2SHB 2815 -
By Representative Ericksen
NOT ADOPTED 02/19/2008
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 (1) The legislature finds that Washington
has long been a national and international leader on energy
conservation and environmental stewardship, including air quality
protection, renewable energy development and generation, emission
standards for fossil-fuel based energy generation, energy efficiency
programs, natural resource conservation, vehicle emission standards,
and the use of biofuels. Washington is also unique among most states
in that in addition to its commitment to reduce emissions of greenhouse
gases, it has established goals to grow the clean energy sector and
reduce the state's expenditures on imported fuels.
(2) The legislature further finds that Washington should continue
its leadership on climate change policy by developing and implementing
a system for monitoring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions,
participating in the design of a regional multisector market-based
system, and ensuring the state has a well-trained workforce for our
clean energy future.
(3) In the event the state elects to participate in a regional
multisector market-based system, it is the intent of the legislature
that the system will become effective by January 1, 2012, after
authority is provided to the department for its implementation. By
acting now, Washington businesses and citizens will have adequate time
and opportunities to be well-positioned to take advantage of the low-carbon economy and to make necessary investments in low-carbon
technology.
(4) It is also the intent of the legislature that the regional
multisector market-based system recognize Washington's unique emissions
portfolio, including the state's hydroelectric system, the
opportunities presented by Washington's abundant forest resources and
agriculture land, and the state's leadership in energy efficiency and
the actions it has already taken that have reduced its generation of
greenhouse gas emissions and that entities receive appropriate credit
for early actions to reduce greenhouse gases.
(5) If any revenues that accrue to the state are created by a
market system, they must be used to further the state's efforts to
increase investment in the clean energy economy particularly for
communities and workers that have suffered from heavy job losses and
chronic unemployment and underemployment.
(6) It is the policy of the state to participate in the development
of a federal climate change program and in doing so shall seek
consistency to avoid duplication and to avoid any federal preemption of
the state's climate change program.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 The definitions in this section apply
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Carbon dioxide equivalents" means a metric measure used to
compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases based upon their
global warming potential.
(2) "Climate advisory team" means the stakeholder group formed in
response to executive order 07-02.
(3) "Climate impacts group" means the University of Washington's
climate impacts group.
(4) "Department" means the department of ecology.
(5) "Direct emissions" means emissions of greenhouse gases from
sources of emissions, including stationary combustion sources, mobile
combustion emissions, process emissions, and fugitive emissions.
(6) "Director" means the director of the department.
(7) "Greenhouse gas" and "greenhouse gases" includes carbon
dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons,
and sulfur hexafluoride, and except for purposes of reporting, does not
include emissions of carbon dioxide from industrial combustion of
biomass in the form of fuel wood and wood waste that is offset by the
growth of new biomass.
(8) "Indirect emissions" means emissions of greenhouse gases
associated with the purchase of electricity, heating, cooling, or
steam.
(9) "Person" means an individual, partnership, franchise holder,
association, corporation, a state, a city, a county, or any subdivision
or instrumentality of the state.
(10) "Program" means the department's climate change program.
(11) "Total emissions of greenhouse gases" means all direct
emissions and all indirect emissions.
(12) "Western climate initiative" means the collaboration of
states, Canadian provinces, Mexican states, and tribes to design a
multisector market-based mechanism as directed under the western
regional climate action initiative signed by the governor on February
22, 2007.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 (1)(a) The director shall develop, in
coordination with the western climate initiative, a design for a
regional multisector market-based system to limit and reduce emissions
of greenhouse gases.
(b) By December 1, 2008, the director and the director of the
department of community, trade, and economic development shall deliver
to the legislature specific recommendations for implementing the
preferred design of a regional multisector market-based system. These
recommendations must include:
(i) Proposed legislation, necessary funding, and the schedule
necessary to implement the preferred design by January 1, 2012;
(ii) Any changes determined necessary to the reporting requirements
established under RCW 70.94.151; and
(iii) Actions that the state should take to prevent manipulation of
the multisector market-based system designed under this section.
(2) In developing the design for the regional multisector market-based system under subsections (1) and (3) of this section, the
department shall consult with affected state agencies, cities, and
counties, and provide opportunity for public review and comment.
(3)(a) In developing the design for the regional multisector
market-based system, the department shall allow for entities to receive
appropriate credit for early actions to reduce greenhouse gases.
(b) Pursuant to executive order 07-02, greenhouse gas emission
reductions attributable to at least the following policies count as
reductions in an amount equal to at least sixty percent of the 2020
goal:
(i) Tailpipe emission standards under chapter 70.120A RCW;
(ii) Biofuels standards under chapter 19.112 RCW;
(iii) Renewable energy and conservation standards under chapter
19.285 RCW;
(iv) High-performance green building codes under chapters 39.35,
39.35A, 39.35C, and 39.35D RCW;
(v) Appliance efficiency standards under chapter 19.260 RCW;
(vi) Energy freedom projects under chapter 43.63A RCW;
(vii) Water conservation projects under chapter 90.90 RCW;
(viii) Enhanced building codes under chapter 19.27A RCW;
(ix) Emission performance standards under chapter 80.80 RCW;
(x) Programs for retrofitting diesel engines in school buses and
local government vehicles as acknowledged under executive order 07-02;
and
(xi) Sustainability and efficiency goals for state operations under
executive order 05-01.
