E2SHB 1303 -
By Committee on Ways & Means
NOT ADOPTED 04/13/2007
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 (1) The legislature finds that excessive
dependence on fossil fuels jeopardizes Washington's economic security,
environmental integrity, and public health. Accelerated development
and use of clean fuels and clean vehicle technologies will reduce the
drain on Washington's economy from importing fossil fuels. As fossil
fuel prices rise, clean fuels and vehicles can save consumers money
while promoting the development of a major, sustainable industry that
provides good jobs and a new source of rural prosperity. In addition,
clean fuels and vehicles protect public health by reducing toxic air
and climate change emissions.
(2) The legislature also finds that climate change is expected to
have significant impacts in the Pacific Northwest region in the near
and long-term future. These impacts include: Increased temperatures,
declining snowpack, more frequent heavy rainfall and flooding, receding
glaciers, rising sea levels, increased risks to public health due to
insect and rodent-borne diseases, declining salmon populations, and
increased drought and risk of forest fires. The legislature recognizes
the need at this time to continue to gather and analyze information
related to climate protection. This analysis will allow prudent steps
to be taken to avoid, mitigate, or respond to climate impacts and
protect our communities.
(3) Finally, the legislature finds that to reduce fossil fuel
dependence, build our clean energy economy, and reduce climate impacts,
the state should develop policies and incentives that help businesses,
consumers, and farmers gain greater access to affordable clean fuels
and vehicles and to produce clean fuels in the state. These policies
and incentives should include: Incentives for replacement of the most
polluting diesel engines, especially in school buses; transitional
incentives for development of the most promising in-state clean fuels
and fuel feedstocks, including biodiesel crops, ethanol from plant
waste, and liquid natural gas from landfill or wastewater treatment
gases; reduced fossil fuel consumption by state fleets; development of
promising new technologies for displacing petroleum with electricity,
such as "plug-in hybrids"; and impact analysis and emission accounting
procedures that prepare Washington to respond and prosper as climate
change impacts occur, and as policies and markets to reduce climate
pollution are developed.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 101 A new section is added to chapter 28A.300
RCW to read as follows:
(1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall
implement a school bus replacement incentive program. As part of the
program, the office shall fund up to ten percent of the cost of a new
2007 or later model year school bus that meets the 2007 federal motor
vehicle emission control standards and is purchased by a school
district by no later than June 30, 2009, provided that the new bus is
replacing a 1994 or older school bus in the school district's fleet.
Replacement of the oldest buses must be given highest priority.
(2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall
ensure that buses being replaced through this program are surplused
under RCW 28A.335.180. As part of the surplus process, school
districts must provide written documentation to the office of the
superintendent of public instruction demonstrating that buses being
replaced are scrapped and not purchased for road use. The
documentation must include bus make, model, year, vehicle
identification number, engine make, engine serial number, and salvage
yard receipts; and must demonstrate that the engine and body of the bus
being replaced has been rendered unusable.
(3) The office of the superintendent of public instruction may
adopt any rules necessary for the implementation of this act.
Sec. 102 RCW 70.94.017 and 2005 c 295 s 5 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) Money deposited in the segregated subaccount of the air
pollution control account under RCW 46.68.020(2) shall be distributed
as follows:
(a) Eighty-five percent shall be distributed to air pollution
control authorities created under this chapter. The money must be
distributed in direct proportion with the amount of fees imposed under
RCW 46.12.080, 46.12.170, and 46.12.181 that are collected within the
boundaries of each authority. However, an amount in direct proportion
with those fees collected in counties for which no air pollution
control authority exists must be distributed to the department.
(b) The remaining fifteen percent shall be distributed to the
department.
(2) Money distributed to air pollution control authorities and the
department under subsection (1) of this section must be used as
follows:
(a) Eighty-five percent of the money received by an air pollution
control authority or the department is available on a priority basis to
retrofit school buses with exhaust emission control devices or to
provide funding for fueling infrastructure necessary to allow school
bus fleets to use alternative, cleaner fuels. In addition, the
director of ecology or the air pollution control officer may direct
funding under this section for other publicly or privately owned diesel
equipment if the director of ecology or the air pollution control
officer finds that funding for other publicly or privately owned diesel
equipment will provide public health benefits and further the purposes
of this chapter.
(b) The remaining fifteen percent may be used by the air pollution
control authority or department to reduce transportation-related air
contaminant emissions and clean up air pollution, or reduce and monitor
toxic air contaminants.
(3) Money in the air pollution control account may be spent by the
department only after appropriation.
(4) This section expires July 1, 2020.
Sec. 103 RCW 53.08.040 and 1989 c 298 s 1 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) A district may improve its lands by dredging, filling,
bulkheading, providing waterways or otherwise developing such lands for
industrial and commercial purposes. A district may also acquire,
construct, install, improve, and operate sewer and water utilities to
serve its own property and other property owners under terms,
conditions, and rates to be fixed and approved by the port commission.
A district may also acquire, by purchase, construction, lease, or in
any other manner, and may maintain and operate other facilities for the
control or elimination of air, water, or other pollution, including,
but not limited to, facilities for the treatment and/or disposal of
industrial wastes, and may make such facilities available to others
under terms, conditions and rates to be fixed and approved by the port
commission. Such conditions and rates shall be sufficient to reimburse
the port for all costs, including reasonable amortization of capital
outlays caused by or incidental to providing such other pollution
control facilities((: PROVIDED, That)). However, no part of such
costs of providing any pollution control facility to others shall be
paid out of any tax revenues of the port((: AND PROVIDED FURTHER,
That)) and no port shall enter into an agreement or contract to provide
sewer and/or water utilities or pollution control facilities if
substantially similar utilities or facilities are available from
another source (or sources) which is able and willing to provide such
utilities or facilities on a reasonable and nondiscriminatory basis
unless such other source (or sources) consents thereto.
(2) In the event that a port elects to make such other pollution
control facilities available to others, it shall do so by lease, lease
purchase agreement, or other agreement binding such user to pay for the
use of said facilities for the full term of the revenue bonds issued by
the port for the acquisition of said facilities, and said payments
shall at least fully reimburse the port for all principal and interest
paid by it on said bonds and for all operating or other costs, if any,
incurred by the port in connection with said facilities((:
PROVIDED,)). However, ((That)) where there is more than one user of
any such facilities, each user shall be responsible for its pro rata
share of such costs and payment of principal and interest. Any port
intending to provide pollution control facilities to others shall first
survey the port district to ascertain the potential users of such
facilities and the extent of their needs. The port shall conduct a
public hearing upon the proposal and shall give each potential user an
opportunity to participate in the use of such facilities upon equal
terms and conditions.
(3) "Pollution control facility," as used in this section and RCW
53.08.041, does not include air quality improvement equipment that
provides emission reductions for engines, vehicles, and vessels.
Sec. 201 RCW 43.19.642 and 2006 c 338 s 10 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) ((All state agencies are encouraged to use a fuel blend of
twenty percent biodiesel and eighty percent petroleum diesel for use in
diesel-powered vehicles and equipment.)) Effective June 1, 2006, for agencies complying with the
ultra- low sulfur diesel mandate of the United States environmental
protection agency for on-highway diesel fuel, agencies shall use
biodiesel as an additive to ultra-low sulfur diesel for lubricity,
provided that the use of a lubricity additive is warranted and that the
use of biodiesel is comparable in performance and cost with other
available lubricity additives. The amount of biodiesel added to the
ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel shall be not less than two percent.
(2)
(((3))) (2) Effective June 1, 2009, state agencies are required to
use a minimum of twenty percent biodiesel as compared to total volume
of all diesel purchases made by the agencies for the operation of the
agencies' diesel-powered vessels, vehicles, and construction equipment.
(((4))) (3) All state agencies using biodiesel fuel shall,
beginning on July 1, 2006, file ((quarterly)) biannual reports with the
department of general administration documenting the use of the fuel
and a description of how any problems encountered were resolved.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 202 A new section is added to chapter 43.19
RCW to read as follows:
(1) Effective June 1, 2015, all state agencies and local government
subdivisions of the state, to the extent determined practicable by the
rules adopted by the department of community, trade, and economic
development pursuant to section 204 of this act, are required to
satisfy one hundred percent of their fuel usage for operating publicly
owned vessels, vehicles, and construction equipment from electricity or
biofuel.
