The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
"Active limited purpose landfill" means a limited purpose landfill that has accepted or is accepting solid waste for disposal and has not been closed in accordance with the requirements set forth in chapter 173-350 WAC as those requirements existed on January 10, 2022.
"Active municipal solid waste landfill" means a municipal solid waste landfill that has accepted or is accepting solid waste for disposal and has not been closed in accordance with the requirements set forth in WAC 173-351-500 as it existed on January 10, 2022.
"Air pollution" is presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or more air contaminants in sufficient quantities and of such characteristics and duration as is, or is likely to be, injurious to human health, plant or animal life, or property, or which unreasonably interfere with enjoyment of life and property. For the purpose of this chapter, air pollution does not include air contaminants emitted in compliance with chapter 17.21 RCW.
"Ambient air" means the surrounding outside air.
"Authority" means any air pollution control agency whose jurisdictional boundaries are coextensive with the boundaries of one or more counties.
"Closed limited purpose landfill" means a limited purpose landfill that is no longer accepting solid waste for disposal and has been closed in accordance with the requirements set forth in chapter 173-350 WAC as those requirements existed on January 10, 2022.
"Closed municipal solid waste landfill" means a municipal solid waste landfill that is no longer accepting solid waste for disposal and has been closed in accordance with the requirements set forth in WAC 173-351-500 as it existed on January 10, 2022.
"Department" means the department of ecology.
"Emission" means a release of air contaminants into the ambient air.
"Gas collection system" means any system that employs various gas collection wells and connected piping, and mechanical blowers, fans, pumps, or compressors to create a pressure gradient and actively extract landfill gas.
"Gas control device" means any device used to dispose of or treat collected landfill gas including, but not limited to, enclosed flares, internal combustion engines, boilers and boiler-to-steam turbine systems, fuel cells, and gas turbines.
"Gas control system" means any system that disposes of or treats collected landfill gas by one or more of the following means: Combustion; gas treatment for subsequent sale, or sale for processing offsite, including for transportation fuel and injection into a natural gas pipeline.
"Limited purpose landfill" means a landfill that is not an inert waste landfill and receives or has received only solid wastes that are designated as nonhazardous and that are not municipal solid wastes.
"Municipal solid waste landfill" means a discrete area of land or an excavation that receives household waste and that is not a land application site, surface impoundment, injection well, or pile.
"Person" means an individual, firm, public or private corporation, association, partnership, political subdivision of the state, municipality, or governmental agency.
This chapter applies to all municipal solid waste landfills and limited purpose landfills that received solid waste after January 1, 1977, except as provided in subsection (2) of this section.
This chapter does not apply to the following landfills:
Landfills that receive only hazardous waste, or are currently regulated under the comprehensive environmental response, compensation, and liability act, 42 U.S.C. chapter 103; and
Landfills that receive only inert waste or nondecomposable wastes.
The department must adopt rules to implement this chapter. The rules adopted by the department must be informed by landfill methane regulations adopted by the California air resources board, the Oregon environmental quality commission, and the United States environmental protection agency.
Each owner or operator of an active municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill having fewer than 450,000 tons of waste in place must submit an annual waste in place report to the department or local authority pursuant to section 7 of this act.
The waste in place report must be prepared for the period of January 1st through December 31st of each year. The report must be submitted to the department or local authority during the subsequent calendar year, with the date of submission to be established by rule as adopted by the department.
The waste in place report must be submitted annually until either:
The municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill reaches a size greater than or equal to 450,000 tons of waste in place; or
The owner or operator submits a closure notification pursuant to section 7 of this act.
Each owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill having greater than or equal to 450,000 tons of waste in place must calculate the landfill gas heat input capacity pursuant to section 8 of this act and the department's implementing rules and must submit a landfill gas heat input capacity report to the department or local authority.
than 3,000,000 British thermal units per hour recovered, the owner or operator must:
i. Recalculate the landfill gas heat input capacity annually using the procedures specified in section 8 of this act and the department's implementing rules; and
ii. Submit an annual landfill gas heat input capacity report to the department or local authority until either of the following conditions are met:
(A) The calculated landfill gas heat input capacity is greater than or equal to 3,000,000 British thermal units per hour recovered; or
(B) If the municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill is active, the owner or operator submits a closure notification pursuant to section 7 of this act.