(4) In addition to the information required under subsection (1)(b)
of this section, the director and the director of the department of
community, trade, and economic development shall submit the following
to the legislature by December 1, 2008:
(a) Information on progress to date in achieving the requirements
of this act;
(b) The final recommendations of the climate advisory team,
including recommended most promising actions to reduce emissions of
greenhouse gases or otherwise respond to climate change;
(c) A request for additional resources and statutory authority
needed to limit and reduce emissions of greenhouse gas consistent with
this act including implementation of the most promising recommendations
of the climate advisory team;
(d) Recommendations on how local governments could participate in
the multisector market-based system designed under subsection (1) of
this section; and
(e) Recommendations developed in consultation with the department
of natural resources and the department of agriculture regarding how
forestry and agricultural lands and practices may participate
voluntarily as an offset or other credit program in the regional
multisector market-based system. These recommendations must address:
(i) Commercial and other working forests, forest products, and
agricultural land and practices, including sequestration of carbon on
timber lands managed under forest practices rules adopted pursuant to
chapter 76.09 RCW;
(ii) Forest and agriculture lands that are set aside or managed for
conservation; and
(iii) Reforestation and afforestation projects.
Sec. 4 RCW 43.350.030 and 2005 c 424 s 4 are each amended to read
as follows:
In addition to other powers and duties prescribed in this chapter,
the authority is empowered to:
(1) Use public moneys in the life sciences discovery fund,
leveraging those moneys with amounts received from other public and
private sources in accordance with contribution agreements, to promote
life sciences research;
(2) Solicit and receive gifts, grants, and bequests, and enter into
contribution agreements with private entities and public entities other
than the state to receive moneys in consideration of the authority's
promise to leverage those moneys with amounts received through
appropriations from the legislature and contributions from other public
entities and private entities, in order to use those moneys to promote
life sciences research. Nonstate moneys received by the authority for
this purpose shall be deposited in the life sciences discovery fund
created in RCW 43.350.070;
(3) Hold funds received by the authority in trust for their use
pursuant to this chapter to promote life sciences research;
(4) Manage its funds, obligations, and investments as necessary and
as consistent with its purpose including the segregation of revenues
into separate funds and accounts;
(5) Make grants to entities pursuant to contract for the promotion
of life sciences research to be conducted in the state. Grant
agreements shall specify deliverables to be provided by the recipient
pursuant to the grant. The authority shall solicit requests for
funding and evaluate the requests by reference to factors such as: (a)
The quality of the proposed research; (b) its potential to improve
health outcomes, with particular attention to the likelihood that it
will also lower health care costs, substitute for a more costly
diagnostic or treatment modality, or offer a breakthrough treatment for
a particular disease or condition; (c) its potential for leveraging
additional funding; (d) its potential to provide health care benefits
or benefit human learning and development; (e) its potential to
stimulate the health care delivery, biomedical manufacturing, and life
sciences related employment in the state; (f) its potential to promote
renewable energy development and generation, reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, and lower dependence on imported fuels; (g) the geographic
diversity of the grantees within Washington; (((g))) (h) evidence of
potential royalty income and contractual means to recapture such income
for purposes of this chapter; and (((h))) (i) evidence of public and
private collaboration;
(6) Create one or more advisory boards composed of scientists,
industrialists, and others familiar with life sciences research; and
(7) Adopt policies and procedures to facilitate the orderly process
of grant application, review, and reward.
Sec. 5 RCW 70.94.151 and 2005 c 138 s 1 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 ((and)) 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 section 2 of this act 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 section 2 of this act 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 the reporting of
emissions of greenhouse gases as defined in section 2 of this act. The
rules must include a de minimis amount of emissions below which
reporting will not be required. The rules must require that emissions
of greenhouse gases resulting from the burning of fossil fuels be
reported separately from emissions of greenhouse gases resulting from
the burning of biomass. Except as provided in (b) of this subsection,
the department shall, under the authority granted in subsection (1) of
this section, adopt rules requiring any person who operates or is
responsible for: (i) Operation of a fleet of on-road motor vehicles
that as a fleet emit at least twenty-five hundred metric tons of
greenhouse gas annually in the state to report the emissions of
greenhouse gases generated from or emitted by that fleet; or (ii) any
other operations that emit at least ten thousand metric tons of
greenhouse gas annually in the state to report their total annual
emissions of greenhouse gases. In calculating emissions of greenhouse
gases for purposes of determining whether or not reporting is required,
only direct emissions shall be included. The emissions of greenhouse
gases must be reported as carbon dioxide equivalents. The rules must
require that persons report 2009 emissions starting in 2010. The rules
must establish an annual reporting schedule that takes into account the
time needed to allow the person reporting emissions of greenhouse gases
to gather the information needed and to verify the emissions being
reported. However, in no event may reports be submitted later than
October 31st of the year in which the report is due. The department
may phase in the reporting requirements for operations under (a)(ii) of
this subsection until the reporting threshold is met, which must be met
by January 1, 2012. The department may from time to time amend the
rules to include other persons that emit less than the annual
greenhouse gas emissions levels set out in this subsection if necessary
to comply with any federal reporting requirements for emissions of
greenhouse gases.
(b) In its rules, the department may defer the reporting
requirement under (a) of this subsection for emissions associated with
interstate and international commercial aircraft, rail, trucks, or
marine vessels until (i) there is a federal requirement to report these
emissions; or (ii) the department finds that there is a generally
accepted reporting protocol for determining interstate emissions from
these sources.
(c) The department shall share any reporting information reported
to it with the local air authority in which the person reporting under
the rules adopted by the department operates.
(d) 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.
(e) The energy facility site evaluation council shall,
simultaneously with the department, adopt rules that impose greenhouse
gas reporting requirements in site certifications on persons operating
or responsible for the operation 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.