(2) By no later than January 1, 2020, the annual fossil fuel usage
by the state must be at least twenty-five percent below the annual
usage for the year 2006.
(3) Except for cars owned or operated by the Washington state
patrol, when tires on vehicles in the state's motor vehicle fleet are
replaced, they must be replaced with tires that have the same or better
rolling resistance as the original tires.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 203 A new section is added to chapter 43.19
RCW to read as follows:
(1) In order to allow the motor vehicle fuel needs of state and
local government to be satisfied by Washington-produced biofuels as
provided in RCW 43.19.642, the department of general administration as
well as local governments may contract in advance and execute contracts
with public or private producers, suppliers, or other parties, for the
purchase of appropriate biofuels, as that term is defined in RCW
15.110.010 (as recodified by this act), and biofuel blends. Contract
provisions may address items including, but not limited to, fuel
standards, price, and delivery date.
(2) The department of general administration may combine the needs
of local government agencies, including ports, special districts,
school districts, and municipal corporations, for the purposes of
executing contracts for biofuels and to secure a sufficient and stable
supply of alternative fuels.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 204 By June 1, 2010, the department of
community, trade, and economic development shall adopt rules to define
practicability and clarify how state agencies and local government
subdivisions will be evaluated in determining whether they have met the
goals set out in section 202(1) of this act. At a minimum, the rules
must address:
(1) Criteria for determining how the goal in section 202(1) of this
act will be met by June 1, 2015;
(2) Factors considered to determine compliance with the goal in
section 202(1) of this act, including but not limited to: The regional
availability of fuels; vehicle costs; differences between types of
vehicles, vessels, or equipment; the cost of program implementation;
and cost differentials in different parts of the state; and
(3) A schedule for phased-in progress towards meeting the goal in
section 202(1) of this act that may include different schedules for
different fuel applications, different quantities of biofuels, or
changes to the 2015 date.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 205 The director of the department of
community, trade, and economic development shall appoint a coordinator
that is responsible for:
(1) Managing, directing, inventorying, and coordinating state
efforts to promote, develop, and encourage a biofuels market in
Washington;
(2) Developing, coordinating, and overseeing the implementation of
a plan, or series of plans, for the production, transport,
distribution, and delivery of biofuels produced predominantly from
recycled products or Washington feedstocks;
(3) Working with the departments of transportation and general
administration, or other applicable state and local governmental
entities, to develop biofuel fueling stations for use by state and
local motor vehicle fleets and to provide greater access to public
sector fueling capacity for biofuels;
(4) Coordinating with the Western Washington University alternative
automobile program for opportunities to support new Washington state
technology for conversion of fossil fuel fleets to biofuel, hybrid, or
alternative fuel propulsion;
(5) Coordinating with the University of Washington's college of
forest management and the Olympic natural resources center for the
identification of barriers to using the state's forest resources for
fuel production, including the economic and transportation barriers of
physically bringing forest biomass to the market;
(6) Coordinating with the department of agriculture and the
University of Washington for the identification of other barriers for
future biofuels development and development of strategies for
furthering the penetration of the Washington state fossil fuel market
with Washington produced biofuels, particularly among public entities.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 206 A new section is added to chapter 43.01
RCW to read as follows:
(1) It is in the state's interest and to the benefit of the people
of the state to encourage the use of electrical vehicles in order to
reduce emissions and provide the public with cleaner air. This section
expressly authorizes the purchase of power at state expense to recharge
privately and publicly owned plug-in electrical vehicles at state
office locations where the vehicles are used for state business, are
commute vehicles, or where the vehicles are at the state location for
the purpose of conducting business with the state.
(2) The director of the department of general administration shall
provide reports to the governor and the appropriate committees of the
legislature, as deemed necessary by the director, on the estimated
amount of state-purchased electricity consumed by plug-in electrical
vehicles if the director of general administration determines that the
use has a significant cost to the state, and on the number of plug-in
electric vehicles using state office locations.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 207 A new section is added to chapter 89.08
RCW to read as follows:
In addition to any other authority provided by law, conservation
districts are authorized to enter into crop purchase contracts for a
dedicated energy crop for the purposes of producing, selling, and
distributing biodiesel produced from Washington state feedstocks,
cellulosic ethanol, and cellulosic ethanol blend fuels.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 208 A new section is added to chapter 35.21
RCW to read as follows:
In addition to any other authority provided by law, public
development authorities are authorized to enter into crop purchase
contracts for a dedicated energy crop for the purposes of producing,
selling, and distributing biodiesel produced from Washington state
feedstocks, cellulosic ethanol, and cellulosic ethanol blend fuels.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 209 A new section is added to chapter 35.92
RCW to read as follows:
In addition to any other authority provided by law, municipal
utilities are authorized to produce and distribute biodiesel, ethanol,
and ethanol blend fuels, including entering into crop purchase
contracts for a dedicated energy crop for the purpose of generating
electricity or producing biodiesel produced from Washington feedstocks,
cellulosic ethanol, and cellulosic ethanol blend fuels for use in
internal operations of the electric utility and for sale or
distribution.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 210 A new section is added to chapter 54.04
RCW to read as follows:
In addition to any other authority provided by law, public utility
districts are authorized to produce and distribute biodiesel, ethanol,
and ethanol blend fuels, including entering into crop purchase
contracts for a dedicated energy crop for the purpose of generating
electricity or producing biodiesel produced from Washington feedstocks,
cellulosic ethanol, and cellulosic ethanol blend fuels for use in
internal operations of the electric utility and for sale or
distribution.
Sec. 301 RCW 15.110.010 and 2006 c 171 s 2 are each amended to
read as follows:
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter
unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Applicant" means any political subdivision of the state,
including port districts, counties, cities, towns, special purpose
districts, and other municipal corporations or quasi-municipal
corporations. "Applicant" may also include federally recognized tribes
and state institutions of higher education with appropriate research
capabilities.
(2) "Alternative fuel" means all products or energy sources used to
propel motor vehicles, other than conventional gasoline, diesel, or
reformulated gasoline. "Alternative fuel" includes, but is not limited
to, cellulose, liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied natural gas,
compressed natural gas, biofuels, biodiesel fuel, E85 motor fuel, fuels
containing seventy percent or more by volume of alcohol fuel, fuels
that are derived from biomass, hydrogen fuel, anhydrous ammonia fuel,
nonhazardous motor fuel, or electricity, excluding onboard electric
generation.
(3) "Assistance" includes loans, leases, product purchases, or
other forms of financial or technical assistance.
(((3))) (4) "Biofuel" includes, but is not limited to, biodiesel,
ethanol, and ethanol blend fuels and renewable liquid natural gas or
liquid compressed natural gas made from biogas.
(5) "Biogas" includes waste gases derived from landfills and
wastewater treatment plants and dairy and farm wastes.
(6) "Cellulose" means lignocellulosic, hemicellulosic, or other
cellulosic matter that is available on a renewable or recurring basis,
including dedicated energy crops and trees, wood and wood residues,
plants, grasses, agricultural residues, fibers, animal wastes and other
waste materials, and municipal solid waste.
(7) "Coordinator" means the person appointed by the director of the
department of community, trade, and economic development.
(8) "Department" means the department of ((agriculture)) community,
trade, and economic development.
(((4))) (9) "Director" means the director of the department of
((agriculture)) community, trade, and economic development.
(((5))) (10) "Green highway zone" means an area in the state
designated by the department that is within reasonable proximity of
state route number 5, state route number 90, and state route number 82.
(11) "Peer review committee" means a board, appointed by the
director, that includes bioenergy specialists, energy conservation
specialists, scientists, and individuals with specific recognized
expertise.
(((6))) (12) "Project" means the construction of facilities,
including the purchase of equipment, to convert farm products or wastes
into electricity or gaseous or liquid fuels or other coproducts
associated with such conversion. These specifically include fixed or
mobile facilities to generate electricity or methane from the anaerobic
digestion of organic matter, and fixed or mobile facilities for
extracting oils from canola, rape, mustard, and other oilseeds.
"Project" may also include the construction of facilities associated
with such conversion for the distribution and storage of such
feedstocks and fuels.
(((7))) (13) "Refueling project" means the construction of new
alternative fuel refueling facilities, as well as upgrades and
expansion of existing refueling facilities, that will enable these
facilities to offer alternative fuels to the public.