b. If the landfill gas heat input capacity is greater than or equal to 3,000,000 British thermal units per hour recovered, the owner or operator must either:
i. Comply with the requirements of this chapter and the department's implementing rules; or
ii. Demonstrate to the satisfaction of the department or local authority that after four consecutive quarterly monitoring periods there is no measured concentration of methane of 200 parts per million by volume or greater using the instantaneous surface monitoring procedures specified in section 8 of this act and the department's implementing rules. Based on the monitoring results, the owner or operator must do one of the following:
(A) If there is any measured concentration of methane of 200 parts per million by volume or greater from the surface of an active, inactive, or closed municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill, comply with this chapter and the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act;
(B) If there is no measured concentration of methane of 200 parts per million by volume or greater from the surface of an active municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill, recalculate the landfill gas heat input capacity annually as required in (a) of this subsection until such time that the owner or operator submits a closure notification pursuant to section 7 of this act and the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act; or
(C) If there is no measured concentration of methane of 200 parts per million by volume or greater from the surface of a closed or inactive municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill, the requirements of this chapter and the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act no longer apply, provided that the following information is submitted to and approved by the department or local authority:
(I) A waste in place report pursuant to section 7 of this act and the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act; and
(II) All instantaneous surface monitoring records.
The owner or operator of any municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill that has a calculated landfill gas heat input capacity greater than or equal to 3,000,000 British thermal units per hour recovered must install a gas collection and control system that meets the requirements of this section and the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act, unless the owner or operator demonstrates to the satisfaction of the department or local authority that after four consecutive quarterly monitoring periods there is no measured concentration of methane of 200 parts per million by volume or greater using the instantaneous surface monitoring procedures specified in section 8 of this act and the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act.
The gas collection and control system must handle the expected gas generation flow rate from the entire area of the municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill and must collect gas at an extraction rate to comply with the surface methane emission limits set forth in section 5 of this act and the department's implementing rules.
The gas collection and control system must be designed and operated so that there is no landfill gas leak that exceeds 500 parts per million by volume, measured as methane, at any component under positive pressure.
The gas collection and control system, if it uses a flare, must use either an enclosed flare or, if the system uses an open flare, the open flare must comply with the following requirements:
The open flare must meet the requirements of 40 C.F.R. Sec. 60.18 (as last amended by 73 Fed. Reg. 78209, December 22, 2008);
An open flare installed and operating prior to August 1, 2022, may operate until January 1, 2032, unless the owner or operator demonstrates to the satisfaction of the department or local authority that the landfill gas heat input capacity is less than 3,000,000 British thermal units per hour pursuant to section 8 of this act and the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act and is insufficient to support the continuous operation of an enclosed flare or other gas control device; and
The owner or operator may temporarily operate an open flare during the repair or maintenance of the gas control system, or while awaiting the installation of an enclosed flare, or to address offsite gas migration issues. Any owner or operator seeking to temporarily operate an open flare must submit a written request to the department or local authority pursuant to section 10 of this act and the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act.
If the gas collection and control system does not use a flare, it must either route the collected gas to an energy recovery device or devices, or must route the collected gas to a treatment system that processes the collected gas for subsequent sale or use.
If a gas collection and control system routes the collected gas to an energy recovery device or devices, the device or devices must comply with the following requirements:
The device or devices must achieve a methane destruction efficiency of at least 99 percent by weight; and
If a boiler or a process heater is used as the gas control device, the landfill gas stream must be introduced into the flame zone, except that where the landfill gas is not the primary fuel for the boiler or process heater, introduction of the landfill gas stream into the flame zone is not required.
The owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill must conduct an annual source test for any gas control device or devices subject to this section using the test methods identified in section 8 of this act and the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act.
Except as provided in section 4 of this act, beginning January 1st of the year following the year in which the department adopts rules to implement this chapter, or upon commencing operation of a newly installed gas collection and control system or modification of an existing gas collection and control system pursuant to section 4 of this act, whichever is later, no location on a municipal solid waste landfill surface or limited purpose landfill surface may exceed either of the following methane concentration limits:
Five hundred parts per million by volume, other than nonrepeatable, momentary readings, as determined by instantaneous surface emissions monitoring; and
An average methane concentration limit of 25 parts per million by volume as determined by integrated surface emissions monitoring.