(f) In developing its rules, the department shall, with the
assistance of the department of transportation, identify a mechanism to
report an aggregate estimate of the annual emissions of greenhouse
gases generated from or emitted by otherwise unreported on-road motor
vehicles.
(g) The inclusion or failure to include any person, classes of
persons, or types of emissions of greenhouse gases into the
department's rules for reporting under this section does not indicate
whether such a person or category is appropriate for inclusion in the
multisector market-based system designed under section 3 of this act.
(h) Should the federal government adopt rules sufficient to track
progress toward the emissions reductions required by this act governing
the reporting of greenhouse gases, the department shall amend its
rules, as necessary, to seek consistency with the federal rules to
ensure duplicate reporting is not required.
(i) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply throughout this
subsection (5) unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
Sec. 6 RCW 70.94.161 and 1993 c 252 s 5 are each amended to read
as follows:
The department of ecology, or board of an authority, shall require
renewable permits for the operation of air contaminant sources subject
to the following conditions and limitations:
(1) Permits shall be issued for a term of five years. A permit may
be modified or amended during its term at the request of the permittee,
or for any reason allowed by the federal clean air act. The rules
adopted pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall include rules
for permit amendments and modifications. The terms and conditions of
a permit shall remain in effect after the permit itself expires if the
permittee submits a timely and complete application for permit renewal.
(2)(a) Rules establishing the elements for a statewide operating
permit program and the process for permit application and renewal
consistent with federal requirements shall be established by the
department by January 1, 1993. The rules shall provide that every
proposed permit must be reviewed prior to issuance by a professional
engineer or staff under the direct supervision of a professional
engineer in the employ of the permitting authority. The permit program
established by these rules shall be administered by the department and
delegated local air authorities. Rules developed under this subsection
shall not preclude a delegated local air authority from including in a
permit its own more stringent emission standards and operating
restrictions.
(b) The board of any local air pollution control authority may
apply to the department of ecology for a delegation order authorizing
the local authority to administer the operating permit program for
sources under that authority's jurisdiction. The department shall, by
order, approve such delegation, if the department finds that the local
authority has the technical and financial resources, to discharge the
responsibilities of a permitting authority under the federal clean air
act. A delegation request shall include adequate information about the
local authority's resources to enable the department to make the
findings required by this subsection((; provided)). However, any
delegation order issued under this subsection shall take effect ninety
days after the environmental protection agency authorizes the local
authority to issue operating permits under the federal clean air act.
(c) Except for the authority granted the energy facility site
evaluation council to issue permits for the new construction,
reconstruction, or enlargement or operation of new energy facilities
under chapter 80.50 RCW, the department may exercise the authority, as
delegated by the environmental protection agency, to administer Title
IV of the federal clean air act as amended and to delegate such
administration to local authorities as applicable pursuant to (b) of
this subsection.
(3) In establishing technical standards, defined in RCW 70.94.030,
the permitting authority shall consider and, if found to be
appropriate, give credit for waste reduction within the process.
(4) Operating permits shall apply to all sources (a) where required
by the federal clean air act, and (b) for any source that may cause or
contribute to air pollution in such quantity as to create a threat to
the public health or welfare. Subsection (b) of this subsection is not
intended to apply to small businesses except when both of the following
limitations are satisfied: (i) The source is in an area exceeding or
threatening to exceed federal or state air quality standards; and (ii)
the department provides a reasonable justification that requiring a
source to have a permit is necessary to meet a federal or state air
quality standard, or to prevent exceeding a standard in an area
threatening to exceed the standard. For purposes of this subsection
"areas threatening to exceed air quality standards" shall mean areas
projected by the department to exceed such standards within five years.
Prior to identifying threatened areas the department shall hold a
public hearing or hearings within the proposed areas.
(5) Sources operated by government agencies are not exempt under
this section.
(6) Within one hundred eighty days after the United States
environmental protection agency approves the state operating permit
program, a person required to have a permit shall submit to the
permitting authority a compliance plan and permit application, signed
by a responsible official, certifying the accuracy of the information
submitted. Until permits are issued, existing sources shall be allowed
to operate under presently applicable standards and conditions provided
that such sources submit complete and timely permit applications.
(7) All draft permits shall be subject to public notice and
comment. The rules adopted pursuant to subsection (2) of this section
shall specify procedures for public notice and comment. Such
procedures shall provide the permitting agency with an opportunity to
respond to comments received from interested parties prior to the time
that the proposed permit is submitted to the environmental protection
agency for review pursuant to section 505(a) of the federal clean air
act. In the event that the environmental protection agency objects to
a proposed permit pursuant to section 505(b) of the federal clean air
act, the permitting authority shall not issue the permit, unless the
permittee consents to the changes required by the environmental
protection agency.
(8) The procedures contained in chapter 43.21B RCW shall apply to
permit appeals. The pollution control hearings board may stay the
effectiveness of any permit issued under this section during the
pendency of an appeal filed by the permittee, if the permittee
demonstrates that compliance with the permit during the pendency of the
appeal would require significant expenditures that would not be
necessary in the event that the permittee prevailed on the merits of
the appeal.
(9) After the effective date of any permit program promulgated
under this section, it shall be unlawful for any person to: (a)
Operate a permitted source in violation of any requirement of a permit
issued under this section; or (b) fail to submit a permit application
at the time required by rules adopted under subsection (2) of this
section.