(14) "Research and development project" means research and
development, by an institution of higher education as defined in
subsection (1) of this section, relating to:
(a) Bioenergy sources including but not limited to biomass and
associated gases; or
(b) The development of markets for bioenergy coproducts.
Sec. 302 RCW 15.110.020 and 2006 c 171 s 3 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) The energy freedom program is established within the
department. The director may establish policies and procedures
necessary for processing, reviewing, and approving applications made
under this chapter.
(2) When reviewing applications submitted under this program, the
director shall consult with those agencies and other public entities
having expertise and knowledge to assess the technical and business
feasibility of the project and probability of success. These agencies
may include, but are not limited to, Washington State University, the
University of Washington, the department of ecology, ((the department
of community, trade, and economic development,)) the department of
natural resources, the department of agriculture, the department of
general administration, local clean air authorities, and the Washington
state conservation commission.
(3) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, the
director, in cooperation with the department of ((community, trade, and
economic development)) agriculture, may approve an application only if
the director finds:
(a) The project will convert farm products ((or)), wastes,
cellulose, or biogas directly into electricity or ((into gaseous or
liquid fuels)) biofuel or other coproducts associated with such
conversion;
(b) The project demonstrates technical feasibility and directly
assists in moving a commercially viable project into the marketplace
for use by Washington state citizens;
(c) The facility will produce long-term economic benefits to the
state, a region of the state, or a particular community in the state;
(d) The project does not require continuing state support;
(e) The assistance will result in new jobs, job retention, or
higher incomes for citizens of the state;
(f) The state is provided an option under the assistance agreement
to purchase a portion of the fuel or feedstock to be produced by the
project, exercisable by the department of general administration;
(g) The project will increase energy independence or diversity for
the state;
(h) The project will use feedstocks produced in the state, if
feasible, except this criterion does not apply to the construction of
facilities used to distribute and store fuels that are produced from
farm products or wastes;
(i) Any product produced by the project will be suitable for its
intended use, will meet accepted national or state standards, and will
be stored and distributed in a safe and environmentally sound manner;
(j) The application provides for adequate reporting or disclosure
of financial and employment data to the director, and permits the
director to require an annual or other periodic audit of the project
books; and
(k) For research and development projects, the application has been
independently reviewed by a peer review committee as defined in RCW
15.110.010 (as recodified by this act) and the findings delivered to
the director.
(4) When reviewing an application for a refueling project, the
coordinator may award a grant or a loan to an applicant if the director
finds:
(a) The project will offer alternative fuels to the motoring
public;
(b) The project does not require continued state support;
(c) The project is located within a green highway zone as defined
in RCW 15.110.010 (as recodified by this act);
(d) The project will contribute towards an efficient and adequately
spaced alternative fuel refueling network along the green highways
designated in RCW 47.17.020, 47.17.135, and 47.17.140; and
(e) The project will result in increased access to alternative
fueling infrastructure for the motoring public along the green highways
designated in RCW 47.17.020, 47.17.135, and 47.17.140.
(5)(a) The director may approve ((an)) a project application for
assistance under subsection (3) of this section up to five million
dollars. In no circumstances shall this assistance constitute more
than fifty percent of the total project cost.
(((5))) (b) The director may approve a refueling project
application for a grant or a loan under subsection (4) of this section
up to fifty thousand dollars. In no circumstances shall a grant or a
loan award constitute more than fifty percent of the total project
cost.
(6) The director shall enter into agreements with approved
applicants to fix the terms and rates of the assistance to minimize the
costs to the applicants, and to encourage establishment of a viable
bioenergy or biofuel industry. The agreement shall include provisions
to protect the state's investment, including a requirement that a
successful applicant enter into contracts with any partners that may be
involved in the use of any assistance provided under this program,
including services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment.
Contracts with any partners shall become part of the application
record.
(((6))) (7) The director may defer any payments for up to twenty-four months or until the project starts to receive revenue from
operations, whichever is sooner.
Sec. 303 RCW 15.110.040 and 2006 c 171 s 5 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) If the total requested dollar amount of assistance awarded for
projects under RCW 15.110.020(3) (as recodified by this act) exceeds
the amount available in the energy freedom account created in RCW
15.110.050 (as recodified by this act), the applications must be
prioritized based upon the following criteria:
(((1))) (a) The extent to which the project will help reduce
dependence on petroleum fuels and imported energy either directly or
indirectly;
(((2))) (b) The extent to which the project will reduce air and
water pollution either directly or indirectly;
(((3))) (c) The extent to which the project will establish a viable
bioenergy or biofuel production capacity in Washington;
(((4))) (d) The benefits to Washington's agricultural producers;
((and)) (e) The benefits to the health of Washington's forests;
(5)
(f) The beneficial uses of biogas; and
(g) The number and quality of jobs and economic benefits created by
the project.
(2) This section does not apply to grants or loans awarded for
refueling projects under RCW 15.110.020(4) (as recodified by this act).
NEW SECTION. Sec. 304 If the total requested dollar amount of
funds for refueling projects under RCW 15.110.020(4) (as recodified by
this act) exceeds the amount available for refueling projects in the
energy freedom account created in RCW 15.110.050 (as recodified by this
act), the applications must be prioritized based upon the following
criteria:
(1) The extent to which the project will help reduce dependence on
petroleum fuels and imported energy either directly or indirectly;
(2) The extent to which the project will reduce air and water
pollution either directly or indirectly;
(3) The extent to which the project will establish a viable
bioenergy production capacity in Washington;
(4) The extent to which the project will make biofuels more
accessible to the motoring public;
(5) The benefits to Washington's agricultural producers; and
(6) The number and quality of jobs and economic benefits created by
the project.
Sec. 305 RCW 15.110.050 and 2006 c 371 s 223 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) The energy freedom account is created in the state treasury.
All receipts from appropriations made to the account and any loan
payments of principal and interest derived from loans made under this
chapter must be deposited into the account. Moneys in the account may
be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may
be used only for assistance for projects consistent with this chapter
or otherwise authorized by the legislature. ((Administrative costs of
the department may not exceed three percent of the total funds
available for this program.))
(2) The green energy incentive account is created in the state
treasury as a subaccount of the energy freedom account. All receipts
from appropriations made to the green energy incentive account shall be
deposited into the account, and may be spent only after appropriation.
Expenditures from the account may be used only for:
(a) Refueling projects awarded under this chapter;
(b) Pilot projects for plug-in hybrids, including grants provided
for the electrification program set forth in section 408 of this act;
(c) Programs to reduce truck stop idling;
(d) Demonstration projects developed with a science museum for the
purpose of bringing science education to children by way of a mobile
learning vehicle; and
(e) Demonstration projects developed with the University of
Washington that result in the design and building of a hydrogen vehicle
fueling station.
(3) Any state agency receiving funding from the energy freedom
account is prohibited from retaining greater than three percent of any
funding provided from the energy freedom account for administrative
overhead or other deductions not directly associated with conducting
the research, projects, or other end products that the funding is
designed to produce unless this provision is waived in writing by the
director.
(4) Any university, institute, or other entity that is not a state
agency receiving funding from the energy freedom account is prohibited
from retaining greater than fifteen percent of any funding provided
from the energy freedom account for administrative overhead or other
deductions not directly associated with conducting the research,
projects, or other end products that the funding is designed to
produce.
(5) This section does not apply to assistance awarded for projects
under RCW 15.110.020(3) (as recodified by this act).
Sec. 306 RCW 15.110.060 and 2006 c 171 s 7 are each amended to
read as follows:
The director shall report to the legislature and governor on the
status of the energy freedom program created under this chapter, on or
before December 1, 2006, and annually thereafter. This report must
include information on the projects that have been funded, the status
of these projects, and their environmental, energy savings, and job
creation benefits as well as an assessment of the availability of
alternative fuels in the state and best estimates to indicate, by
percentage, the types of biofuel feedstocks and sources that contribute
to biofuels used in the state and the general geographic origination of
such feedstocks and sources. Based on analysis of this information,
the report must also recommend appropriate mechanisms, including but
not limited to changes in state contracting practices, tax incentives,
or renewable fuel standard provisions, that will help Washington
farmers and businesses compete in an economically viable manner and
will encourage sustained development of an in-state biofuels industry
based on feedstocks grown and produced in Washington.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 307 (1) Energy freedom program projects funded
pursuant to RCW 15.110.050 (as recodified by this act) or by the
legislature pursuant to sections 191 and 192, chapter 371, Laws of 2006
for which the department of agriculture has signed loan agreements and
disbursed funds prior to June 30, 2007, shall continue to be serviced
by the department of agriculture.