The requirements of this section do not apply to:
The working face of the landfill;
Areas of the landfill surface where the landfill cover material has been removed for the purpose of installing, expanding, replacing, or repairing components of the landfill cover system, the landfill gas collection and control system, the leachate collection and removal system, or a landfill gas condensate collection and removal system; or
Areas of the landfill surface where the landfill cover material has been removed for law enforcement activities requiring excavation.
The owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill with a gas collection and control system must conduct instantaneous and integrated surface monitoring of the landfill surface according to the requirements specified in implementing rules adopted by the department pursuant to section 2 of this act.
The owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill with a gas collection and control system must monitor the gas control system according to the requirements specified in implementing rules adopted by the department pursuant to section 2 of this act.
The owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill with a gas collection and control system must monitor each individual wellhead to determine the gauge pressure according to the requirements specified in implementing rules adopted by the department pursuant to section 2 of this act.
The owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill must maintain records and prepare reports as prescribed in this section and in the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act.
The owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill must maintain records related to monitoring, testing, landfill operations, and the operation of the gas control device, gas collection system, and gas control system. The records must be provided by the owner or operator to the department or local authority within five business days of a request from the department or local authority.
The owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill that ceases to accept waste must submit a closure notification to the department or local authority within 30 days of ceasing to accept waste.
The owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill must submit a gas collection and control system equipment removal report to the department or local authority 30 days prior to well capping or the removal or cessation of operation of the gas collection, treatment, or control system equipment.
The owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill with 450,000 or more tons of waste in place must prepare an annual report for the period of January 1st through December 31st of each year. The annual report must include a calculation of landfill gas heat input capacity. Each annual report must be submitted to the department and local authority during the subsequent calendar year, with the date of submission to be established through rules adopted by the department.
The owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill with fewer than 450,000 tons of waste in place must submit a waste in place report to the department or local authority.
Any instrument used for the measurement of methane must be a hydrocarbon detector or other equivalent instrument approved by the department or local authority based on standards adopted by the department that address calibration, specifications, and performance criteria.
The determination of landfill gas heat input capacity must be calculated consistent with the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act.
The owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill must measure the landfill surface concentration of methane using a hydrocarbon detector meeting the requirements of this section and the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act.
The owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill must measure leaks using a hydrocarbon detector meeting the requirements of this section and the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act.
The expected gas generation flow rate must be determined according to the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act.
The control device destruction efficiency must be determined according to the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act.
Gauge pressure must be determined using a hand-held manometer, magnehelic gauge, or other pressure measuring device approved by the department or local authority.
Alternative test methods may be used if they are approved in writing by the department or local authority.
The department or local authority must allow the capping or removal of the gas collection and control system at a closed municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill, provided the following three requirements are met:
The gas collection and control system was in operation for at least 15 years, unless the owner or operator demonstrates to the satisfaction of the department or local authority that due to declining methane rates, the municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill will be unable to operate the gas collection and control system for a 15 year period;
Surface methane concentration measurements do not exceed the limits specified in section 5 of this act; and
The owner or operator submits an equipment removal report to the department or local authority pursuant to section 7 of this act and the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act.
Nothing in this section may be interpreted to modify or supersede requirements related to the capping or removal of gas collection and control systems that may exist under the state clean air act, the federal clean air act, or rules adopted pursuant to either the state clean air act or the federal clean air act.
The owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill may request alternatives to the compliance measures, monitoring requirements, and test methods and procedures set forth in sections 4, 6, and 8 of this act, and the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act. Any alternatives requested by the owner or operator must be submitted in writing to the department.
The criteria that the department may use to evaluate alternative compliance option requests include, but are not limited to: Compliance history; documentation containing the landfill gas flow rate and measured methane concentrations for individual gas collection wells or components; permits; component testing and surface monitoring results; gas collection and control system operation, maintenance, and inspection records; and historical meteorological data.
The department must review the requested alternatives and either approve or disapprove the alternatives within 120 days. The department may request that additional information be submitted as part of the review of the requested alternatives.
If a request for an alternative compliance option is denied, the department must provide written reasons for the denial.
The department must deny a request for alternative compliance measures if the request does not provide levels of enforceability or methane emissions control that are equivalent to those set forth in this chapter or in the department's implementing rules adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act.
The department or local authority may request that any owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill or limited purpose landfill demonstrate that a landfill does not meet the applicability criteria specified in section 2 of this act. Such a demonstration must be submitted to the department or local authority within 90 days of a written request received from the department or local authority.
