RCW 88.40.025: Financial responsibility for onshore or offshore facilities.

An onshore or offshore facility shall demonstrate financial responsibility in an amount determined by the department as necessary to compensate the state and affected federally recognized Indian tribes, counties, and cities for damages that might occur during a reasonable worst case spill of oil from that facility into the navigable waters of the state. The department shall adopt a rule that considers such matters as the worst case amount of oil that could be spilled, as calculated in the applicant's oil spill contingency plan approved under chapter 90.56 RCW, the cost of cleaning up the spilled oil, the frequency of operations at the facility, the damages that could result from the spill, and the commercial availability and affordability of financial responsibility. In order to demonstrate financial responsibility as required under this section, the owner or operator of a facility must obtain a certificate of financial responsibility from the department. The requirements of this section do not apply to an onshore or offshore facility owned or operated by the federal government or by the state or local government.