(2) Energy freedom program projects funded pursuant to RCW
15.110.050 (as recodified by this act) or by the legislature pursuant
to sections 191 and 192, chapter 371, Laws of 2006 for which moneys
have been appropriated but loan agreements or disbursements have not
been completed must be transferred to the department for project
management on July 1, 2007, subject to the ongoing requirements of the
energy freedom program.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 401 (1) The department of ecology and the
department of community, trade, and economic development, in
implementing executive order number 07-02 shall include an analysis of,
and potential for, vehicle electrification. That analysis may include:
(a) Use by the state of plug-in hybrid vehicles and developing
plug-in availability at state locations;
(b) Incentives to encourage the use of plug-in truck auxiliary
power units and truck stop electrification;
(c) Use of plug-in shore power for cargo and cruise ship terminals,
shipside technology, and use of electric power alternatives for port-related operations and equipment such as switching locomotives, vessels
and harborcraft, and cargo-handling equipment;
(d) Potential uses for and availability of plug-in hybrid school
buses;
(e) Potential environmental and electrical grid impacts on
electrical power consumption of the conversion of a meaningful portion
of the state's private and public fleet to plug-in electrical power;
(f) Tax and fee incentives to encourage individual and fleet
purchases of plug-in hybrid vehicles;
(g) State laws, rules, tariffs, and policies that impact
transportation electrification and plug-in adoption, including pricing
with incentives for off-peak charging;
(h) Measures to encourage the use of plug-in vehicles by public
fleets, and resulting cost savings, and whether state and local fleets
should be required to purchase plug-in hybrid vehicles if it is
determined that plug-in hybrid vehicles are commercially available at
a reasonably comparable life-cycle cost;
(i) Explore the potential for the use of electrification of fixed
transit routes for magnetic levitation propulsion systems;
(j) Actions by the state to help industries located in the state
participate in developing and manufacturing plug-in vehicles and
vehicle-to-grid technologies;
(k) Additional ways the state can promote transportation
electrification in the private and public sectors, including cars and
light-duty vehicles, and truck stop and port electrification; and
(l) Potential partners for vehicle-to-grid pilot projects that test
the use of parked plug-in vehicles for power grid energy storage and
support.
(2) The departments of ecology and community, trade, and economic
development shall provide the appropriate committees of the legislature
an analysis or report by March 1, 2008. The report may be included
within the report produced for executive order number 07-02.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 402 A new section is added to chapter 28B.30
RCW to read as follows:
Washington State University is directed to analyze and recommend
models for possible implementation by the legislature or the executive
office for at least the following potential biofuels incentive
programs:
(1) Market incentives to encourage instate production of brassica-based biodiesel, and cellulosic ethanol, including such market methods
as direct grants, production tax credits, and the issuance by the state
of advance guaranteed purchase contracts;
(2) Possible preferred research programs, grants, or other forms of
assistance for accelerating the development of instate production of
cellulosic ethanol and in-state biodiesel crops and their coproducts;
and
(3) The following should be considered when evaluating potential
biofuel incentive programs:
(a) Assisting Washington farmers and businesses in the development
of economically viable, sustained instate biofuel and biofuel feedstock
production;
(b) Leveraging and encouraging private investment in biofuel
production and distribution and biofuel feedstock production; and
(c) Assisting in the development of biofuel feedstocks and
production techniques that deliver the greatest net reductions in
petroleum dependence and carbon emissions.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 403 (1) The department of community, trade,
and economic development and the department of ecology shall develop a
framework for the state of Washington to participate in emerging
regional, national, and to the extent possible, global markets to
mitigate climate change, on a multisector basis. This framework must
include, but not be limited to, credible, verifiable, replicable
inventory and accounting methodologies for each sector involved, along
with the completion of the stakeholder process identified in executive
order number 07-02 creating the Washington state climate change
challenge.
(2) The department of community, trade, and economic development
and the department of ecology shall include the forestry sector and
work closely with the department of natural resources on those
recommendations.
(3) The department must provide a report to the legislature by
December 1, 2008. The report may be included within the report
produced for executive order number 07-02.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 404 (1) In preparing for the impacts of
climate change consistent with executive order number 07-02, the
departments of community, trade, and economic development and ecology
shall work with the climate impacts group at the University of
Washington to produce:
(a) A comprehensive state climate change assessment that includes
the impacts of global warming, including impacts to public health,
agriculture, the coast line, forestry, infrastructure, and water supply
and management;
(b) An analysis of the potential human health impacts of climate
change on the state of Washington.
(2) To ensure the appropriateness of these assessments for public
agency planning and management, the departments and the climate impacts
group shall consult with state and local public health resource
planning and management agencies.
(3) If adequate funding is not made available for the completion of
all elements required under this section, the departments and the
climate impacts group shall list and prioritize which research projects
have the greatest cost/benefit ratio in terms of providing information
important for planning decisions.
(4) The work under this section that is completed by December 1,
2007, must be included in the final report of the Washington climate
change challenge. Any further reports must be completed by December
15, 2008.
Sec. 405 RCW 47.17.020 and 1970 ex.s. c 51 s 5 are each amended
to read as follows:
A state highway to be known as state route number 5, and designated
as a Washington green highway, is established as follows:
Beginning at the Washington-Oregon boundary line on the interstate
bridge over the Columbia river at Vancouver, thence northerly by way of
Kelso, Chehalis, Centralia, Olympia, Tacoma, Seattle, Everett and Mt.
Vernon, thence northwesterly to the east of Lake Samish, thence
northeasterly and northerly by way of Bellingham to the international
boundary line in the vicinity of Blaine in Whatcom county.
Sec. 406 RCW 47.17.135 and 1979 ex.s. c 33 s 3 are each amended
to read as follows:
A state highway to be known as state route number 82, and
designated as a Washington green highway, is established as follows:
Beginning at a junction with state route number 90 in the vicinity
of Ellensburg, thence southerly and easterly by way of Yakima, Union
Gap, Sunnyside, Prosser, Kiona, and Goose Gap west of Richland, thence
southeasterly near Kennewick and southwesterly by way of the vicinity
of Plymouth to a crossing of the Columbia river at the Washington-Oregon boundary line.
Sec. 407 RCW 47.17.140 and 1991 c 56 s 2 are each amended to read
as follows:
A state highway to be known as state route number 90, and
designated as the American Veterans Memorial Highway as well as a
Washington green highway, is established as follows:
Beginning at a junction with state route number 5, thence, via the
west approach to the Lake Washington bridge in Seattle, in an easterly
direction by way of Mercer Island, North Bend, Snoqualmie pass,
Ellensburg, Vantage, Moses Lake, Ritzville, Sprague and Spokane to the
Washington-Idaho boundary line.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 408 (1) The vehicle electrification
demonstration grant program is established within the department of
community, trade, and economic development. The director may establish
policies and procedures necessary for processing, reviewing, and
approving applications made under this chapter.
(2) The director may approve an application for a vehicle
electrification demonstration project only if the director finds:
(a) The applicant is a state agency, public school district, public
utility district, or a political subdivision of the state, including
port districts, counties, cities, towns, special purpose districts, and
other municipal corporations or quasi-municipal corporations or a state
institution of higher education;
(b) The project partially funds the purchase of or conversion of
existing vehicles to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles or battery
electric vehicles for use in the applicant's fleet or operations;
(c) The project partners with an electric utility and demonstrates
technologies to allow controlled vehicle charging, including the use of
power electronics or wireless technologies, to regulate time-of-day and
duration of charging;
(d) The project provides matching resources; and
(e) The project provides evaluation of fuel savings, greenhouse gas
reductions, battery capabilities, energy management system, charge
controlling technologies, and other relevant information determined on
the advice of the vehicle electrification work group.
