High court will consider use of gas tax to fight pollution
May 28, 2012, 5:36 PM | Updated: May 29, 2012, 8:30 am
The Washington State Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit over whether a tax levied at the pump can be used to clean up pollution at sites such as the Lower Duwamish Waterway. (PHOTO: Brandi Kruse/KIRO Radio)
(PHOTO: Brandi Kruse/KIRO Radio)
In June, the Washington State Supreme Court is set to hear a lawsuit over whether a tax levied at the pump can be used to clean up pollution.
At the center of the suit is the Hazardous Substances Tax, which was enacted in 1988. It places a .7 percent tax on mainly petroleum products; money that goes to help clean up toxic waste at places such as Seattle’s Lower Duwamish Waterway, which is a Federal Superfund Site.
The Automotive United Trade Organization (AUTO), which brought the lawsuit against the state, argues that the state constitution requires any “gas tax” be used to fund public highway projects.
“If you impose a tax on motor fuels that are going to be consumed on public highways, those have to be put into a highway fund used for the public roads,” said AUTO Executive Director Tim Hamilton. “The state is not doing that, so we sued them.”
The tax generates about $165 million a year, with roughly 85 percent of that revenue generated through the tax on petroleum products. Environmentalists say that if the source were eliminated, sites such as the Duwamish River would remain polluted.
