The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) Definitions specific to this chapter:

(a) "40 C.F.R. Part 98" or "40 C.F.R. § 98" means the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting regulation including any applicable subparts. All references are adopted by reference as if it was copied into this rule. References mentioned in this rule are adopted as they exist on February 9, 2022, or the adoption date in WAC 173-400-025(1), whichever is later.

(b) "Asset controlling supplier" or "ACS" means any entity that owns or operates interconnected electricity generating facilities or serves as an exclusive marketer for these facilities even though it does not own them, and has been designated by the department and received a department-published emissions factor for the wholesale electricity procured from its system. Electricity from an asset controlling supplier is considered a specified source of electricity.

(c) "Biomass" means nonfossilized and biodegradable organic material originating from plants, animals, or microorganisms, including products, by-products, residues and waste from agriculture, forestry, and related industries as well as the nonfossilized and biodegradable organic fractions of industrial and municipal wastes, including gases and liquids recovered from the decomposition of nonfossilized and biodegradable organic material.

(d) "Carbon dioxide equivalent" or "CO2e" means a metric measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases based upon their global warming potential.

(e) "Director" means the director of the department of ecology.

(f) "Ecology" means the Washington state department of ecology.

(g) "Electric power entity" includes any of the following that supply electric power in Washington: (i) Electricity importers and exporters; (ii) retail providers, including multijurisdictional retail providers; and (iii) the asset controlling suppliers. See WAC 173-441-124 for more detail.

(h) "Facility" unless otherwise specified in WAC 173-441-122, 173-441-124, or any subpart of 40 C.F.R. Part 98 as adopted in WAC 173-441-120, means any physical property, plant, building, structure, source, or stationary equipment located on one or more contiguous or adjacent properties in actual physical contact or separated solely by a public roadway or other public right of way and under common ownership or common control, that emits or may emit any greenhouse gas. Operators of military installations may classify such installations as more than a single facility based on distinct and independent functional groupings within contiguous military properties.

(i) "Fuel products" means petroleum products, biomass-derived fuels, coal-based liquid fuels, natural gas, biogas, and liquid petroleum gas as established in 40 C.F.R. Part 98 Subparts LL through NN. Renewable or biogenic versions of fuel products listed in Tables MM-1 or NN-1 of 40 C.F.R. Part 98 are also considered fuel products. Assume complete combustion or oxidation of fuel products when calculating GHG emissions.

(j) "Fuel supplier" means any of the following suppliers of fuel products: (See WAC 173-441-122 for more detail.)

(i) A supplier of fossil fuel other than natural gas, including:

(A) A supplier of petroleum products;

(B) A supplier of liquid petroleum gas;

(C) A supplier of coal-based liquid fuels.

(ii) A supplier of biomass-derived fuels;

(iii) A supplier of natural gas, including:

(A) Operators of interstate and intrastate pipelines;

(B) Suppliers of liquefied or compressed natural gas;

(C) Natural gas liquid fractionators;

(D) Local distribution companies.

(k) "Greenhouse gas," "greenhouse gases," "GHG," and "GHGs" includes carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. Beginning on January 1, 2012, "greenhouse gas" also includes any other gas or gases designated by ecology by rule in Table A-1 in WAC 173-441-040.

(l) "Operator" means any individual or organization who operates or supervises a facility, supplier, or electric power entity. The operator of an electric power entity may be the electric power entity itself.

(m) "Owner" means any individual or organization who has legal or equitable title to, has a leasehold interest in, or control of a facility, supplier, or electric power entity, except an individual or organization whose legal or equitable title to or leasehold interest in the facility, supplier, or electric power entity arises solely because the person is a limited partner in a partnership that has legal or equitable title to, has a leasehold interest in, or control of the facility, supplier, or electric power entity shall not be considered an "owner" of the facility, supplier, or electric power entity.

(n) "Person" includes the owner or operator of:

(i) A facility;

(ii) A supplier; or

(iii) An electric power entity.

(o) "Product data" means data related to a facility's production that is part of the annual GHG report.

(p) "Reporter" means any of the following subject to this chapter:

(i) A facility;

(ii) A supplier; or

(iii) An electric power entity.

(q) "Supplier" means any person who is a:

(i) Fuel supplier that produces, imports, or delivers, or any combination of producing, importing, or delivering, fuel products in Washington; and

(ii) Supplier of carbon dioxide that produces, imports, or delivers a quantity of carbon dioxide in Washington that, if released, would result in emissions in Washington.

(2) Definitions specific to the Climate Commitment Act program.

For those terms not listed in subsection (1) of this section, WAC 173-441-122(2), or 173-441-124(2), the definitions from chapter 70A.65 RCW, as described in chapters 173-446 and 173-446A WAC apply in this chapter in order of precedence.

(3) Definitions from 40 C.F.R. Part 98. For those terms not listed in subsection (1) or (2) of this section, WAC 173-441-122(2), or 173-441-124(2), the definitions found in 40 C.F.R. § 98.6 or a subpart as adopted in this chapter, apply in this chapter as modified in WAC 173-441-120(2).