(3) The director may approve an application for a vehicle
electrification demonstration project if the project, in addition to
meeting the requirements of subsection (2) of this section, also
demonstrates charging using on-site renewable resources or
vehicle-to-grid capabilities that enable the vehicle to discharge
electricity into the grid.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 409 A new section is added to chapter 43.19
RCW to read as follows:
(1) During the biennium ending June 30, 2009, the department of
general administration is authorized to purchase at least one hundred
plug-in electric hybrid vehicles for state agency light duty vehicle
uses, when commercially available at comparable life costs to other
vehicles. The department of general administration shall assign these
vehicles to departments and job functions that on average log the most
miles driving light duty vehicles. The vehicles must bear a prominent
designation as a plug-in electric hybrid vehicle. The department of
general administration shall develop a purchasing contract under which
state agencies and local governments may purchase plug-in electric
hybrid vehicles.
(2) The use of hybrid vehicles shall include an economic analysis
of the total life-cycle cost to the state over the vehicle's estimated
useful life, including energy inputs into the production of the
vehicle, fuel usage, and all related costs of selection, acquisition,
operation, maintenance, and disposal, as far as these costs can
reasonably be determined, minus the salvage value at the end of the
vehicle's estimated useful life.
(3) By December 31, 2009, the department of general administration
shall provide a report to the transportation and energy committees of
the senate and house of representatives on the acquisition of these
vehicles and their operational and maintenance performance.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 410 (1) The office of Washington state
climatologist is created.
(2) The office of Washington state climatologist consists of the
director of the office, who is the state climatologist, and appropriate
staff and administrative support as necessary to carry out the powers
and duties of the office as enumerated in section 411 of this act.
(3) The director of the office of Washington state climatologist
must be appointed jointly by the president of Washington State
University and the president of the University of Washington. The
office of Washington state climatologist is administered as determined
jointly by these two presidents.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 411 The office of Washington state
climatologist has the following powers and duties:
(1) To serve as a credible and expert source of climate and weather
information for state and local decision makers and agencies working on
drought, flooding, climate change, and other related issues;
(2) To gather and disseminate, and where practicable archive, in
the most cost-effective manner possible, all climate and weather
information that is or could be of value to policy and decision makers
in the state;
(3) To act as the representative of the state in all climatological
and meteorological matters, both within and outside of the state, when
requested by the legislative or executive branches of the state
government;
(4) To prepare, publish, and disseminate climate summaries for
those individuals, agencies, and organizations whose activities are
related to the welfare of the state and are affected by climate and
weather;
(5) To supply critical information for drought preparedness and
emergency response as needed to implement the state's drought
contingency response plan maintained by the department of ecology under
RCW 43.83B.410, and to serve as a member of the state's drought water
supply and emergency response committees as may be formed in response
to a drought event;
(6) To conduct and report on studies of climate and weather
phenomena of significant socioeconomic importance to the state; and
(7) To evaluate the significance of natural and man-made changes in
important features of the climate affecting the state, and to report
this information to those agencies and organizations in the state who
are likely to be affected by these changes.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 412 (1) The legislature finds that:
(a) Washington is especially vulnerable to climate change because
of the state's dependence on snow pack for summer stream flows and
because the expected rise in sea levels threatens our coastal
communities. Extreme weather, a warming Pacific Northwest, reduced
snow pack, and sea level rise are four major ways that climate change
is disrupting Washington's economy, environment, and communities;
(b) Washington's greenhouse gas emissions are continuing to
increase, despite international scientific consensus that worldwide
emissions must be reduced significantly below current levels to avert
catastrophic climate change;
(c) Washington has been a leader in actions to reduce the increase
of emissions, including the adoption of the nation's most stringent
carbon dioxide mitigation program for new thermal electric generation
facilities, a requirement for integrated resource planning by electric
utilities to include life-cycle costs of carbon dioxide emissions,
clean car standards, stronger appliance energy efficiency standards,
increased production and use of renewable liquid fuels, and increased
renewable energy sources by electrical utilities;
(d) Washington state's greenhouse gases are substantially caused by
the transportation sector of the economy;
(e) Washington has participated with other Western states in
designing regional approaches to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and
a regional cap and trade mechanism will be more effective than if
implemented separately in each state;
(f) While these actions are significant, there is a need to assess
the trend of emissions statewide over the next several decades, and to
take sufficient actions so that Washington meets its responsibility to
contribute to the global actions needed to reduce the impacts and the
pace of global warming;
(g) Actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will spur technology
development and increase efficiency, thus resulting in benefits to
Washington's economy and businesses; and
(h) Numerous states and nations have adopted emission reduction
goals to assist emission sources with planning for changes in practices
and technologies.
(2) The legislature further finds that companies that generate
greenhouse gas emissions or manufacture products that generate such
emissions are purchasing carbon credits from landowners and from other
companies in order to provide carbon credits. Companies that are
purchasing carbon credits would benefit from a program to trade and to
bank carbon credits. Washington forests are one of the most effective
resources that can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Forests,
and other planted lands and waters, provide carbon storage and mitigate
greenhouse gas emissions. Washington contains the most productive
forests in the world and both public and private landowners could
benefit from a carbon storage trading and banking program. The
legislature further finds that catastrophic forest fires are a major
source of greenhouse gas emissions, and that federal and state forest
land management should seek to manage forests to reduce the risk of
such fires.
(3) The legislature intends by this act to establish goals for the
statewide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and reduction in
petroleum use, and to adopt the governor's mechanism in Executive Order
No. 07-02 to design and recommend a comprehensive set of measures to
accomplish the goals. The legislature further intends by this act to
authorize immediate actions in the electric power generation sector for
the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and to accelerate efficiency
in the transportation sector.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 413 The following greenhouse gas emissions
reduction and clean energy economy goals are established for Washington
state:
(1) By 2020, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state to 1990
levels;
(2) By 2035, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state to
twenty-five percent below 1990 levels;
(3) By 2050, the state will do its part to reach global climate
stabilization levels by reducing emissions to fifty percent below 1990
levels or seventy percent below the state's expected emissions that
year;
(4) By 2020, increase the number of clean energy sector jobs to
twenty-five thousand from the eight thousand four hundred jobs the
state had in 2004; and
(5) By 2020, reduce expenditures by twenty percent on fuel imported
into the state by developing Washington resources and supporting
efficient energy use.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 414 (1) Executive Order No. 07-02 shall
provide the mechanisms for identifying the policies and strategies
necessary to achieve the economic and emission reduction goals of
section 413 of this act. Consistent with the Executive Order's
directive to seek a healthier and more prosperous future for Washington
state, agency and stakeholder representatives participating in the
Washington climate change challenge shall also seek emission reduction
policies and strategies that, to the maximum extent possible, minimize
economic disruptions and protect jobs for Washington state workers,
citizens, and businesses, while avoiding policies and strategies that
would result in the transfer or outsourcing of economic advantages or
jobs to other states, regions, or nations.
(2) In addition to the policies and strategies that the climate
change stakeholder group shall develop for the governor and the
legislature, the group shall:
(a) Identify economic and regulatory incentives to encourage the
replacement of the highest emitting thermal electric plants in the
state that have exceeded their expected useful life with newer
technologies that have lower greenhouse gases emission levels to
facilitate meeting the goals established in this section; and
(b) Identify methods to utilize indigenous resources, such as
landfill gas, geothermal resources, and other assets that might reduce
greenhouse gases emissions consistent with the purposes of this
section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 415 By December 31st of each even-numbered
year beginning in 2010, the departments of ecology and community,
trade, and economic development shall report to the governor and the
appropriate committees of the senate and house of representatives the
total greenhouse gas emissions for the preceding two years, and totals
in each major source sector.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 416 (1) The legislature finds that:
(a) The United Nation's intergovernmental panel on climate change
report, released February 2, 2007, states that evidence of the
climate's warming "is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations
of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread
melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level";
(b) Global warming will have serious adverse consequences on the
economy, health, and environment of Washington;
(c) During the last several years, the state has taken significant
strides towards implementing an environmentally and economically sound
energy policy through reliance on energy efficiency, conservation, and
renewable energy resources in order to promote a sustainable energy
future that ensures an adequate and reliable energy supply at
reasonable and stable prices;
(d) The governor, in Executive Order No. 07-02, has called for the
reduction of Washington's emission of greenhouse gases to 1990 levels
by 2020;
(e) To the extent energy efficiency and renewable resources are
unable to satisfy increasing energy and capacity needs, the state will
rely on clean and efficient fossil fuel fired generation and will
encourage the development of cost-effective, highly efficient, and
environmentally sound supply resources to provide reliability and
consistency with the state's energy priorities;
(f) It is vital to ensure all electric utilities internalize the
significant and underrecognized cost of emissions and to reduce
Washington's exposure to costs associated with future regulation of
these emissions;
(g) A greenhouse gases emissions performance standard for new long-term financial commitments to electric generating resources will reduce
potential exposure of Washington's consumers to future reliability
problems in electricity supplies;
(h) The state of California recently enacted a law establishing a
greenhouse gases emissions performance standard for electric utility
procurement of baseload electric generation that is based on the
emissions of a combined-cycle thermal electric generation facility
fueled by natural gas;
(i) The legislature recognizes that state or federal legislation
may be enacted and federal regulation may occur that would provide
standards or programs that would preempt, make inconsistent, or render
unnecessary emission standards or schedules established in this act;
and
(j) The state of Washington has an obligation to provide clear
guidance for the procurement of baseload electric generation to
alleviate regulatory uncertainty while addressing risks that can affect
the ability of electric utilities to make necessary and timely
investments to ensure an adequate, reliable, and cost-effective supply
of electricity.
