This bill would create a new section in chapter 36.01 RCW requiring counties to collect and retain records for any public works activity they undertake. "Public works activity" is defined in the bill as any maintenance or construction activity a county performs on a county road (as defined in chapter 46.04 RCW) that is on or adjacent to property owned by another. The bill defines "de minimis amount" as an amount of natural or organic material removed that would be too small to be reasonably noticed by the naked eye without a detailed examination. The bill specifies minimum contents for those records: the amount removed when more than a de minimis amount of soil, trees, shrubs, gravel, or other natural or organic material was removed; where the removed materials were taken and how they were disposed of; whether any of the removed materials were reused for other projects; and whether the materials were tested for contaminants and the results of any such tests. Counties are identified as the entities responsible for collecting and retaining these records. This is a procedural change creating a new recordkeeping requirement (a new law adding a section to chapter 36.01 RCW). The extracted text does not specify any retention period, reporting format, who may access the records, enforcement mechanisms, penalties, or an effective date. The bill was prefiled 12/31/24, read first time 01/13/25, and referred to the House Committee on Local Government.

If enacted, counties would have to start creating and keeping records whenever they do maintenance or construction on county roads that are on or next to someone else's property, noting measurable amounts of soil or organic material removed, where that material was taken and how it was disposed of or reused, and whether it was tested for contaminants (with test results). That will add routine administrative duties and likely extra costs for field documentation and for any contaminant testing and lab work; because the bill does not provide funding, those costs would fall to county budgets and could mean shifting staff time or money from other local services. The people most affected are county public works departments and the crews who do county road work; they will have new recordkeeping responsibilities and potential exposure to questions about past removals if tests show contaminants. Important details are missing, though — the bill does not say how long records must be kept, who can access them, what format to use, or what penalties (if any) apply for noncompliance — so counties will face uncertainty about implementation and may adopt different practices until those gaps are resolved.