(10) Each air operating permit shall state the origin of and
specific legal authority for each requirement included therein. Every
requirement in an operating permit shall be based upon the most
stringent of the following requirements:
(a) The federal clean air act and rules implementing that act,
including provision of the approved state implementation plan;
(b) This chapter and rules adopted thereunder;
(c) In permits issued by a local air pollution control authority,
the requirements of any order or regulation adopted by that authority;
(d) Chapter 70.98 RCW and rules adopted thereunder; and
(e) Chapter 80.50 RCW and rules adopted thereunder.
(11) Consistent with the provisions of the federal clean air act,
the permitting authority may issue general permits covering categories
of permitted sources, and temporary permits authorizing emissions from
similar operations at multiple temporary locations.
(12) Permit program sources within the territorial jurisdiction of
an authority delegated the operating permit program shall file their
permit applications with that authority, except that permit
applications for sources regulated on a statewide basis pursuant to RCW
70.94.395 shall be filed with the department. Permit program sources
outside the territorial jurisdiction of a delegated authority shall
file their applications with the department. Permit program sources
subject to chapter 80.50 RCW shall, irrespective of their location,
file their applications with the energy facility site evaluation
council.
(13) When issuing operating permits to coal fired electric
generating plants, the permitting authority shall establish
requirements consistent with Title IV of the federal clean air act.
(14)(a) The department and the local air authorities are authorized
to assess and to collect, and each source emitting one hundred tons or
more per year of a regulated pollutant shall pay an interim assessment
to fund the development of the operating permit program during fiscal
year 1994.
(b) The department shall conduct a workload analysis and prepare an
operating permit program development budget for fiscal year 1994. The
department shall allocate among all sources emitting one hundred tons
or more per year of a regulated pollutant during calendar year 1992 the
costs identified in its program development budget according to a
three-tiered model, with each of the three tiers being equally
weighted, based upon:
(i) The number of sources;
(ii) The complexity of sources; and
(iii) The size of sources, as measured by the quantity of each
regulated pollutant emitted by the source.
(c) Each local authority and the department shall collect from
sources under their respective jurisdictions the interim fee determined
by the department and shall remit the fee to the department.
(d) Each local authority may, in addition, allocate its fiscal year
1994 operating permit program development costs among the sources under
its jurisdiction emitting one hundred tons or more per year of a
regulated pollutant during calendar year 1992 and may collect an
interim fee from these sources. A fee assessed pursuant to this
subsection (14)(d) shall be collected at the same time as the fee
assessed pursuant to (c) of this subsection.
(e) The fees assessed to a source under this subsection shall be
limited to the first seven thousand five hundred tons for each
regulated pollutant per year.
(15)(a) The department shall determine the persons liable for the
fee imposed by subsection (14) of this section, compute the fee, and
provide by November 1 ((of)), 1993, the identity of the fee payer with
the computation of the fee to each local authority and to the
department of revenue for collection. The department of revenue shall
collect the fee computed by the department from the fee payers under
the jurisdiction of the department. The administrative, collection,
and penalty provisions of chapter 82.32 RCW shall apply to the
collection of the fee by the department of revenue. The department
shall provide technical assistance to the department of revenue for
decisions made by the department of revenue pursuant to RCW 82.32.160
and 82.32.170. All interim fees collected by the department of revenue
on behalf of the department and all interim fees collected by local
authorities on behalf of the department shall be deposited in the air
operating permit account. The interim fees collected by the local air
authorities to cover their permit program development costs under
subsection (14)(d) of this section shall be deposited in the dedicated
accounts of their respective treasuries.
(b) All fees identified in this section shall be due and payable on
March 1 ((of)), 1994, except that the local air pollution control
authorities may adopt by rule an earlier date on which fees are to be
due and payable. The section 5, chapter 252, Laws of 1993 amendments
to RCW 70.94.161 do not have the effect of terminating, or in any way
modifying, any liability, civil or criminal, incurred pursuant to the
provisions of RCW 70.94.161 (15) and (17) as they existed prior to July
25, 1993.
(16) For sources or source categories not required to obtain
permits under subsection (4) of this section, the department or local
authority may establish by rule control technology requirements. If
control technology rule revisions are made by the department or local
authority under this subsection, the department or local authority
shall consider the remaining useful life of control equipment
previously installed on existing sources before requiring technology
changes. The department or any local air authority may issue a general
permit, as authorized under the federal clean air act, for such
sources.
(17) Emissions of greenhouse gases as defined in section 2 of this
act must be reported as required by RCW 70.94.151. The reporting
provisions of RCW 70.94.151 shall not apply to any other emissions from
any permit program source after the effective date of United States
environmental protection agency approval of the state operating permit
program.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7 (1) The department shall expend two million
dollars to designate a total of four new sites for water storage, two
in western Washington and two in eastern Washington, including, but not
limited to:
(a) Identification of proper sites for water storage;
(b) Development of plans for water storage at those sites; and
(c) The formulation of a preliminary design for the water storage
sites.
(2) The department shall also assess decommissioned mine shafts for
purposes of water storage.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8 Within eighteen months of the next and each
successive global or national assessment of climate change science, the
department shall consult with the climate impacts group at the
University of Washington regarding the science on human-caused climate
change and provide a report to the legislature summarizing that science
and make recommendations for further reducing emissions of greenhouse
gases.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9 A new section is added to chapter 43.330 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The legislature establishes a comprehensive green economy jobs
growth initiative based on the goal of, by 2020, increasing the number
of green economy jobs to twenty-five thousand from the eight thousand
four hundred green economy jobs the state had in 2004.