(2) The legislature declares that:
(a) A greenhouse gases emissions performance standard for new
long-term financial commitments for baseload electric generation should
reduce financial risk to electric utilities and their customers from
future pollution-control costs, without jeopardizing the state's
commitment to lowest reasonable cost resources and the need to maintain
a reliable regional electric system.
(b) A greenhouse gases emissions performance standard will
complement the state's carbon dioxide mitigation policy for
fossil-fueled thermal electric generation facilities under chapter
80.70 RCW.
(c) The need for long-term financial commitments for new baseload
electric generation can be reduced over time through the deployment by
electric utilities of technologies that improve the efficiency of
electricity production, transmission, distribution, and consumption.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 417 The definitions in this section apply
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Attorney general" means the Washington state office of the
attorney general.
(2) "Auditor" means: (a) The Washington state auditor's office or
its designee for consumer-owned utilities under its jurisdiction; or
(b) an independent auditor selected by a consumer-owned utility that is
not under the jurisdiction of the state auditor.
(3) "Baseload electric generation" means electric generation from
a power plant that is designed and intended to provide electricity at
an annualized plant capacity factor of at least sixty percent.
(4) "Cogeneration facility" means a power plant in which the heat
or steam is also used for industrial or commercial heating or cooling
purposes and that meets federal energy regulatory commission standards
for qualifying facilities under the public utility regulatory policies
act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 824a-3), as amended.
(5) "Combined-cycle natural gas thermal electric generation
facility" means a power plant that employs a combination of one or more
gas turbines and steam turbines in which electricity is produced in the
steam turbine from otherwise lost waste heat exiting from one or more
of the gas turbines.
(6) "Commercially available" means that at least one hundred plants
of substantially the same design, specifications, and performance
characteristics have been in commercial operation for at least three
years.
(7) "Commission" means the Washington utilities and transportation
commission.
(8) "Consumer-owned utility" means a municipal utility formed under
Title 35 RCW, a public utility district formed under Title 54 RCW, an
irrigation district formed under chapter 87.03 RCW, a cooperative
formed under chapter 23.86 RCW, a mutual corporation or association
formed under chapter 24.06 RCW, or port district within which an
industrial district has been established as authorized by Title 53 RCW,
that is engaged in the business of distributing electricity to more
than one retail electric customer in the state.
(9) "Department" means the department of ecology.
(10) "Distributed generation" has the same meaning as defined in
RCW 19.285.030.
(11) "Electrical company" means a company owned by investors that
meets the definition of RCW 80.04.010.
(12) "Electric utility" means an electrical company or a consumer-owned utility.
(13) "Governing board" means the board of directors or legislative
authority of a consumer-owned utility.
(14) "Greenhouse gases" includes carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous
oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.
(15) "Injected permanently" means the carbon dioxide injected into
a geological formation will remain in the target geological formation
with only de minimis leakage, as demonstrated using site-specific data.
(16) "Long-term financial commitment" means:
(a) Either a new ownership interest in baseload electric generation
or an upgrade to a baseload electric generation facility; or
(b) A new or renewed contract for baseload electric generation with
a term of five or more years for the provision of retail power or
wholesale power to end-use customers in this state.
(17) "Output-based methodology" means a greenhouse gases emissions
performance standard that is expressed in pounds of greenhouse gases
emitted per net megawatt-hour produced. For purposes of this
subsection, "net" refers to the difference between the heat energy
dedicated to power production and the electrical equivalent of useful
thermal energy employed for purposes other than the generation of
electricity.
(18) "Plant capacity factor" means the ratio of the electricity
produced during a given time period, measured in kilowatt-hours, to the
electricity the unit could have produced if it had been operated at its
rated capacity during that period, expressed in kilowatt-hours.
(19) "Power plant" means a facility for the generation of
electricity that includes one or more generating units at the same
location.
(20) "Unspecified sources" means baseload electric generation
supplied under a power purchase agreement that does not specify or
otherwise identify the power plant or power plants that are the source
of power delivered to an electric utility.
(21) "Upgrade" means any modification made for the primary purpose
of increasing the electric generation capacity of a baseload electric
generation facility. "Upgrade" does not include routine or necessary
maintenance, installation of emission control equipment, installation,
replacement, or modification of equipment that improves the heat rate
of the facility, or installation, replacement, or modification of
equipment for the primary purpose of maintaining reliable generation
output capability that does not increase the heat input or fuel usage
as specified in generation air quality permits that are in effect on
the effective date of this section but may result in incidental
increases in generation capacity.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 418 (1) Beginning July 1, 2008, the greenhouse
gases emissions performance standard for all baseload electric
generation for which electric utilities enter into long-term financial
commitments on or after such date is the lower of:
(a) One thousand one hundred pounds of greenhouse gases per
megawatt-hour; or
(b) The rate of emissions of greenhouse gases for a commercially
available combined-cycle natural gas thermal electric generation
facility that provides baseload electric generation.
(2) Even if their actual emissions are higher than the greenhouse
gas emissions performance standard, all baseload electric generation
facilities in operation as of June 30, 2008, are deemed to be in
compliance with the greenhouse gas emissions performance standard
established under this section until the facilities are the subject of
long-term financial commitments.
(3) All electric generating facilities or power plants powered by
renewable resources, as defined in RCW 19.285.030, are deemed to be in
compliance with the greenhouse gas emissions performance standard
established under this section.
(4) All electric generating facilities or power plants, including
cogeneration, that use either exclusively or in combination with a
renewable resource, as defined in RCW 19.285.030, fuel that is a
byproduct of pulping or wood manufacturing processes, including but not
limited to bark, sawdust, and lignin in spent pulping liquors, are
deemed to be in compliance with the greenhouse gas emissions
performance standard established under this section.
(5) In determining the rate of emissions of greenhouse gases for
baseload electric generation, the total emissions associated with
producing electricity shall be included.
(6) The department shall establish an output-based methodology to
ensure that the calculation of emissions of greenhouse gases for a
cogeneration facility recognizes the total usable energy output of the
process, and includes all greenhouse gases emitted by the facility in
the production of both electrical and thermal energy. In developing
and implementing the greenhouse gases emissions performance standard,
the department shall consider and act in a manner consistent with any
rules adopted pursuant to the public utilities regulatory policy act of
1978 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 824a-3), as amended.
(7) Carbon dioxide emissions produced by baseload electric
generation owned or contracted through a long-term financial commitment
that are injected permanently in geological formations or that are
permanently sequestered by other means approved by the department shall
not be counted as emissions of the power plant in determining
compliance with the greenhouse gases emissions performance standard.
(8) In adopting and implementing the greenhouse gases emissions
performance standard, the department, in consultation with the
commission, the Bonneville power administration, the western
electricity coordination council, the energy facility site evaluation
council, the department of community, trade, and economic development
energy policy division, electric utilities, public interest
representatives, and consumer representatives shall consider the
effects of the greenhouse gases emissions performance standard on
system reliability and overall costs to electricity customers.
(9) In developing and implementing the greenhouse gases emissions
performance standard, the department shall, with assistance of the
commission, the department of community, trade, and economic
development energy policy division, and electric utilities, and to the
extent practicable, address long-term purchases of electricity from
unspecified sources in a manner consistent with this chapter.
