wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 2421 > Original Bill
The legislature finds that 6PPD (N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine) is a chemical commonly used in motor vehicle tires to keep them from cracking and degrading quickly. 6PPD works by moving to the surface of the tire and forming a film that protects the tire. When 6PPD is exposed to oxygen and ozone at the surface of a tire, it forms 6PPD-quinone (2-((4-methylpentan-2-yl)amino)-5-(phenylamino)cyclohexa-2,5-diene-1,4-dione). As tires are used and degrade, they release 6PPD-quinone as tire wear particles that are washed or deposited into streams, rivers, and other water bodies through stormwater runoff, aerial deposition, and other pathways.
The legislature further finds that 6PPD-quinone is directly linked to urban runoff mortality syndrome, a condition where coho salmon die prior to spawning. 6PPD-quinone is known to be toxic to aquatic species and is the primary causal toxicant for coho salmon.
The legislature recognizes the urgency in reducing and stopping the release of 6PPD-quinone into Washington waterways by incentivizing the development and use of safer alternatives to protect salmon, trout, and other aquatic species. Salmon, trout, and other aquatic species are central to Washington's ecosystems, treaty-reserved tribal rights, cultural heritage, recreational fishing, and the state's economy. Ongoing mortality of salmonids linked to 6PPD-quinone undermines ecological health, fisheries, and community well-being.
The legislature further finds that alternatives to 6PPD are under development. Phasing out 6PPD in favor of safer alternatives will incentivize innovation, protect aquatic species, reduce stormwater pollution, align with Washington's leadership in toxics reduction and salmonid recovery, and provide the timing necessary to identify an alternative to 6PPD that ensures motorist safety and protection of human health and the environment.
It is therefore the legislature's intent to incentivize the phase out of 6PPD in tires by imposing a temporary fee on the distributors of tires containing 6PPD, restricting 6PPD in tires after providing time for the industry to bring 6PPD alternatives into the marketplace, and restricting 6PPD substitutes that are not safer alternatives to 6PPD in tires.
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
"6PPD" has the same meaning as in RCW 70A.350.010(1).
"Department" means the department of ecology.
"Regrettable 6PPD substitute" means a chemical or chemicals that are not determined by the department to be a safer alternative consistent with section 3 of this act.
"Safer alternative" has the same meaning as in RCW 70A.350.010.
"Vehicle" has the same meaning as in RCW 46.04.670.
Beginning January 1, 2035, no person may manufacture, sell, offer for sale, distribute for sale, or distribute for use in this state a new tire containing intentionally added 6PPD or a regrettable 6PPD substitute identified by rule by the department.
In adopting rules to identify regrettable 6PPD substitutes subject to the requirements of this section, the department, in consultation with the department of health, must consider information generated by other states or nations to identify regrettable 6PPD substitutes. The department must, at minimum, identify as a regrettable 6PPD substitute any alternative that it determines is not a safer alternative consistent with the criteria established under chapter 70A.350 RCW.
Nothing in this chapter limits the authority of the department with respect to tires, 6PPD, or 6PPD substitutes under chapter 70A.350 RCW.
The department may adopt rules as necessary for implementing, administering, and enforcing this chapter.
A person violating a requirement of this chapter, a rule adopted under this chapter, or an order issued under this chapter, is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each violation in the case of a first offense. Repeat violations are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each repeat offense.
The department may issue a corrective action order to a person in violation of the requirements of this chapter.
Any penalty provided for in this section, and any order issued by the department under this chapter, may be appealed to the pollution control hearings board.
All penalties collected under this chapter shall be deposited in the model toxics control operating account created in RCW 70A.305.180.
