the use of the enforcement authority of the department under this chapter for violations of permit requirements; and
d. The following logistical and compliance requirements, or else alternative measures required by the department under an updated concentrated animal feeding operation general permit that achieve equal or better outcomes:
i. Monitoring requirements, including operations and maintenance monitoring and manure, litter, and wastewater monitoring;
ii. Recordkeeping requirements; and
iii. Reporting requirements.
For purposes of determining whether a publicly owned facility has the number of animals that would qualify the facility as a concentrated animal feeding operation under this chapter, the department must treat a facility with more than 5,000 game birds present at any point in time as a large concentrated animal feeding operation subject to the most protective standards for water quality that apply to any category of concentrated animal feeding operation.
The powers and duties of the department, including the power and duty to enforce permit requirements, the enforcement provisions under this chapter, and any and all other remedies available apply to publicly owned facilities specified in this section in the same manner as they apply to privately owned facilities that qualify for concentrated animal feeding operation general permit coverage.