SB 5690, sponsored by Sen. Drew MacEwen (R–Shelton), would increase coordination between WSDOT and utilities impacted by a fish passage project, to avoid duplicating work on permitting, bidding, or design, and to maximize obtaining federal funding to cover utilities’ relocation costs.

When a utility’s infrastructure needs to be relocated due to a federal court-ordered Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) project to remove a culvert impeding fish passage, the utility must bear the relocation cost, which can be a multimillion-dollar project. SB 5690 aims to increase coordination and efficiency on these projects, to mitigate the impacts on utilities and utility ratepayers.

The bill requires WSDOT to give utilities information about planned state highway projects to allow them, when possible, to install infrastructure while the project is underway – an extension of existing policy on broadband – and to give, when feasible, at least one year’s notice of planned fish barrier removal projects.

It also requires WSDOT, when it  requests federal funding for fish barrier removal projects, to include in the request any utility relocation costs that are eligible under federal rules and regulations, and the bill requires WSDOT to report back by Dec. 15, 2026, with information on funding requests and awards, as well as recommendations for legal or policy changes to help obtain federal funds.

The Senate unanimously approved SB 5690 and the House Transportation Committee recommended passage on April 4. A vote by the full House has yet to be scheduled.