title: RCW 70A.565.020

text:
(1) Beginning January 1, 2027, no manufacturer may manufacture, sell, offer for sale, distribute for sale, or distribute for use in this state aluminum or brass cookware, aluminum or brass utensils, or an aluminum or brass cookware component containing lead that has been intentionally added.
(2)(a) Beginning January 1, 2026, no manufacturer may manufacture, sell, offer for sale, distribute for sale, or distribute for use in this state aluminum or brass cookware, aluminum or brass utensils, or an aluminum or brass cookware component containing lead or lead compounds at a level of more than 90 parts per million, for items manufactured on or after January 1, 2026.
(b) Beginning January 1, 2030, no manufacturer may manufacture, sell, offer for sale, distribute for sale, or distribute for use in this state aluminum or brass pots or pans or aluminum or brass pot or pan components containing lead or lead compounds at a level of more than 50 parts per million, for items manufactured on or after January 1, 2030.
(c) Beginning January 1, 2034, no manufacturer may manufacture, sell, offer for sale, distribute for sale, or distribute for use in this state aluminum or brass pots or pans or aluminum or brass pot or pan components containing lead or lead compounds at a level of more than 20 parts per million, for items manufactured on or after January 1, 2034. The department may exempt, as appropriate, cookware and cookware components from the restrictions in this subsection (2)(c), consistent with rules adopted under RCW 70A.350.120.
(3)(a) No retailer or wholesaler may knowingly sell or knowingly offer for sale for use in this state aluminum or brass cookware, aluminum or brass utensils, or an aluminum or brass cookware component containing lead or lead compounds at a level of more than 90 parts per million, beginning January 1, 2026, for items manufactured on or after January 1, 2026.
(b) Beginning January 1, 2030, no retailer or wholesaler may knowingly sell or knowingly offer for sale for use in this state aluminum or brass pots or pans or aluminum or brass pot or pan components containing lead or lead compounds at a level of more than 50 parts per million, for items manufactured on or after January 1, 2030.
(c) Beginning January 1, 2034, no retailer or wholesaler may knowingly sell or knowingly offer for sale for use in this state aluminum or brass pots or pans or aluminum or brass pot or pan components containing lead or lead compounds at a level of more than 20 parts per million, for items manufactured on or after January 1, 2034. The department may exempt, as appropriate, cookware and cookware components from the restrictions in this subsection (3)(c), consistent with rules adopted under RCW 70A.350.120.
(d) Retailers or wholesalers who unknowingly sell products that are restricted from sale under this chapter are not liable under this chapter.
(e) The sale or purchase of any previously owned aluminum or brass cookware, aluminum or brass utensils, or aluminum or brass cookware components containing lead made in casual or isolated sales as defined in RCW 82.04.040, or by a nonprofit organization, is exempt from this chapter.
(4) Nothing in this chapter limits the authority of the department with respect to lead in cookware, cookware components, or utensils under chapter 70A.350 RCW. To the extent that there is any conflict, any regulatory determination made by the department under chapter 70A.350 RCW with regard to lead in aluminum or brass cookware, cookware components, or utensils supersedes the 90, 50, and 20 parts per million limits established in this section. A regulatory determination may, consistent with chapter 70A.350 RCW, apply to cookware, cookware components, or utensils that are excluded from the restrictions in this chapter.
[ 2026 c 110 s 2; 2025 c 266 s 2; 2024 c 340 s 2.]

catchline: Prohibition on the sale of cookware containing lead.


doc_type: statute

jurisdiction: wa

title: RCW 70A.565.030

text:
(1) The department may adopt rules as necessary for the purpose of implementing, administering, and enforcing this chapter.
(2) A person violating a requirement of this chapter, a rule adopted under this chapter, or an order issued under this chapter, is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each violation in the case of a first offense. Repeat violations are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each repeat offense.
(3) Any penalty provided for in this section, and any order issued by the department under this chapter, may be appealed to the pollution control hearings board.
(4) All penalties collected under this chapter shall be deposited in the model toxics control operating account created in RCW 70A.305.180.
[ 2024 c 340 s 3.]

license: public-domain-government-work

rule_set: Revised Code of Washington

catchline: Adoption of rules—Penalty.

code: rcw

unit: section

court: Washington State Legislature


title: RCW 70A.565.040

text:
As part of its implementation of this chapter, the department shall develop and make available guidance to manufacturers. The guidance must address, at a minimum, covered items, available test methods for determining total lead content, the department's approach to compliance, and the department's testing procedure for enforcement purposes. If available, the guidance should also include information about technical assistance.
[ 2026 c 110 s 3.]