(10) The department shall adopt the greenhouse gases emissions
performance standard by rule pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW, the
administrative procedure act. The department shall adopt rules to
enforce the requirements of this section, and adopt procedures to
verify the emissions of greenhouse gases from any baseload electric
generation supplied directly or under a contract subject to the
greenhouse gases emissions performance standard to ensure compliance
with the standard. Enforcement of the greenhouse gases emissions
performance standard must begin immediately upon the establishment of
the standard.
(11) In adopting the rules for implementing this section, the
department shall include criteria to be applied in evaluating the
carbon sequestration plan. The rules shall include but not be limited
to:
(a) Provisions for financial assurances, as a condition of plant
operation, sufficient to ensure successful implementation of the carbon
sequestration plan, including construction and operation of necessary
equipment, and any other significant costs;
(b) Provisions for geological or other approved sequestration
commencing within five years of plant operation, including full and
sufficient technical documentation to support the planned
sequestration;
(c) Provisions for monitoring the effectiveness of the
implementation of the sequestration plan;
(d) Penalties for failure to achieve implementation of the plan on
schedule; and
(e) Provisions for public notice and comment on the carbon
sequestration plan.
(12)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, as part of
its role enforcing the greenhouse gases emissions performance standard,
the department shall determine whether a plan for sequestration will
provide safe, reliable, and permanent protection against the greenhouse
gases entering the atmosphere from the power plant and all ancillary
facilities.
(b) For facilities under its jurisdiction, the energy facility site
evaluation council shall contract for review of the carbon
sequestration plan with the department, consider the adequacy of the
plan in its adjudicative proceedings conducted under RCW 80.50.090(3)
and incorporate specific findings regarding adequacy in its
recommendation to the governor under RCW 80.50.100.
(13) A project under consideration by the energy facility site
evaluation council before the adoption of rules in subsection (11) of
this section is required to include all of the requirements of
subsection (11) of this section in its carbon sequestration plan
submitted as part of the energy facility site evaluation council
process.
(14) The department shall adopt the rules necessary to implement
this section by June 30, 2008.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 419 (1) No electrical company may enter into
a long-term financial commitment unless the baseload electric
generation supplied under such a long-term financial commitment
complies with the greenhouse gases emissions performance standard
established under section 418 of this act.
(2) In order to enforce the requirements of this chapter, the
commission shall review in a general rate case or as provided in
subsection (5) of this section any long-term financial commitment
entered into by an electrical company after June 30, 2008, to determine
whether the baseload electric generation to be supplied under that
long-term financial commitment complies with the greenhouse gases
emissions performance standard established under section 418 of this
act.
(3) In determining whether a long-term financial commitment is for
baseload electric generation, the commission shall consider the design
of the power plant and its intended use, based upon the electricity
purchase contract, if any, permits necessary for the operation of the
power plant, and any other matter the commission determines is relevant
under the circumstances.
(4) Upon application by an electrical company, the commission may
provide a case-by-case exemption from the greenhouse gases emissions
performance standard to address: (a) Unanticipated electric system
reliability needs; or (b) catastrophic events or threat of significant
financial harm that may arise from unforeseen circumstances.
(5) Upon application by an electrical company, the commission shall
make a determination regarding the company's proposed decision to
acquire electric generation or enter into a power purchase agreement
for electricity that complies with the greenhouse gases emissions
performance standard established under section 418 of this act, as to
the need for the resource, and the appropriateness of the specific
resource selected. The commission shall take into consideration
factors such as the company's forecasted loads, need for energy, power
plant technology, expected costs, and other associated investment
decisions. In addition, the commission shall provide for recovery of
the prudently incurred capital and operating cost of these resources
and may impose such conditions as it finds necessary to ensure that
rates are fair, just, reasonable, and sufficient, coincident with the
in-service date of the project or the effective date of the power
purchase agreement.
(6) An electrical company may account for and defer for later
consideration by the commission costs incurred in connection with the
long-term financial commitment, including operating and maintenance
costs, depreciation, taxes, and cost of invested capital. The deferral
begins with the date on which the power plant begins commercial
operation or the effective date of the power purchase agreement and
ends on the effective date of the final decision by the commission
regarding recovery in rates of these deferred costs. Creation of such
a deferral account does not by itself determine whether recovery of any
or all of these costs is appropriate.
(7) In establishing rates for each electrical company regulated
under chapter 80.28 RCW, the commission shall adopt policies allowing
an additional return on investments to encourage meeting energy
requirements through distributed generation as defined in RCW
19.285.030, and to accelerate efficiencies in electric transmission and
distribution systems that increase reliability and reduce energy losses
or otherwise increase the efficiency of energy delivery to end-use
consumers. These policies shall include but are not limited to adding
an increment of two percent to the rate of return on common equity
permitted on an electrical company's other investments for prudently
incurred investments in distributed generation, and in measures that
improve, as measured in kilowatt-hour savings, the overall efficiency
of transmission, distribution, and end-use consumption of electricity
through energy efficiency technologies, including any device,
instrument, machine, appliance, or process related to the transmission,
distribution, and consumption of electricity to increase energy
efficiency, including but not limited to smart grid technology, smart
meters, and demand response technologies. The rate of return increment
must be allowed for a period, at the commission's discretion, of at
least seven but not more than thirty years after the investment is
first placed in the rate base. Measures or projects encouraged under
this section are those for which construction or installation is begun
after July 1, 2007, and before January 1, 2017, and which, at the time
they are placed in the rate base, are reasonably expected to save,
produce, or generate energy at a total incremental system cost per unit
of energy delivered to end use that is less than or equal to the
incremental system cost per unit of energy delivered to end use from
new baseload or peaking electric generation and that the electrical
company could acquire to meet energy demand in the same time period.
(8) The commission shall apply the procedures adopted by the
department to verify the emissions of greenhouse gases from baseload
electric generation under section 418 of this act.
(9) The commission shall adopt rules for the enforcement of this
section with respect to electrical companies and adopt procedural rules
for approving costs incurred by an electrical company under subsection
(4) of this section.
(10) The commission shall adopt the rules necessary to implement
this section by December 31, 2008.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 420 (1) No consumer-owned utility may enter
into a long-term financial commitment unless the baseload electric
generation supplied under such a long-term financial commitment
complies with the greenhouse gases emissions performance standard
established under section 418 of this act.
(2) The governing board of a consumer-owned utility shall review
and make a determination on any long-term financial commitment by the
utility, pursuant to this chapter, to determine whether the baseload
electric generation to be supplied under that long-term financial
commitment complies with the greenhouse gases emissions performance
standard established under section 418 of this act. No consumer-owned
utility may enter into a long-term financial commitment unless the
baseload electric generation to be supplied under that long-term
financial commitment complies with the greenhouse gases emissions
performance standard established under section 418 of this act.
(3) In confirming that a long-term financial commitment is for
baseload electric generation, the governing board shall consider the
design of the power plant and the intended use of the power plant based
upon the electricity purchase contract, if any, permits necessary for
the operation of the power plant, and any other matter the governing
board determines is relevant under the circumstances.
(4) The governing board may provide a case-by-case exemption from
the greenhouse gases emissions performance standard to address: (a)
Unanticipated electric system reliability needs; or (b) catastrophic
events or threat of significant financial harm that may arise from
unforeseen circumstances.
(5) The governing board shall apply the procedures adopted by the
department to verify the emissions of greenhouse gases from baseload
electric generation pursuant to section 418 of this act, and may
request assistance from the department in doing so.
(6) For consumer-owned utilities, the auditor is responsible for
auditing compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under this
chapter that apply to those utilities and the attorney general is
responsible for enforcing that compliance.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 421 A new section is added to chapter 43.19
RCW to read as follows:
(1) During the biennium ending June 30, 2009, the department of
general administration is authorized to purchase at least one hundred
plug-in electric hybrid vehicles for state agency light duty vehicle
uses, when commercially available at comparable life costs to other
vehicles. The department of general administration shall assign these
vehicles to departments and job functions that on average log the most
miles driving light duty vehicles. The vehicles must bear a prominent
designation as a plug-in electric hybrid vehicle. The department of
general administration shall develop a purchasing contract under which
state agencies and local governments may purchase plug-in electric
hybrid vehicles.