Any person who violates this chapter or any rules that implement this chapter may incur a civil penalty pursuant to RCW 70A.15.3160.
The department and local authorities may assess and collect such fees as may be necessary to recover the direct and indirect costs associated with the implementation of this chapter.
This section modifies existing section 70A.65.080. Here is the modified chapter for context.
A person is a covered entity as of the beginning of the first compliance period and all subsequent compliance periods if the person reported emissions under RCW 70A.15.2200 for any calendar year from 2015 through 2019, or if additional data provided as required by this chapter indicates that emissions for any calendar year from 2015 through 2019 equaled or exceeded any of the following thresholds, or if the person is a first jurisdictional deliverer and imports electricity into the state during the compliance period:
Where the person owns or operates a facility and the facility's emissions equal or exceed 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent;
Where the person is a first jurisdictional deliverer and generates electricity in the state and emissions associated with this generation equals or exceeds 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent;
Where the person is a first jurisdictional deliverer importing electricity into the state and the cumulative annual total of emissions associated with the imported electricity, whether from specified or unspecified sources, exceeds 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. In consultation with any linked jurisdiction to the program created by this chapter, by October 1, 2026, the department, in consultation with the department of commerce and the utilities and transportation commission, shall adopt by rule a methodology for addressing imported electricity associated with a centralized electricity market;
Where the person is a supplier of fossil fuel other than natural gas and from that fuel 25,000 metric tons or more of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions would result from the full combustion or oxidation, excluding the amounts for fuel products that are produced or imported with a documented final point of delivery outside of Washington and combusted outside of Washington; and
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Where the person supplies natural gas in amounts that would result in exceeding 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions if fully combusted or oxidized, excluding the amounts for fuel products that are produced or imported with a documented final point of delivery outside of Washington and combusted outside of Washington, and excluding the amounts: (A) Supplied to covered entities under (a) through (d) of this subsection; and (B) delivered to opt-in entities;
Where the person who is not a natural gas company and has a tariff with a natural gas company to deliver to an end-use customer in the state in amounts that would result in exceeding 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions if fully combusted or oxidized, excluding the amounts: (A) Supplied to covered entities under (a) through (d) of this subsection; and (B) the amounts delivered to opt-in entities;
Where the person is an end-use customer in the state who directly purchases natural gas from a person that is not a natural gas company and has the natural gas delivered through an interstate pipeline to a distribution system owned by the purchaser in amounts that would result in exceeding 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions if fully combusted or oxidized, excluding the amounts: (A) Supplied to covered entities under (a) through (d) of this subsection; and (B) delivered to opt-in entities.
A person is a covered entity as of the beginning of the second compliance period and all subsequent compliance periods if the person reported emissions under RCW 70A.15.2200 or provided emissions data as required by this chapter for any calendar year from 2023 through 2025, where the person owns or operates a waste to energy facility utilized by a county and city solid waste management program and the facility's emissions equal or exceed 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
A person is a covered entity beginning January 1, 2031, and all subsequent compliance periods if the person reported emissions under RCW 70A.15.2200 or provided emissions data as required by this chapter for any calendar year from 2027 through 2029, where the person owns or operates a
railroad company, as that term is defined in RCW 81.04.010, and the railroad company's emissions equal or exceed 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
When a covered entity reports, during a compliance period, emissions from a facility under RCW 70A.15.2200 that are below the thresholds specified in subsection (1) or (2) of this section, the covered entity continues to have a compliance obligation through the current compliance period. When a covered entity reports emissions below the threshold for each year during an entire compliance period, or has ceased all processes at the facility requiring reporting under RCW 70A.15.2200, the entity is no longer a covered entity as of the beginning of the subsequent compliance period unless the department provides notice at least 12 months before the end of the compliance period that the facility's emissions were within 10 percent of the threshold and that the person will continue to be designated as a covered entity in order to ensure equity among all covered entities. Whenever a covered entity ceases to be a covered entity, the department shall notify the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the legislature of the name of the entity and the reason the entity is no longer a covered entity.