(2) The department, in consultation with the employment security
department, the state workforce training and education coordinating
board, the state board of community and technical colleges, the higher
education coordinating board, and the department of ecology, shall
develop a defined list of terms, consistent with current workforce and
economic development terms, associated with green economy industries
and jobs.
(3)(a) The employment security department, in consultation with the
department, the state workforce training and education coordinating
board, the state board for community and technical colleges, the higher
education coordinating board, and the Washington State University
extension energy program, shall conduct labor market research to
analyze the current labor market and projected job growth in the green
economy, the current and projected recruitment and skill requirement of
green economy industry employers, the wage and benefits ranges of jobs
within green economy industries, and the education and training
requirements of entry-level and incumbent workers in those industries.
(b) The University of Washington business and economic development
center shall: Analyze the current opportunities for and participation
in the green economy by minority and women-owned business enterprises
in Washington; identify existing barriers to their successful
participation in the green economy; and develop strategies with
specific policy recommendations to improve their successful
participation in the green economy. The research may be informed by
the research of the Puget Sound regional council prosperity
partnership, as well as other entities. The University of Washington
business and economic development center shall report to the
appropriate committees of the house of representatives and the senate
on their research, analysis, and recommendations by December 1, 2008.
(4) Based on the findings from subsection (3) of this section, the
employment security department, in consultation with the department and
the department of ecology and taking into account the requirements and
goals of this act and other state clean energy and energy efficiency
policies, shall propose which industries will be considered high-demand
green industries, based on current and projected job creation and their
strategic importance to the development of the state's green economy.
The employment security department and the department shall take into
account which jobs within green economy industries will be considered
high-wage occupations and occupations that are part of career pathways
to the same, based on family-sustaining wage and benefits ranges.
These designations, and the results of the employment security
department's broader labor market research, shall inform the planning
and strategic direction of the department, the state workforce training
and education coordinating board, the state board for community and
technical colleges, and the higher education coordinating board.
(5) The department shall identify emerging technologies and
innovations that are likely to contribute to advancements in the green
economy, including the activities in designated innovation partnership
zones established in RCW 43.330.270.
(6) The department, consistent with the priorities established by
the state economic development commission, shall:
(a) Develop targeting criteria for existing investments, and make
recommendations for new or expanded financial incentives and
comprehensive strategies, to recruit, retain, and expand green economy
industries; and
(b) Make recommendations for new or expanded financial incentives
and comprehensive strategies to stimulate research and development of
green technology and innovation, including designating innovation
partnership zones linked to the green economy.
(7) For the purposes of this section, "target populations" means
(a) entry-level or incumbent workers in high-demand green industries
who are in, or are preparing for, high-wage occupations; (b) dislocated
workers in declining industries who may be retrained for high-wage
occupations in high-demand green industries; (c) eligible veterans or
national guard members; or (d) anyone eligible to participate in the
state opportunity grant program under RCW 28B.50.271.
(8) The legislature directs the state workforce training and
education coordinating board to create and pilot green industry skill
panels. These panels shall consist of business representatives from
industry sectors related to clean energy, state and local veterans
agencies, employer associations, educational institutions, and local
workforce development councils within the region that the panels
propose to operate, and other key stakeholders as determined by the
applicant. Any of these stakeholder organizations are eligible to
receive grants under this section and serve as the intermediary that
convenes and leads the panel. Panel applicants must provide labor
market and industry analysis that demonstrates high demand, or demand
of strategic importance to the development of the state's clean energy
economy as identified in this section, for high-wage occupations, or
occupations that are part of career pathways to the same, within the
relevant industry sector. The panel shall:
(a) Conduct labor market and industry analyses, in consultation
with the employment security department, and drawing on the findings of
its research when available;
(b) Plan strategies to meet the recruitment and training needs of
the industry; and
(c) Leverage and align other public and private funding sources.
(9) The green industries jobs training account is created in the
state treasury. Moneys from the account must be utilized to supplement
the state opportunity grant program established under RCW 28B.50.271.
All receipts from appropriations directed to the account must be
deposited into the account. Expenditures from the account may be used
only for the activities identified in this subsection. The state board
for community and technical colleges, in consultation with the state
workforce training and education coordinating board, informed by the
research of the employment security department and the strategies
developed in this section, may authorize expenditures from the account.
The state board for community and technical colleges must distribute
grants from the account on a competitive basis.
(a)(i) Allowable uses of these grant funds, which should be used
when other public or private funds are insufficient or unavailable, may
include:
(A) Curriculum development;
(B) Transitional jobs strategies for dislocated workers in
declining industries who may be retrained for high-wage occupations in
green industries;
(C) Workforce education to target populations; and
(D) Adult basic and remedial education as necessary linked to
occupation skills training.
(ii) Allowable uses of these grant funds do not include student
assistance and support services available through the state opportunity
grant program under RCW 28B.50.271.
(b) Applicants eligible to receive these grants may be any
organization or a partnership of organizations that has demonstrated
expertise in:
(i) Implementing effective education and training programs that
meet industry demand; and
(ii) Recruiting and supporting, to successful completion of those
training programs carried out under these grants, the target
populations of workers.
(c) In awarding grants from the green industries jobs training
account, the state board for community and technical colleges shall
give priority to applicants that demonstrate the ability to:
(i) Use labor market and industry analysis developed by the
employment security department and green industry skill panels in the
design and delivery of the relevant education and training program, and
otherwise utilize strategies developed by green industry skills panels;
(ii) Leverage and align existing public programs and resources and
private resources toward the goal of recruiting, supporting, educating,
and training target populations of workers;
(iii) Work collaboratively with other relevant stakeholders in the
regional economy;
(iv) Link adult basic and remedial education, where necessary, with
occupation skills training;
(v) Involve employers and, where applicable, labor unions in the
determination of relevant skills and competencies and, where relevant,
the validation of career pathways; and
(vi) Ensure that supportive services, where necessary, are
integrated with education and training and are delivered by
organizations with direct access to and experience with the targeted
population of workers.