(2) Any agency that owns plug-in hybrid vehicles shall contribute
data to an economic analysis of the total life-cycle cost to the state
over the vehicle's estimated useful life, including energy inputs into
the production of the vehicle, fuel usage, and all related costs of
selection, acquisition, operation, maintenance, and disposal, as far as
these costs can reasonably be determined, minus the salvage value at
the end of the vehicle's estimated useful life.
(3) By December 31, 2009, the department of general administration
shall provide a report to the transportation and energy committees of
the senate and house of representatives on the acquisition of these
vehicles and their operational and maintenance performance.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 422 The legislature finds and declares that
greenhouse gases offset contracts, credits, and other greenhouse gases
mitigation efforts are a recognized utility purpose that confers a
direct benefit on the utility's ratepayers. The legislature declares
that this act is intended to reverse the result of Okeson v. City of
Seattle, No. 77888-4 (January 18, 2007), by expressly granting
municipal utilities and public utility districts the statutory
authority to engage in mitigation activities to offset their utility's
impact on the environment.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 423 A new section is added to chapter 35.92
RCW to read as follows:
(1) A city or town authorized to acquire and operate utilities for
the purpose of furnishing the city or town and its inhabitants and
other persons with electricity for lighting and other purposes may
develop and make publicly available a plan to reduce its greenhouse
gases emissions or achieve no-net emissions from all sources of
greenhouse gases that the utility owns, leases, uses, contracts for, or
otherwise controls.
(2) A city or town authorized to acquire and operate utilities for
the purpose of furnishing the city or town and its inhabitants and
other persons with electricity for lighting and other purposes may, as
part of its utility operation, mitigate the environmental impacts, such
as greenhouse gases emissions, of its operation and any power
purchases. The mitigation may include, but is not limited to, those
greenhouse gases mitigation mechanisms recognized by independent,
qualified organizations with proven experience in emissions mitigation
activities. Mitigation mechanisms may include the purchase, trade, and
banking of greenhouse gases offsets or credits. If a state greenhouse
gases registry is established, a utility that has purchased, traded, or
banked greenhouse gases mitigation mechanisms under this section shall
receive credit in the registry.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 424 A new section is added to chapter 54.16
RCW to read as follows:
(1) A public utility district may develop and make publicly
available a plan for the district to reduce its greenhouse gases
emissions or achieve no-net emissions from all sources of greenhouse
gases that the district owns, leases, uses, contracts for, or otherwise
controls.
(2) A public utility district may, as part of its utility
operation, mitigate the environmental impacts, such as greenhouse gases
emissions, of its operation and any power purchases. Mitigation may
include, but is not limited to, those greenhouse gases mitigation
mechanisms recognized by independent, qualified organizations with
proven experience in emissions mitigation activities. Mitigation
mechanisms may include the purchase, trade, and banking of greenhouse
gases offsets or credits. If a state greenhouse gases registry is
established, a public utility district that has purchased, traded, or
banked greenhouse gases mitigation mechanisms under this section shall
receive credit in the registry.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 425 A new section is added to chapter 82.16
RCW to read as follows:
(1) Subject to the limitations in this section, an eligible light
and power business may claim a credit against the tax imposed under
this chapter.
(2) The amount of credit is equal to two percent of the amount of
qualifying investments made each fiscal year beginning July 1, 2007, in
distributed generation, and in measures that improve, as measured in
kilowatt-hour savings, the overall efficiency of transmission,
distribution, and end-use consumption of electricity through energy
efficiency technologies, including any device, instrument, machine,
appliance, or process related to the transmission, distribution, and
consumption of electricity to increase energy efficiency, including but
not limited to smart grid technology, smart meters, and demand response
technologies.
(3) The credit may be claimed only after the qualifying investment
has been made. The credit shall be claimed against taxes due for the
same fiscal year in which the qualifying investment has been made. The
credit for each reporting period shall not exceed the amount of tax
otherwise due under this chapter for the reporting period. Credits
earned for any fiscal year shall not be carried forward or backward and
claimed against taxes due for prior or subsequent fiscal years.
Refunds may not be granted in the place of a credit. Any unused credit
expires.
(4) The total amount of credit that may be taken by an eligible
light and power business for qualifying investments in a fiscal year is
limited to its base credit plus any ratable portion of unused base
credit as calculated by the department. The balance of base credits
not used by other eligible light and power businesses may be ratably
distributed to qualifying applicants under the formula in subsection
(7)(a) of this section. The total credit shall be claimed against
taxes due for the same fiscal year in which the qualifying investments
are made.
(5) The total amount of credit, statewide, that may be taken in any
fiscal year shall not exceed one million dollars.
(6) The department of community, trade, and economic development
shall determine and certify to the department those investments made by
an eligible light and power business that qualify for the credit under
this section.
(7) Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions
in this subsection apply throughout this section.
(a) "Base credit" means the maximum amount of credit against the
tax imposed by this chapter that each eligible light and power business
may take each fiscal year as calculated by the department. The base
credit is equal to the proportionate share of in-state retail
electricity revenues received by each eligible light and power business
in the prior fiscal year that bears to the total amount of in-state
retail electricity revenues received by all eligible light and power
businesses in the prior fiscal year multiplied by one million dollars.
(b) "Eligible light and power business" means a municipal utility
formed under Title 35 RCW, a public utility district formed under Title
54 RCW, an irrigation district formed under chapter 87.03 RCW, a
cooperative formed under chapter 23.86 RCW, a mutual corporation or
association formed under chapter 24.06 RCW, or port district within
which an industrial district has been established as authorized by
Title 53 RCW, that is engaged in the business of distributing
electricity to more than one retail electric customer in the state.
(c) "Qualifying investment" means investments in distributed
generation, and those measures under subsection (2) of this section
which, at the time they are placed in the rate base, are reasonably
expected to save, produce, or generate energy at a total incremental
system cost per unit of energy delivered to end use that is less than
or equal to the incremental system cost per unit of energy delivered to
end use from new baseload or peaking electric generation and that the
eligible light and power business could acquire to meet energy demand
in the same time period.
(8) This section expires July 1, 2037.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 426 For the purposes of sections 416 through
420 of this act, the department and the commission shall review the
greenhouse gases emission performance standard established in this
chapter to determine need, applicability, and effectiveness no less
than every five years following the effective date of this section, or
upon implementation of a federal or state law or rule regulating carbon
dioxide emissions of electrical utilities, and report to the
legislature.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 501 Part headings used in this act are not any
part of the law.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 502 The following sections are codified and
recodified as a new chapter in Title 43 RCW entitled "Energy Freedom
Program":
RCW 15.110.005;
RCW 15.110.010;
RCW 15.110.020;
RCW 15.110.030;
RCW 15.110.040;
RCW 15.110.050;
RCW 15.110.060;
RCW 15.110.900;
RCW 15.110.901;
Section 204 of this act;
Section 205 of this act;
Section 304 of this act;
Section 307 of this act; and
Section 403 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 503 Sections 410 and 411 of this act
constitute a new chapter in Title
NEW SECTION. Sec. 504 Sections 412 through 415 of this act
constitute a new chapter in Title
NEW SECTION. Sec. 505 Sections 416 through 420 and 426 of this
act constitute a new chapter in Title
NEW SECTION. Sec. 506 A new section is added to chapter 43.135
RCW to read as follows:
RCW 43.135.035(4) does not apply to the transfers established in
this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 507 Sections 204 and 301 through 307 of this
act are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace,
health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing
public institutions, and take effect July 1, 2007."
E2SHB 1303 -
By Committee on Ways & Means
NOT ADOPTED 04/13/2007
On page 1, line 3 of the title, after "emissions;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "amending RCW 70.94.017, 53.08.040, 43.19.642, 15.110.010, 15.110.020, 15.110.040, 15.110.050, 15.110.060, 47.17.020, 47.17.135, and 47.17.140; adding a new section to chapter 28A.300 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 43.19 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.01 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 89.08 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 35.21 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 35.92 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 54.04 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28B.30 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 54.16 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 82.16 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.135 RCW; adding new chapters to Title 43 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 80 RCW; creating new sections; recodifying RCW 15.110.005, 15.110.010, 15.110.020, 15.110.030, 15.110.040, 15.110.050, 15.110.060, 15.110.900, and 15.110.901; providing an effective date; providing an expiration date; and declaring an emergency."