Washington State Department of Ecology

Department of Ecology
Agency overview
FormedFebruary 23, 1970 (1970-02-23)
Headquarters300 Desmond Drive Southeast
Lacey, Washington, U.S.
Employeesapprox. 2,100 (2023)
Annual budget$2.8 billion (2023-2025)
Agency executive
  • Casey Sixkiller, Director
Websiteecology.wa.gov

The Washington State Department of Ecology (sometimes referred to simply as "Ecology") is the state of Washington's environmental regulatory agency. Created on February 23, 1970, it was the first environmental regulation agency in the United States, predating the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by several months.

The department administers laws and regulations pertaining to the areas of water quality, water rights and water resources, shoreline management, toxics clean-up, nuclear waste, hazardous waste, and air quality. It also conducts monitoring and scientific assessments of various contaminated sites in Washington. The Department of Ecology has a $2.8 billion budget for the 2023–25 biennium and approximately 2,100 full-time employees.

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