catchline: Implementation—Department guidance.


title: RCW 70A.60.005

text:
(1) The legislature finds that hydrofluorocarbons are air pollutants that pose significant threats to our environment. Although hydrofluorocarbons currently represent a small proportion of the state's greenhouse gas emissions, emissions of hydrofluorocarbons have been rapidly increasing in the United States and worldwide, and they are hundreds to thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide. In 2019, the legislature took a significant step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions from hydrofluorocarbons by transitioning to the use of less damaging hydrofluorocarbons or suitable substitutes in certain new foam, aerosol, and refrigerant uses. However, significant sources of hydrofluorocarbon emissions in Washington remain unaddressed by the 2019 legislation, including legacy uses of hydrofluorocarbons as a refrigerant in infrastructure that was installed prior to the effective dates of the restrictions in the 2019 law, and from sources like stationary air conditioners and heat pumps that were not covered by the 2019 law.
(2) Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to reduce hydrofluorocarbon emissions, including by:
(a) Authorizing the establishment of a maximum global warming potential threshold for hydrofluorocarbons used as a refrigerant;
(b) Authorizing the regulation of hydrofluorocarbons in air conditioning and heat pumps;
(c) Applying the same basic emission control requirements to hydrofluorocarbons that have long applied to ozone-depleting substances used as refrigerants;
(d) Establishing a program to reduce leaks and encourage refrigerant recovery from large refrigeration and air conditioning systems;
(e) Directing the state building code council to adopt codes that are consistent with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with hydrofluorocarbons;
(f) Establishing a state procurement preference for recycled refrigerants; and
(g) Allowing consideration of the global warming potential of refrigerants used in equipment incentivized under utility conservation programs.
(3) Furthermore, it is the intent of the legislature that the ice rink used by Seattle's newest hockey franchise, the Seattle Kraken, should be as cold as possible, but also should be refrigerated using climate-friendly refrigerants, so that on opening night of the 2021-2022 National Hockey League season, as many fans as possible can simultaneously yell the Pacific Northwest's favorite new phrase: 'Release the Kraken!'
[ 2021 c 315 s 1.]

catchline: Finding—Intent.