For types of emission sources described in subsection (1) of this section that begin or modify operation after January 1, 2023, and types of emission sources described in subsection (2) of this section that begin or modify operation after 2027, coverage under the program starts in the calendar year in which emissions from the source exceed the applicable thresholds in subsection (1) or (2) of this section, or upon formal notice from the department that the source is expected to exceed the applicable emissions threshold, whichever happens first. Sources meeting these conditions are required to transfer their first allowances on the first transfer deadline of the year following the year in which their emissions were equal to or exceeded the emissions threshold.
For emission sources described in subsection (1) of this section that are in operation or otherwise active between 2015 and 2019 but were not required to report emissions for those years under RCW 70A.15.2200 for the reporting periods between 2015 and 2019, coverage under the program starts in the calendar year following the year in which emissions from the source exceed the applicable thresholds in subsection (1) of this section as reported pursuant to RCW 70A.15.2200 or provided as required by this chapter, or upon formal notice from the department that the source is expected to exceed the applicable emissions threshold for the first year that source is required to report emissions, whichever happens first. Sources meeting these criteria are required to transfer their first allowances on the first transfer deadline of the year following the year in which their emissions, as reported under RCW 70A.15.2200 or provided as required by this chapter, were equal to or exceeded the emissions threshold.
The following emissions are exempt from coverage in the program, regardless of the emissions reported under RCW 70A.15.2200 or provided as required by this chapter:
Emissions from the combustion of aviation fuels;
Emissions from watercraft fuels supplied in Washington that are combusted outside of Washington;
Emissions from a coal-fired electric generation facility exempted from additional greenhouse gas limitations, requirements, or performance standards under RCW 80.80.110;
Carbon dioxide emissions from the combustion of biomass or biofuels;
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Motor vehicle fuel or special fuel that is used exclusively for agricultural purposes by a farm fuel user. This exemption is available only if a buyer of motor vehicle fuel or special fuel provides the seller with an exemption certificate in a form and manner prescribed by the department. For the purposes of this subsection, "agricultural purposes" and "farm fuel user" have the same meanings as provided in RCW 82.08.865.
The department must determine a method for expanding the exemption provided under (e)(i) of this subsection to include fuels used for the purpose of transporting agricultural products on public highways. The department must maintain this expanded exemption for a period of five years, in order to provide the agricultural sector with a feasible transition period;
Emissions from facilities with North American industry classification system code 92811 (national security); and
Emissions from municipal solid waste landfills and limited purpose landfills that are subject to, and in compliance with, chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 16 of this act).
The department shall not require multiple covered entities to have a compliance obligation for the same emissions. The department may by rule authorize refineries, fuel suppliers, facilities using natural gas, and natural gas utilities to provide by agreement for the assumption of the compliance obligation for fuel or natural gas supplied and combusted in the state. The department must be notified of such an agreement at least 12 months prior to the compliance obligation period for which the agreement is applicable.
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The legislature intends to promote a growing and sustainable economy and to avoid leakage of emissions from manufacturing to other locations. The legislature further intends to see innovative new businesses locate and grow in Washington that contribute to Washington's prosperity and environmental objectives.
Consistent with the intent of the legislature to avoid the leakage of emissions to other jurisdictions, in achieving the state's greenhouse gas limits in RCW 70A.45.020, the state, including lead agencies under chapter 43.21C RCW, shall pursue the limits in a manner that recognizes that the siting and placement of new or expanded best-in-class facilities with lower carbon emitting processes is in the economic and environmental interests of the state of Washington.
In conducting a life-cycle analysis, if required, for new or expanded facilities that require review under chapter 43.21C RCW, a lead agency must evaluate and attribute any potential net cumulative greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the project as compared to other existing facilities or best available technology including best-in-class facilities and emerging lower carbon processes that supply the same product or end use. The department may adopt rules to determine the appropriate threshold for applying this analysis.
Covered emissions from an entity that is or will be a covered entity under this chapter may not be the basis for denial of a permit for a new or expanded facility. Covered emissions must be included in the analysis undertaken pursuant to (c) of this subsection. Nothing in this subsection requires a lead agency or a permitting agency to approve or issue a permit to a permit applicant, including to a new or expanded fossil fuel project.
A lead agency under chapter 43.21C RCW or a permitting agency shall allow a new or expanded facility that is a covered entity or opt-in entity to satisfy a mitigation requirement for its covered emissions under chapter 316, Laws of 2021 and under any greenhouse gas emission mitigation requirements for covered emissions under chapter 43.21C RCW by submitting to the department the number of compliance instruments equivalent to its covered emissions during a compliance period.
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.