BILL REQ. #: S-3411.2
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2012 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/09/12. Referred to Committee on Environment.
AN ACT Relating to harmonizing state greenhouse gas reporting requirements with federal requirements; and amending RCW 70.94.151.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 70.94.151 and 2010 c 146 s 2 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) The board of any activated authority or the department, may
classify air contaminant sources, by ordinance, resolution, rule or
regulation, which in its judgment may cause or contribute to air
pollution, according to levels and types of emissions and other
characteristics which cause or contribute to air pollution, and may
require registration or reporting or both for any such class or
classes. Classifications made pursuant to this section may be for
application to the area of jurisdiction of such authority, or the state
as a whole or to any designated area within the jurisdiction, and shall
be made with special reference to effects on health, economic and
social factors, and physical effects on property.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, any
person operating or responsible for the operation of air contaminant
sources of any class for which the ordinances, resolutions, rules or
regulations of the department or board of the authority, require
registration or reporting shall register therewith and make reports
containing information as may be required by such department or board
concerning location, size and height of contaminant outlets, processes
employed, nature of the contaminant emission and such other information
as is relevant to air pollution and available or reasonably capable of
being assembled. ((In the case of emissions of greenhouse gases as
defined in RCW 70.235.010 the department shall adopt rules requiring
reporting of those emissions.)) The department or board may require
that such registration or reporting be accompanied by a fee, and may
determine the amount of such fee for such class or classes: PROVIDED,
That the amount of the fee shall only be to compensate for the costs of
administering such registration or reporting program which shall be
defined as initial registration and annual or other periodic reports
from the source owner providing information directly related to air
pollution registration, on-site inspections necessary to verify
compliance with registration requirements, data storage and retrieval
systems necessary for support of the registration program, emission
inventory reports and emission reduction credits computed from
information provided by sources pursuant to registration program
requirements, staff review, including engineering or other reliable
analysis for accuracy and currentness, of information provided by
sources pursuant to registration program requirements, clerical and
other office support provided in direct furtherance of the registration
program, and administrative support provided in directly carrying out
the registration program: PROVIDED FURTHER, That any such registration
made with either the board or the department shall preclude a further
registration and reporting with any other board or the department((,
except that emissions of greenhouse gases as defined in RCW 70.235.010
must be reported as required under subsection (5) of this section)).
All registration program and reporting fees collected by the
department shall be deposited in the air pollution control account.
All registration program fees collected by the local air authorities
shall be deposited in their respective treasuries.
(3) If a registration or report has been filed for a grain
warehouse or grain elevator as required under this section,
registration, reporting, or a registration program fee shall not, after
January 1, 1997, again be required under this section for the warehouse
or elevator unless the capacity of the warehouse or elevator as listed
as part of the license issued for the facility has been increased since
the date the registration or reporting was last made. If the capacity
of the warehouse or elevator listed as part of the license is
increased, any registration or reporting required for the warehouse or
elevator under this section must be made by the date the warehouse or
elevator receives grain from the first harvest season that occurs after
the increase in its capacity is listed in the license.
This subsection does not apply to a grain warehouse or grain
elevator if the warehouse or elevator handles more than ten million
bushels of grain annually.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (3) of this section:
(a) A "grain warehouse" or "grain elevator" is an establishment
classified in standard industrial classification (SIC) code 5153 for
wholesale trade for which a license is required and includes, but is
not limited to, such a licensed facility that also conducts cleaning
operations for grain;
(b) A "license" is a license issued by the department of
agriculture licensing a facility as a grain warehouse or grain elevator
under chapter 22.09 RCW or a license issued by the federal government
licensing a facility as a grain warehouse or grain elevator for
purposes similar to those of licensure for the facility under chapter
22.09 RCW; and
(c) "Grain" means a grain or a pulse.
(5)(a) ((The department shall adopt rules requiring persons to
report emissions of greenhouse gases as defined in RCW 70.235.010 where
those emissions from a single facility, source, or site, or from fossil
fuels sold in Washington by a single supplier meet or exceed ten
thousand metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually. The
department may phase in the requirement to report greenhouse gas
emissions until the reporting threshold in this subsection is met,
which must occur by January 1, 2012. In addition, the rules must
require that:)) A person who is required to report greenhouse gas emissions
to the United States environmental protection agency under 40 C.F.R.
Part 98, as adopted on September 22, 2009, must submit the report to
the department concurrent with the submission to the United States
environmental protection agency.
