Filed in March in King County Superior Court, the lawsuit argues the state's hazardous-substances tax is unconstitutional, according to a report in the Seattle Times.
Created by a voter initiative in 1988, the tax has been largely dedicated to cleanup of toxic-waste sites, though the Legislature last year diverted $180 million to help balance the state [image-nocss] budget.
The oil industry and environmentalists are locked in a fierce fight in Olympia, Wash., over legislation to raise the tax. The increase would bring in about $100 million a year to help cities and towns control and clean up polluted storm water, which the state regards as a major threat to Puget Sound, according to the newspaper.
The lawsuit, filed by the Automotive United Trades Organization (AUTO) and the owners of a Tukwila gas station, argues the tax is essentially a gas tax, so the revenue it brings in must be used only for highways and roads under the 18th Amendment to the state constitution.
The state's five refineries pay most of the existing tax, and the proposed increase could raise the price of gasoline by a couple of cents a gallon, the newspaper stated.
Tim Hamilton, executive director of AUTO, said it's unfair to place that burden on the oil and gasoline industry.
"They've categorized us like a sin tax," he told the newspaper. "I didn't know that filling up your tank and going to work was a sin, but I guess it is."
Hamilton has repeatedly warned of such a lawsuit during the legislative session, but environmentalists scoffed at the idea that the 20-year-old tax was unconstitutional.
An environmental lobbyist called the timing of the lawsuit an attempt to intimidate lawmakers, who haven't yet brought the clean-water tax bill to the floor for a vote.
"It appears to be a desperate act by the oil and gas cartel to threaten and scare the Legislature into not funding cleanup of Puget Sound ... and dealing with the No. 1 water-pollution problem in the state," said Cliff Traisman, state lobbyist for Washington Conservation Voters and the Washington Environmental Council.
Hamilton said his group intends to go through with the lawsuit regardless of what the Legislature does on the proposed increase. Former State Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge is representing the gas stations.
Karina Shagren, a spokeswoman for Gov. Chris Gregoire, said the governor had not seen the lawsuit, the newspaper stated. But Shagren noted the hazardous-substances tax has been around for 20 years and said it "ensures polluters pay their fair and reasonable share to protect and restore the environment."
The tax applies to thousands of chemicals, fertilizers and other compounds deemed toxic by regulators. The current tax rate is 0.7% of the wholesale value of those products. More than 80% of the tax is paid by the state's oil-refining industry, according to the state.
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