(1) The hearings board shall only have jurisdiction to hear and decide appeals from the following decisions of the department, the director, local conservation districts, the air pollution control boards or authorities as established pursuant to chapter 70A.15 RCW, local health departments, the department of natural resources, the department of fish and wildlife, the parks and recreation commission, and authorized public entities described in chapter 79.100 RCW:
(1) Any civil penalty provided in RCW 18.104.155, 70A.15.3160, 70A.205.280, 70A.230.080, 70A.300.090, 70A.20.050, 70A.245.040, 70A.245.050, 70A.245.070, 70A.245.080, 70A.245.130, 70A.245.140, 70A.65.200, 70A.430.070, 70A.455.090, 70A.500.260, 70A.505.110, 70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, 70A.208.230, section 4 of this act, 70A.565.030, 86.16.081, 88.46.090, 90.03.600, 90.46.270, 90.48.144, 90.56.310, 90.56.330, and 90.64.102 and chapter 70A.355 RCW shall be imposed by a notice in writing, either by certified mail with return receipt requested or by personal service, to the person incurring the penalty from the department or the local air authority, describing the violation with reasonable particularity. For penalties issued by local air authorities, within 30 days after the notice is received, the person incurring the penalty may apply in writing to the authority for the remission or mitigation of the penalty. Upon receipt of the application, the authority may remit or mitigate the penalty upon whatever terms the authority in its discretion deems proper. The authority may ascertain the facts regarding all such applications in such reasonable manner and under such rules as it may deem proper and shall remit or mitigate the penalty only upon a demonstration of extraordinary circumstances such as the presence of information or factors not considered in setting the original penalty.
There is levied a $5 per tire fee on the retail sale of new replacement vehicle tires. The fee imposed in this subsection must be paid by the buyer to the seller, and each seller shall collect from the buyer the full amount of the fee. The fee collected from the buyer by the seller less the ten percent amount retained by the seller as provided in RCW 70A.205.430(1) must be paid to the department of revenue in accordance with RCW 82.32.045.
The department of revenue shall incorporate into the agency's regular audit cycle a reconciliation of the number of tires sold and the amount of revenue collected by the businesses selling new replacement vehicle tires at retail. The department of revenue shall collect on the business excise tax return from the businesses selling new replacement vehicle tires at retail:
The number of tires sold; and
The fee levied in this section.
All other applicable provisions of chapter 82.32 RCW have full force and application with respect to the fee imposed under this section. The department of revenue shall administer this section.
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In addition to the fee specified in subsection (1) of this section, beginning January 1, 2027, there is levied:
A $3 per tire 6PPD mitigation fee on the retail sale of new replacement 6PPD-containing tires with a load rating of up to 2,500 pounds;
A $6 per tire 6PPD mitigation fee on the retail sale of new replacement 6PPD-containing tires with a load rating of 2,500 pounds or greater.
Beginning January 1, 2028, and each January 1st thereafter, the amount of the fees specified in (a) of this subsection shall increase by 10 percent relative to the amount of the fee during the previous calendar year.
The fee imposed in this subsection (4) is levied on the seller of the tire and must be paid to the department of revenue in accordance with RCW 82.32.045. The seller may not collect the 6PPD mitigation fee from the buyer, charge the 6PPD mitigation fee as a separate line item at the point of sale, or display the 6PPD mitigation fee on a receipt provided to a customer.
To implement the mitigation fee on 6PPD-containing tires under this subsection, the department of revenue may determine that a tire contains intentionally added 6PPD if it has not been certified as a 6PPD-free tire under subsection (5) of this section, or if testing performed at the direction of the department of a certified tire indicates that the tire contains 6PPD.
The 6PPD mitigation fee imposed under this subsection does not apply to:
6PPD-free tires;
Original equipment tires manufactured, imported, sold, or distributed into or in Washington as a component of a new motor vehicle;
Retreaded tires; or
Tires provided free under a warranty or under a federally mandated or voluntary manufacturer recall.
Fees collected under this section must be deposited in the 6PPD mitigation account established in section 8 of this act.
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Prior to the effective date of any pertinent restrictions on 6PPD in tires under chapter 70A.350 RCW, the department of revenue may determine that a tire that is certified as a 6PPD-free tire consistent with this subsection (5) is exempt from the 6PPD mitigation fee imposed in subsection (4) of this section.
A person may certify that a tire is a 6PPD-free tire by submitting a certificate, under penalty of perjury, using a form prescribed by the department, certifying that the tire is a 6PPD-free tire, based on tire manufacturer testing or supply chain documentation.