Sec. 10 RCW 28B.50.273 and 2007 c 277 s 201 are each amended to
read as follows:
The college board, in partnership with business, labor, and the
workforce training and education coordinating board, shall:
(1) Identify job-specific training programs offered by qualified
postsecondary institutions that lead to a credential, certificate, or
degree in green industry occupations as established in this act, and
other high demand occupations, which are occupations where data show
that employer demand for workers exceeds the supply of qualified job
applicants throughout the state or in a specific region, and where
training capacity is underutilized;
(2) Gain recognition of the credentials, certificates, and degrees
by Washington's employers and labor organizations. The college board
shall designate these recognized credentials, certificates, and degrees
as "opportunity grant-eligible programs of study"; and
(3) Market the credentials, certificates, and degrees to potential
students, businesses, and apprenticeship programs as a way for
individuals to advance in their careers and to better meet the needs of
industry.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11 A new section is added to chapter 82.16 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) A light and power business is allowed a credit against taxes
due under this chapter in an amount equal to fifty percent of the cost
of purchasing: (a) Carbon abatement equipment; (b) repair and
replacement parts for carbon abatement equipment; and (c) labor and
services rendered in respect to carbon abatement equipment.
(2) The credit under this section is only available to light and
power businesses subject to the annual reporting requirements under RCW
70.94.151(5).
(3) Unused tax credit may be carried forward to subsequent tax
reporting periods. No refunds shall be granted for credits under this
section.
(4) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this
section.
(a) "Carbon abatement equipment" means control devices, disposal
systems, machinery, equipment, and other tangible personal property
acquired for the primary purpose of reducing or controlling emissions
of greenhouse gases.
(b) "Power plant" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 80.80.010.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12 A new section is added to chapter 82.08 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The tax levied by RCW 82.08.020 does not apply to the sale of:
(a) Carbon abatement equipment; (b) repair and replacement parts for
carbon abatement equipment; and (c) labor and services rendered in
respect to carbon abatement equipment.
(2) An exemption is only available to a person subject to the
annual reporting requirements under RCW 70.94.151(5).
(3) An exemption is available only when the buyer provides the
seller with an exemption certificate. The seller shall retain a copy
of the certificate for the seller's files.
(4) For the purposes of this section, "carbon abatement equipment"
has the meaning as defined in section 11 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13 A new section is added to chapter 82.12 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The provisions of this chapter do not apply in respect to the
use of: (a) Carbon abatement equipment; (b) repair and replacement
parts for carbon abatement equipment; and (c) labor and services
rendered in respect to carbon abatement equipment.
(2) The exemption under this section is only available to a person
subject to the annual reporting requirements under RCW 70.94.151(5).
(3) For the purposes of this section, "carbon abatement equipment"
has the same meaning as defined in section 11 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14 A new section is added to chapter 84.36 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) Carbon abatement equipment, including repair and replacement
parts for the equipment, used by a person subject to the annual
reporting requirements under RCW 70.94.151(5) is exempt from taxation.
To qualify for the exemption, the owner of the equipment shall apply to
the county assessor in which the property is located prior to the
initial installation of the carbon abatement equipment.
(2) The exemption is available beginning in the calendar year that
follows the calendar year in which initial application is made. Carbon
abatement equipment is exempt from property tax for twenty years.
Repair and replacement parts acquired after the exemption is first
claimed are subject to the twenty-year requirement applicable to the
initially installed carbon abatement equipment.
(3) The application for exemption shall be made to the county
assessor. The application shall be upon forms prescribed by the
department of revenue and supplied by the county assessor. To claim an
exemption for repair or replacement parts for carbon abatement
equipment, an additional application shall be made to the county
assessor.
(4) For the purposes of this section, "carbon abatement equipment"
has the same meaning as defined in section 11 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15 A new section is added to chapter 82.04 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) A person is allowed a credit against taxes due under this
chapter in an amount equal to fifty percent of the cost of purchasing:
(a) Carbon abatement equipment; (b) repair and replacement parts for
carbon abatement equipment; and (c) labor and services rendered in
respect to carbon abatement equipment.
(2) The credit under this section is only available to a person
subject to the annual reporting requirements under RCW 70.94.151(5).
(3) Unused tax credit may be carried forward to subsequent tax
reporting periods. No refunds shall be granted for credits under this
section.
(4) For the purposes of this section, "carbon abatement equipment"
has the same meaning as defined in section 11 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16 A new section is added to chapter 82.04 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) In computing the tax imposed under this chapter, a credit is
allowed to offset the administrative burden of complying with the
annual reporting requirements under RCW 70.94.151(5). The amount of
the credit is equal to the cost of complying with these annual
reporting requirements in the year in which the credit is claimed. A
person may claim a credit under this section only if the person has
submitted a report to the department of ecology or the energy facility
site evaluation council under RCW 70.94.151(5) in the same calendar
year in which the credit is claimed.
(2) A credit earned during one calendar year may be carried over to
be credited against taxes incurred in subsequent years. No refunds may
be granted for credits under this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17 A new section is added to chapter 82.08 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The tax levied by RCW 82.08.020 does not apply to sales of
passenger vehicles if the purchaser trades in a passenger vehicle that
is more than fifteen years old and the vehicle to be traded in is not
compliant with United States environmental protection agency tier II
emission standards.
