Bill to help cool heat-emitting cities passes House, Senate

 

Last updated 4/6/2021 at 8:10am



OLYMPIA – A bill authored by Rep. Mary Dye (R-Pomeroy) to help cool heat-emitting cities such as Seattle passed the House and Senate unanimously, and is on its way to the governor.

Dye said larger coastline cities retain heat from rooftops, pavement and other heat-absorbing materials, creating what is known as “urban heat islands.”

“During the summer, downtown Seattle can be as much as 17 degrees warmer than surrounding rural areas,” Dye said. “These hotter temperatures not only affect the atmosphere, they also create flows into stormwater and sewage drains that flow into Puget Sound, resulting in algae and creating problems with fish survival.”

House Bill 1114 estblishes a program involving municipal electric utilities, PUDs or investor-owned utilities to engage in tree-planting activities.

Dye, who serves as the ranking Republican on the House Environment and Energy Committee, said the bill provides incentives to reduce the urban heat island effect. It is modeled after a successful tree planting and cool-roof program implemented in 1991 by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District in California.

“It's about improving quality of life in urban areas that experience extreme summer heat, and environmental and health impacts that can be significantly improved by strategic planting of trees,” Dye said. “If there are flat or low-pitch roofs, the use of reflective roof incentive programs can reducet the overall power load during warm days. The benefits are quality of life, better environment, energy savings and better air quality.”

 

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