A person must maintain records sufficient to support their declaration and make such records available to the department for inspection or audit upon request.
The department may:
Conduct periodic testing of tires that are certified as 6PPD-free tires under this subsection; and
Require recertification.
The department may impose interest and penalties on 6PPD mitigation fee amounts owed as provided in chapter 82.32 RCW.
The department shall maintain and publish on its website a list of certified 6PPD-free tires that are exempt from the 6PPD mitigation fee levied under subsection (4) of this section.
For the purposes of this section:
"New replacement vehicle tires" means tires that are newly manufactured for vehicle purposes and does not include retreaded vehicle tires;
"6PPD" has the same meaning as in RCW 70A.350.010;
"6PPD-containing tire" means a tire that contains intentionally added 6PPD; and
"6PPD-free tire" means a tire that does not contain intentionally added 6PPD.
The 6PPD mitigation account shall be created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts from 6PPD mitigation fees collected under RCW 70A.205.405(4) must be deposited into the account. Only the director of the department or the director's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to the allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures.
Money in the 6PPD mitigation account may be used for:
The administrative costs of the department of revenue incurred in implementing, administering, and enforcing requirements related to the 6PPD mitigation fee in RCW 70A.205.405;
The costs of the department of ecology under chapter 70A.350 RCW related to 6PPD and regrettable 6PPD substitutes and to implement the restrictions in chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 12 of this act);
Monitoring and sampling activities related to 6PPD-quinone contamination in stormwater throughout Washington state;
Surveying salmonid spawning waterbodies for prespawn mortality related to 6PPD-quinone contamination in stormwater throughout Washington state;
Other activities related to assessing the impacts of 6PPD-quinone on salmonid and other aquatic species; and
The purposes specified in RCW 70A.205.420(1), which for purposes of funds in the account created in this section must include management of illegally dumped tires in urban areas or in communities with close proximity to fish bearing streams.
The first $600,000 of the net receipts from the tire fees imposed under RCW 70A.205.405(1) received each fiscal year must be deposited in the waste tire removal account created under RCW 70A.205.415. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used for the cleanup of unauthorized waste tire piles and measures that prevent future accumulation of unauthorized waste tire piles.
The receipts remaining from the tire fees imposed under RCW 70A.205.405(1) after the deposit in subsection (1) of this section must be deposited in the motor vehicle fund created in RCW 46.68.070 for the purpose of road wear related maintenance on state and local public highways.
The fee required by RCW 70A.205.405(1), to be collected by the seller, shall be deemed to be held in trust by the seller until paid to the department of revenue, and any seller who appropriates or converts the fee collected to his or her own use or to any use other than the payment of the fee to the extent that the money required to be collected is not available for payment on the due date as prescribed in this chapter is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
In case any seller fails to collect the fee imposed in RCW 70A.205.405(1) or, having collected the fee, fails to pay it or the 6PPD mitigation fee in RCW 70A.205.405(4) to the department of revenue in the manner prescribed by this chapter, whether such failure is the result of his or her own acts or the result of acts or conditions beyond his or her control, he or she shall, nevertheless, be personally liable to the state for the amount of the fee.
The amount of the fee imposed in RCW 70A.205.405(1), until paid by the buyer to the seller or to the department of revenue, shall constitute a debt from the buyer to the seller and any seller who fails or refuses to collect the fee as required with intent to violate the provisions of this chapter or to gain some advantage or benefit, either direct or indirect, and any buyer who refuses to pay any fee due under this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Every person engaged in making retail sales of new replacement vehicle tires in this state shall retain 25 cents for each tire subject to the fee imposed under RCW 70A.205.405(1). The moneys retained may be used for costs associated with the proper management of the waste vehicle tires by the retailer.
The department of ecology will administer the funds for the purposes specified in RCW 70A.205.010(6) including, but not limited to:
Making grants to local governments for pilot demonstration projects for on-site shredding and recycling of tires from unauthorized dump sites;
Grants to local government for enforcement programs;
Implementation of a public information and education program to include posters, signs, and informational materials to be distributed to retail tire sales and tire service outlets;
Product marketing studies for recycled tires and alternatives to land disposal.
If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.