(2) For the purposes of this section, "passenger vehicle" has the
same meaning as "passenger car" provided in RCW 46.04.382.
(3) The exemption is available only if:
(a) The passenger vehicle to be traded in has been licensed and
registered for the twenty-four month period immediately preceding the
sale and is in satisfactory operating condition; and
(b) The new vehicle purchased has a United States environmental
protection agency highway gasoline mileage rating of at least thirty
miles per gallon.
(4) Any trade-in property acquired from a person claiming the
exemption in this section must be destroyed.
(5) The total amount that may be taken by all purchasers as an
exemption under this section and section 18 of this act is twenty-five
million dollars per year. If the department determines that at least
twenty-two million dollars has been taken as an exemption under this
section and section 18 of this act, the department shall notify motor
vehicle dealers, in a writing sent by certified mail, that requires
dealers not to provide the exemption to motor vehicle purchasers
beginning two weeks from the date the letter is postmarked.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 18 A new section is added to chapter 82.12 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The provisions of this chapter do not apply with respect to the
use of passenger vehicles if the purchaser trades in a passenger
vehicle to a motor vehicle dealer that is more than fifteen years old
and the vehicle to be traded in is not compliant with United States
environmental protection agency tier II emission standards.
(2) "Passenger vehicle" has the same meaning as defined in section
17 of this act.
(3) The exemption is available only if:
(a) The passenger vehicle to be traded in has been licensed and
registered for the twenty-four month period immediately preceding the
sale and is in satisfactory operating condition; and
(b) The new vehicle purchased has a United States environmental
protection agency highway gasoline mileage rating of at least thirty
miles per gallon.
(4) Any trade-in property acquired from a person claiming the
exemption in this section must be destroyed.
Sec. 19 RCW 19.285.040 and 2007 c 1 s 4 (Initiative Measure No.
937) are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Each qualifying utility shall pursue all available conservation
that is cost-effective, reliable, and feasible.
(a) By January 1, 2010, using methodologies consistent with those
used by the Pacific Northwest electric power and conservation planning
council in its most recently published regional power plan, each
qualifying utility shall identify its achievable cost-effective
conservation potential through 2019. At least every two years
thereafter, the qualifying utility shall review and update this
assessment for the subsequent ten-year period.
(b) Beginning January 2010, each qualifying utility shall establish
and make publicly available a biennial acquisition target for cost-effective conservation consistent with its identification of achievable
opportunities in (a) of this subsection, and meet that target during
the subsequent two-year period. At a minimum, each biennial target
must be no lower than the qualifying utility's pro rata share for that
two-year period of its cost-effective conservation potential for the
subsequent ten-year period.
(c) In meeting its conservation targets, a qualifying utility may
count high-efficiency cogeneration owned and used by a retail electric
customer to meet its own needs. High-efficiency cogeneration is the
sequential production of electricity and useful thermal energy from a
common fuel source, where, under normal operating conditions, the
facility has a useful thermal energy output of no less than thirty-three percent of the total energy output. The reduction in load due to
high-efficiency cogeneration shall be: (i) Calculated as the ratio of
the fuel chargeable to power heat rate of the cogeneration facility
compared to the heat rate on a new and clean basis of a
best-commercially available technology combined-cycle natural gas-fired
combustion turbine; and (ii) counted towards meeting the biennial
conservation target in the same manner as other conservation savings.
(d) The commission may determine if a conservation program
implemented by an investor-owned utility is cost-effective based on the
commission's policies and practice.
(e) The commission may rely on its standard practice for review and
approval of investor-owned utility conservation targets.
(2)(a) Each qualifying utility shall use eligible renewable
resources or acquire equivalent renewable energy credits, or a
combination of both, to meet the following annual targets:
(i) At least three percent of its load by January 1, 2012, and each
year thereafter through December 31, 2015;
(ii) At least nine percent of its load by January 1, 2016, and each
year thereafter through December 31, 2019; and
(iii) At least fifteen percent of its load by January 1, 2020, and
each year thereafter.
(b) A qualifying utility may count distributed generation at double
the facility's electrical output if the utility: (i) Owns or has
contracted for the distributed generation and the associated renewable
energy credits; or (ii) has contracted to purchase the associated
renewable energy credits.
(c) In meeting the annual targets in (a) of this subsection, a
qualifying utility shall calculate its annual load based on the average
of the utility's load for the previous two years.
(d) A qualifying utility shall be considered in compliance with an
annual target in (a) of this subsection if: (i) The utility's weather-adjusted load for the previous three years on average did not increase
over that time period; (ii) after December 7, 2006, the utility did not
commence or renew ownership or incremental purchases of electricity
from resources other than renewable resources other than on a daily
spot price basis and the electricity is not offset by equivalent
renewable energy credits; and (iii) the utility invested at least one
percent of its total annual retail revenue requirement that year on
eligible renewable resources, renewable energy credits, or a
combination of both.
(e) The requirements of this section may be met with eligible
renewable resources or renewable energy credits obtained for and used
in an optional pricing program such as the program established in RCW
19.29A.090.
(f) The requirements of this section may be met for any given year
with renewable energy credits produced during that year, the preceding
year, or the subsequent year. Each renewable energy credit may be used
only once to meet the requirements of this section.
(((f))) (g) In complying with the targets established in (a) of
this subsection, a qualifying utility may not count((:)) eligible renewable resources or distributed generation where
the associated renewable energy credits are owned by a separate
entity((
(i); or)).