title: RCW 70A.60.010

text:
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1)(a) "Air conditioning" means the process of treating air to meet the requirements of a conditioned space by controlling its temperature, humidity, cleanliness, or distribution.
(b)(i) "Air conditioning" includes chillers.
(ii) "Air conditioning" includes heat pumps.
(c) "Air conditioning" applies to stationary air conditioning equipment and does not apply to mobile air conditioning, including those used in motor vehicles, rail and trains, aircraft, watercraft, recreational vehicles, recreational trailers, and campers.
(2) "Bulk" means:
(a) The same as defined in 40 C.F.R. Sec. 84.3, as it existed on July 27, 2025; or
(b) An updated definition adopted by rule by the department under RCW 70A.60.100(2)(c).
(3) "Class I substance" and "class II substance" means those substances listed in 42 U.S.C. Sec. 7671a, as of November 15, 1990, or those substances listed in Appendix A or B of Subpart A of 40 C.F.R. Part 82, as of January 3, 2017.
(4) "Department" means the department of ecology.
(5) "Hydrofluorocarbons" means a class of greenhouse gases that are saturated organic compounds containing hydrogen, fluorine, and carbon.
(6) "Ice rink" means a frozen body of water, hardened chemicals, or both, including, but not limited to, professional ice skating rinks and those used by the general public for recreational purposes.
(7) "Low global warming potential" means a global warming potential of less than 150 carbon dioxide equivalents.
(8) "Manufacturer" includes any person, firm, association, partnership, corporation, governmental entity, organization, or joint venture that produces any product that contains or uses hydrofluorocarbons or is an importer or domestic distributor of such a product.
(9) "Newly produced refrigerant" means a refrigerant that has not been previously used, recovered, or reclaimed. Newly produced refrigerant is sometimes referred to as "virgin" refrigerant.
(10) "Person" means an individual, partnership, franchise holder, association, corporation, a state, a city, a county, or any subdivision or instrumentality of the state.
(11) "Reclaim" means:
(a) The reprocessing of regulated substances to all of the specifications in appendix A to 40 C.F.R. Part 82, Subpart F (based on air-conditioning, heating, and refrigeration institute standard 700-2016), as it existed on July 27, 2025, that are applicable to that regulated substance and to verify that the regulated substance meets these specifications using the analytical methodology prescribed in section 5 of appendix A to 40 C.F.R. Part 82, Subpart F, as those regulations existed on July 27, 2025, and do not contain more than 15 percent newly produced material by weight, pursuant to federal regulations at 40 C.F.R. Part 84, Subpart C, as it existed on July 27, 2025; or
(b) An updated definition adopted by rule by the department under RCW 70A.60.100(2)(c).
(12) "Refrigeration equipment" or "refrigeration system" means any stationary device that is designed to contain and use refrigerant. "Refrigeration equipment" includes refrigeration equipment used in retail food, cold storage, industrial process refrigeration and cooling that does not use a chiller, ice rinks, and other refrigeration applications.
(13) "Regulated refrigerant" means a class I or class II substance as listed in Title VI of section 602 of the federal clean air act amendments of November 15, 1990.
(14) "Residential consumer refrigeration products" has the same meaning as defined in section 430.2 of Subpart A of 10 C.F.R. Part 430 (2017).
(15) "Retrofit" has the same meaning as defined in section 152 of Subpart F of 40 C.F.R. Part 82, as that section existed as of January 3, 2017.
(16) "Substitute" means a chemical, product, or alternative manufacturing process, whether existing or new, that is used to perform a function previously performed by a class I substance or class II substance and any chemical, product, or alternative manufacturing process subsequently developed, adapted, or adopted to perform that function including, but not limited to, hydrofluorocarbons. "Substitute" does not include 2-BTP or any compound as applied to its use in aerospace fire extinguishing systems.
(17) "Transshipment" means the shipment of a regulated substance through the state of Washington from one point outside the state of Washington to another point outside the state of Washington, as long as the shipment does not enter commerce in Washington.
(18) "Ultra-low global warming potential" means a global warming potential of less than 10 carbon dioxide equivalents.
[ 2025 c 313 s 5; 2021 c 315 s 2.]
Notes:
Reviser's note: The definitions in this section have been alphabetized pursuant to RCW 1.08.015(2)(k).
Findings—Intent—2025 c 313: See note following RCW 70A.60.100.

catchline: Definitions.


title: RCW 70A.60.020

text:
(1) Within 12 months of another state's enactment or adoption of restrictions on substitutes applicable to new light duty vehicles, the department may adopt restrictions applicable to the sale, lease, rental, or other introduction into commerce by a manufacturer of new light duty vehicles consistent with the restrictions identified in appendix B, Subpart G of 40 C.F.R. Part 82, as of January 3, 2017. The department may apply an effective date to the restrictions adopted under this subsection that differs from the effective date of the restrictions adopted by another state, but the department may not adopt restrictions that take effect prior to the effective date of restrictions adopted or enacted in at least one other state.
(2) The department may adopt rules that establish a maximum global warming potential of 750 for substitutes used in new stationary air conditioning. Rules adopted under this subsection may not take effect prior to:
(a) January 1, 2023, for dehumidifiers and room air conditioners;
(b)(i) January 1, 2025, for other types of stationary air conditioning equipment, but only if before January 1, 2023, the state building code council adopts the following safety standards into the state building code as these standards existed as of January 1, 2022:
(A) American society of heating, refrigerating, and air-conditioning engineers standard 15;
(B) American society of heating, refrigerating, and air-conditioning engineers standard 15.2;
(C) American society of heating, refrigerating, and air-conditioning engineers standard 34; and
(D) Underwriters laboratories standard UL 60335-2-40 edition 4;
(ii) If the state building code council adopts the safety standards referenced in (b)(i) of this subsection after January 1, 2023, the restrictions of this subsection may apply to refrigeration equipment manufactured no earlier than 24 months after the adoption of the safety standards; and
(c) January 1, 2026, for systems with variable refrigerant flow or volume.
(3)(a) Consistent with the timeline established in (b) of this subsection, the department may adopt rules to prohibit the use of refrigerant substitutes that have a global warming potential of greater than 150 for use in refrigeration equipment containing more than 50 pounds of refrigerant;
(b)(i) The restrictions in (a) of this subsection must apply to new refrigeration equipment manufactured after December 31, 2024, but only if before January 1, 2023, the state building code council adopts the following safety standards into the state building code, as these standards existed as of January 1, 2022:
(A) American society of heating, refrigerating, and air-conditioning engineers standard 15;
(B) American society of heating, refrigerating, and air-conditioning engineers standard 34; and
(C) Underwriters laboratories standard UL 60335-2-89 edition 2;
(ii) If the state building code council adopts the safety standards referenced in (b)(i) of this subsection after January 1, 2023, the restrictions of (a) of this subsection may apply to refrigeration equipment manufactured no earlier than 24 months after the adoption of the safety standards.
(4) The department shall prohibit the use of refrigerant substitutes that have a global warming potential of greater than:
(a) One hundred fifty for use in new equipment manufactured after December 31, 2023, for installation in new ice rinks; and
(b) Seven hundred fifty for use in new equipment manufactured after December 31, 2023, for installation in existing ice rinks.
(5)(a) The department, in rules adopted to implement this section, may establish reporting, labeling, and recordkeeping requirements applicable to regulated facilities and persons. To the extent practicable, rules adopted under this section must be harmonized with reporting, labeling, or recordkeeping requirements established under RCW 70A.60.030.
(b) To the extent practicable, the department must adopt rules to implement this section that are consistent with similar programs in other states that reduce emissions from refrigerants.
(c) The department may adopt rules to grant variances from the requirements of this section.
(d) Restrictions adopted by the department under this section are additional to specific restrictions on applications and end uses established in RCW 70A.60.060.
(6)(a) Prior to adopting final rules to implement restrictions under subsection (2) or (3) of this section, the department must review the availability and affordability of:
(i) Equipment that meets applicable global warming potential requirements;
(ii) Refrigerants that meet applicable global warming potential requirements; and
(iii) Appropriate training to utilize equipment that meets applicable global warming potential requirements.
(b) After the review required under (a) of this subsection, the department is encouraged to consider delaying the effective date of restrictions under this section in the event that the department determines that significant training or compliant equipment or refrigerant availability and affordability limitations are expected to occur.
[ 2021 c 315 s 8.]
Notes:
Effective date—2021 c 315 s 8: "Section 8 of this act takes effect January 1, 2022." [ 2021 c 315 s 22.]


