This bill amends existing law (RCW 70A.65.080) and adds a legislative finding about a March 2024 Department of Ecology study that concluded the state's only waste-to-energy system emits fewer greenhouse gases than hauling that waste to out-of-area landfills. The amendments change which entities are "covered entities" under the Washington cap-and-invest program, add and clarify exemptions and timing rules for when coverage starts, and set a new covered-entity trigger for owners or operators of countyand city-used waste-to-energy facilities whose emissions equal or exceed 25,000 metric tons CO2e, with those owners or operators becoming covered entities on January 1, 2036. The bill also preserves an exemption for certain waste-to-energy facilities permitted before 1992 (under chapter 70A.15 RCW and chapter 173-441 WAC) until January 1, 2036. The bill makes several procedural and regulatory changes: it requires the Department of Ecology (the department) to adopt, by rule and in consultation with linked jurisdictions, the Department of Commerce, and the Utilities and Transportation Commission, a methodology for addressing imported electricity associated with a centralized electricity market by October 1, 2026; prohibits assigning multiple covered entities a compliance obligation for the same emissions; allows refineries, fuel suppliers, natural gas facilities, and natural gas utilities to enter agreements to assume compliance obligations (with the department notified at least 12 months before the applicable compliance period); requires the department to notify legislative committees when a covered entity ceases to be covered; and specifies first-allowance transfer timing for sources that newly meet thresholds. The bill also adds procedural directions around permitting and life-cycle analysis for projects reviewed under chapter 43.21C RCW: the state and lead agencies must pursue greenhouse gas limits while recognizing the public interest in siting new or expanded best-in-class, lower-carbon facilities; when a life-cycle analysis is required, lead agencies must evaluate and attribute net cumulative greenhouse gas emissions compared to existing facilities or best-available or best-in-class technologies; the department may adopt rules to set the threshold for when that analysis applies; covered emissions must be included in the life-cycle analysis but may not be the basis for denying a permit; and lead or permitting agencies must allow covered or opt-in facilities to meet mitigation requirements by submitting compliance instruments equivalent to their covered emissions during a compliance period. The text supplied is incomplete in places. Several definitions (for example, “first jurisdictional deliverer,” “specified/unspecified imported electricity,” “covered emissions,” “opt-in entity,” and the department referenced for some duties) and the remainder of one subsection are not present here, and the bill text shows formatting artifacts that may obscure precise wording. No new crimes or penalties are created in the provided text; the changes are regulatory and procedural.

If enacted, owners or operators of waste-to-energy plants that serve county or city solid waste programs and emit at least 25,000 metric tons CO2e will likely face cap-and-invest compliance obligations starting in 2036, meaning they will need to acquire allowances or other compliance instruments and factor those costs into operations or contracts; facilities permitted before 1992 that meet specific permit rules get an exemption until 2036, delaying those costs. The Department of Ecology will have new rulemaking duties (including by October 1, 2026 a method for counting imported electricity) and must prevent double-counting of obligations, accept 12-month-notified agreements transferring compliance obligations among refineries, fuel suppliers and gas utilities, and notify the legislature when entities stop being covered—so regulated companies gain more contractual options for who holds compliance responsibility, while state agencies take on added rulemaking, notification, and oversight work. Permitting for new or expanded projects will change in practice: lead agencies must include an entity’s covered emissions in life-cycle analyses but may not deny permits solely because of those covered emissions, and covered or opt-in facilities can meet mitigation requirements by submitting compliance instruments for their covered emissions, creating an option to comply through the market rather than only through project-specific mitigation. Key implementation details and some definitions (for example, exact terms for “covered emissions,” opt-in procedures, and full exemption mechanics) are not present in the extracted text, so precise cost and timing implications for some affected parties remain uncertain.