(ii) Eligible renewable resources or renewable energy credits
obtained for and used in an optional pricing program such as the
program established in RCW 19.29A.090
(((g))) (h) Where fossil and combustible renewable resources are
cofired in one generating unit located in the Pacific Northwest where
the cofiring commenced after March 31, 1999, the unit shall be
considered to produce eligible renewable resources in direct proportion
to the percentage of the total heat value represented by the heat value
of the renewable resources.
(((h))) (i)(i) A qualifying utility that acquires an eligible
renewable resource or renewable energy credit may count that
acquisition at one and two-tenths times its base value:
(A) Where the eligible renewable resource comes from a facility
that commenced operation after December 31, 2005; and
(B) Where the developer of the facility used apprenticeship
programs approved by the council during facility construction.
(ii) The council shall establish minimum levels of labor hours to
be met through apprenticeship programs to qualify for this extra
credit.
(((i))) (j) A qualifying utility shall be considered in compliance
with an annual target in (a) of this subsection if events beyond the
reasonable control of the utility that could not have been reasonably
anticipated or ameliorated prevented it from meeting the renewable
energy target. Such events include weather-related damage, mechanical
failure, strikes, lockouts, and actions of a governmental authority
that adversely affect the generation, transmission, or distribution of
an eligible renewable resource under contract to a qualifying utility.
(3) Utilities that become qualifying utilities after December 31,
2006, shall meet the requirements in this section on a time frame
comparable in length to that provided for qualifying utilities as of
December 7, 2006.
Sec. 20 RCW 19.29A.090 and 2002 c 285 s 6 and 2002 c 191 s 1 are
each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1) Beginning January 1, 2002, each electric utility must provide
to its retail electricity customers a voluntary option to purchase
qualified alternative energy resources in accordance with this section.
(2) Each electric utility must include with its retail electric
customer's regular billing statements, at least quarterly, a voluntary
option to purchase qualified alternative energy resources. The option
may allow customers to purchase qualified alternative energy resources
at fixed or variable rates and for fixed or variable periods of time,
including but not limited to monthly, quarterly, or annual purchase
agreements. A utility may provide qualified alternative energy
resource options through either: (a) Resources it owns or contracts
for; or (b) the purchase of credits issued by a clearinghouse or other
system by which the utility may secure, for trade or other
consideration, verifiable evidence that a second party has a qualified
alternative energy resource and that the second party agrees to
transfer such evidence exclusively to the benefit of the utility.
(3) For the purposes of this section, a "qualified alternative
energy resource" means the electricity produced from generation
facilities that are fueled by: (a) Wind; (b) solar energy; (c)
geothermal energy; (d) landfill gas; (e) wave or tidal action; (f) gas
produced during the treatment of wastewater; (g) qualified hydropower;
or (h) biomass energy based on animal waste or solid organic fuels from
wood, forest, or field residues, or dedicated energy crops that do not
include wood pieces that have been treated with chemical preservatives
such as creosote, pentachlorophenol, or copper-chrome-arsenic.
(4) For the purposes of this section, "qualified hydropower" means
the energy produced either: (a) As a result of modernizations or
upgrades made after June 1, 1998, to hydropower facilities operating on
May 8, 2001, that have been demonstrated to reduce the mortality of
anadromous fish; or (b) by run of the river or run of the canal
hydropower facilities that are not responsible for obstructing the
passage of anadromous fish.
(5) The rates, terms, conditions, and customer notification of each
utility's option or options offered in accordance with this section
must be approved by the governing body of the consumer-owned utility or
by the commission for investor-owned utilities. All costs and benefits
associated with any option offered by an electric utility under this
section must be allocated to the customers who voluntarily choose that
option and may not be shifted to any customers who have not chosen such
option. Utilities may pursue known, lawful aggregated purchasing of
qualified alternative energy resources with other utilities to the
extent aggregated purchasing can reduce the unit cost of qualified
alternative energy resources, and are encouraged to investigate
opportunities to aggregate the purchase of alternative energy resources
by their customers. Aggregated purchases by investor-owned utilities
must comply with any applicable rules or policies adopted by the
commission related to least-cost planning or the acquisition of
renewable resources.
(6) Until December 31, 2018, utilities may promote voluntary
programs to purchase qualified alternative energy resources and may
recover their marketing and administrative costs plus a rate of return
that reflects the amount the market will bear for the qualified
alternative energy resource.
(7) Each consumer-owned utility must report annually to the
department and each investor-owned utility must report annually to the
commission beginning October 1, 2002, until October 1, 2012, describing
the option or options it is offering its customers under the
requirements of this section, the rate of customer participation, the
amount of qualified alternative energy resources purchased by
customers, the amount of utility investments in qualified alternative
energy resources, and the results of pursuing aggregated purchasing
opportunities. The department and the commission together shall report
annually to the legislature, beginning December 1, 2002, until December
1, 2012, with the results of the utility reports.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 21 The joint transportation committee shall
coordinate a study of the feasibility of utilizing magnetic levitation
in the state of Washington in the movement of people and freight. The
majority leaders and minority leaders in the house of representatives
and senate shall select one legislative member from each of their
respective caucuses to work with the joint transportation committee on
the study. The study report must be submitted to the transportation
committees of the house of representatives and senate on or before
December 31, 2008, with findings and recommendations.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 22 If any provision of this act or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other
persons or circumstances is not affected.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 23 Sections 1 through 3, 7, and 8 of this act
constitute a new chapter in Title
NEW SECTION. Sec. 24 If specific funding for the purposes of
this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not
provided by June 30, 2008, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act
is null and void."
Correct the title.