(i) Emissions of greenhouse gases resulting from the combustion of
fossil fuels be reported separately from emissions of greenhouse gases
resulting from the combustion of biomass;
(ii) Reporting will start in 2010 for 2009 emissions. Each annual
report must include emissions data for the preceding calendar year and
must be submitted to the department by October 31st of the year in
which the report is due. However, starting in 2011, a person who is
required to report greenhouse gas emissions to the United States
environmental protection agency under 40 C.F.R. Part 98, as adopted on
September 22, 2009, must submit the report required under this section
to the department concurrent with the submission to the United States
environmental protection agency. Except as otherwise provided in this
section, the data for emissions in Washington and any corrections
thereto that are reported to the United States environmental protection
agency must be the emissions data reported to the department; and
(iii) Emissions of carbon dioxide associated with the complete
combustion or oxidation of liquid motor vehicle fuel, special fuel, or
aircraft fuel that is sold in Washington where the annual emissions
associated with that combustion or oxidation equal or exceed ten
thousand metric tons be reported to the department. Each person who is
required to file periodic tax reports of motor vehicle fuel sales under
RCW 82.36.031 or special fuel sales under RCW 82.38.150, or each
distributor of aircraft fuel required to file periodic tax reports
under RCW 82.42.040 must report to the department the annual emissions
of carbon dioxide from the complete combustion or oxidation of the
fuels listed in those reports as sold in the state of Washington. The
department shall not require suppliers to use additional data to
calculate greenhouse gas emissions other than the data the suppliers
report to the department of licensing. The rules may allow this
information to be aggregated when reported to the department. The
department and the department of licensing shall enter into an
interagency agreement to ensure proprietary and confidential
information is protected if the departments share reported information.
Any proprietary or confidential information exempt from disclosure when
reported to the department of licensing is exempt from disclosure when
shared by the department of licensing with the department under this
provision.
(b)(i) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the rules
adopted by the department under (a) of this subsection must be
consistent with the regulations adopted by the United States
environmental protection agency in 40 C.F.R. Part 98 on September 22,
2009.
(ii) The department may by rule include additional gases to the
definition of "greenhouse gas" in RCW 70.235.010 only if the gas has
been designated as a greenhouse gas by the United States congress or by
the United States environmental protection agency. Prior to including
additional gases to the definition of "greenhouse gas" in RCW
70.235.010, the department shall notify the appropriate committees of
the legislature. Decisions to amend the rule to include additional
gases must be made prior to December 1st of any year and the amended
rule may not take effect before the end of the regular legislative
session in the next year.
(iii) The department may by rule exempt persons who are required to
report greenhouse gas emissions to the United States environmental
protection agency and who emit less than ten thousand metric tons
carbon dioxide equivalent annually.
(iv) The department must establish a methodology for persons who
are not required to report under this section to voluntarily report
their greenhouse gas emissions.
(c) The department shall review and if necessary update its rules
whenever the United States environmental protection agency adopts final
amendments to 40 C.F.R. Part 98 to ensure consistency with federal
reporting requirements for emissions of greenhouse gases. However, the
department shall not amend its rules in a manner that conflicts with
(a) of this subsection.
(d)
(b) The department shall share ((any reporting information
reported)) greenhouse gas emissions reports required by the United
States environmental protection agency submitted to it with the local
air authority in which the person reporting ((under the rules adopted
by the department)) operates.
(((e) The fee provisions in subsection (2) of this section apply to
reporting of emissions of greenhouse gases. Persons required to report
under (a) of this subsection who fail to report or pay the fee required
in subsection (2) of this section are subject to enforcement penalties
under this chapter. The department shall enforce the reporting rule
requirements unless it approves a local air authority's request to
enforce the requirements for persons operating within the authority's
jurisdiction. However, neither the department nor a local air
authority approved under this section are authorized to assess
enforcement penalties on persons required to report under (a) of this
subsection until six months after the department adopts its reporting
rule in 2010.))
(f) The energy facility site evaluation council shall,
simultaneously with the department, adopt rules that impose greenhouse
gas reporting requirements in site certifications on owners or
operators of a facility permitted by the energy facility site
evaluation council. The greenhouse gas reporting requirements imposed
by the energy facility site evaluation council must be the same as the
greenhouse gas reporting requirements imposed by the department. The
department shall share any information reported to it from facilities
permitted by the energy facility site evaluation council with the
council, including notice of a facility that has failed to report as
required. The energy facility site evaluation council shall contract
with the department to monitor the reporting requirements adopted under
this section.
(g) The inclusion or failure to include any person, source, classes
of persons or sources, or types of emissions of greenhouse gases into
the department's rules for reporting under this section does not
indicate whether such a person, source, or category is appropriate for
inclusion in state, regional, or national greenhouse gas reduction
programs or strategies. Furthermore, aircraft fuel purchased in the
state may not be considered equivalent to aircraft fuel combusted in
the state.
(h)(i) The definitions in RCW 70.235.010 apply throughout this
subsection (5) unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(ii) For the purpose of this subsection (5), the term "supplier"
includes: (A) A motor vehicle fuel supplier or a motor vehicle fuel
importer, as those terms are defined in RCW 82.36.010; (B) a special
fuel supplier or a special fuel importer, as those terms are defined in
RCW 82.38.020; and (C) a distributor of aircraft fuel, as those terms
are defined in RCW 82.42.010.
(iii) For the purpose of this subsection (5), the term "person"
includes: (A) An owner or operator, as those terms are defined by the
United States environmental protection agency in its mandatory
greenhouse gas reporting regulation in 40 C.F.R. Part 98, as adopted on
September 22, 2009; and (B) a supplier.