title: RCW 70A.60.030

text:
(1) The department shall establish a refrigerant management program designed to reduce emissions of refrigerants, including regulated substances and their substitutes, from activities or equipment responsible for significant volumes of such emissions. The program must include, at minimum, larger stationary refrigeration systems and larger commercial air conditioning systems. The department must adopt rules to implement and enforce the requirements of this section. The department may require compliance with refrigerant management program requirements beginning no earlier than January 1, 2024, and no earlier than the adjournment of the regular legislative session following the submission of a report to the appropriate committees of the legislature by the department estimating leakage of refrigerants from existing systems in Washington, and estimating a statewide rate of leakage from the categories of systems that are subject to the refrigerant management program rules adopted by the department under this section.
(2)(a) The department shall exempt refrigeration and air conditioning equipment operations associated with de minimis emissions or with a de minimis charging capacity of less than 50 pounds in a single system from registration, reporting, and leak detection requirements established in this section. The department shall exempt from the requirements established in this section equipment that uses refrigerants with a global warming potential of less than 150 and that are not class I or class II substances.
(b) The department may scale the requirements adopted under this section based on the size of the equipment, the facility containing the equipment, or the business operations of a person responsible for such emissions. The department may establish delayed effective dates of requirements applicable to persons and systems associated with lower emissions of refrigerants than other persons and systems regulated under this section.
(3) Each year, the owner or operator of a stationary refrigeration system or air conditioning system that exceeds a de minimis charge capacity of 50 pounds must register with the department. The department must phase in system registration requirements under this subsection in order to prioritize systems with the largest charge capacity or greatest potential for refrigerant emissions. Registration with the department must, consistent with rules adopted by the department, include the submission of information about the refrigeration system, including equipment type, refrigerant charge capacity, and the type of refrigerant used.
(4) Prior to the sale of a registered refrigeration or air conditioning system, the owners or operators of the system must provide leak rate documentation to the prospective purchaser.
(5) The owner or operator of a registered stationary refrigeration system or air conditioning system must conduct periodic leak-detection inspections of the system. The department may require inspections to be conducted with relatively greater frequency for systems with larger volumes of refrigerants. The department may exempt systems that use refrigerants with low global warming potential or that have automatic leak-detection systems from the requirements of this subsection.
(6) The owner or operator of a registered stationary refrigeration or air conditioning system must inspect for leaks each time significant amounts of refrigerant are added to the system.
(7) The department must adopt rules that:
(a) Require refrigeration or air conditioning systems found to be leaking to be repaired within a specified amount of time;
(b) Require the retrofit, replacement, or retirement of a refrigeration or air conditioning system with a leak that is not capable of being repaired;
(c) Establish annual reporting requirements for owners or operators of refrigeration systems or air conditioning systems that include information about the system, including system service and leak repair conducted on the system over the preceding year, and information on the purchase and use of refrigerants in the covered system during the preceding year;
(d) Establish annual reporting requirement for refrigerant wholesalers, distributors, and reclaimers;
(e) Establish record retention requirements for operators of facilities and wholesalers, distributors, and reclaimers of refrigerants and substitutes;
(f) Apply leak rates and other regulatory thresholds that achieve greater emission reductions than the federal regulations adopted by the United States environmental protection agency, and that reflect levels of achievable superior performance established for the greenchill voluntary program implemented by the United States environmental protection agency; and
(g) To the maximum extent practicable while giving consideration to the goals of this chapter, establish recordkeeping and reporting requirements that are consistent with programs implemented by the federal environmental protection agency or in other states, and that minimize compliance costs and regulatory burdens for regulated parties.
(8) The department may adopt rules to establish:
(a) Service practices for stationary appliances, including both stationary refrigeration systems and air conditioning systems. Service practices established by the department may include requiring technicians certified under United States environmental protection agency standards to service refrigerant systems, requiring reporting and recordkeeping that identifies the technicians that have serviced appliances, prohibiting practices likely to result in releases to the environment, requiring all practicable efforts to recover refrigerants from covered systems, and prohibiting the addition of refrigerants to systems known to have a leak; and
(b) A process for wholesalers, distributors, reclaimers, and refrigeration and air conditioning equipment operators to apply to the department for an exemption from some or all of the requirements of this section. Exemptions may be granted by the department on the basis of economic hardship, natural disaster, or after considering a calculation of life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with the granting of an exemption that will allow an identified leak to go unrepaired for a finite period of time.
(9) The department may determine, assess, and collect annual fees from the owners or operators of refrigeration and air conditioning systems regulated under this section in an amount sufficient to cover the direct and indirect costs of administering and enforcing the provisions of this section. All fees collected under this subsection must be deposited in the refrigerant emission management account created in RCW 70A.60.050.
(10) By December 1, 2029, and every five years thereafter, the department must consider the greenhouse gas emissions reductions achieved under the program created in this section and the criteria of RCW 70A.60.040(3), and make a determination whether to continue to implement the program for the following five years. The department must notify the appropriate committees of the house of representatives and the senate of its determination.
[ 2021 c 315 s 9.]


title: RCW 70A.60.040

text:
(1) The authority granted by this chapter to the department for restricting the use of substitutes is supplementary to the department's authority to control air pollution pursuant to chapter 70A.15 RCW. Nothing in this chapter limits the authority of the department under chapter 70A.15 RCW.
(2) The department, in enforcing the requirements of this chapter, must adhere to the provisions applicable to the department under chapter 43.05 RCW regarding site inspections, technical assistance visits, notices of correction, and the issuance of civil penalties, to the extent that these provisions are not in conflict with federal requirements described in RCW 43.05.901.
(3) The department may elect to refrain from or cease administering or enforcing a requirement of this chapter if the United States environmental protection agency adopts requirements that:
(a) Are substantially duplicative of the requirements of this chapter and that negate the additional emission reduction benefits of state implementation of any requirement of this chapter; or
(b) Preempt state authority under this chapter.
[ 2021 c 315 s 11.]

catchline: Department's authority.


title: RCW 70A.60.050

text:
The refrigerant emission management account is created in the state treasury. All receipts received by the state from the fees imposed under RCW 70A.60.030 must be deposited in the account. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used only to develop and implement the provisions of RCW 70A.60.030.
[ 2021 c 315 s 12.]

catchline: Refrigerant emission management account.


title: RCW 70A.60.060

text:
(1) A person may not offer any product or equipment for sale, lease, or rent, or install or otherwise cause any equipment or product to enter into commerce in Washington if that equipment or product consists of, uses, or will use a substitute, as set forth in appendix U and V, Subpart G of 40 C.F.R. Part 82, as those read on January 3, 2017, for the applications or end uses restricted by appendix U or V of the federal regulation, as those read on January 3, 2017, consistent with the deadlines established in subsection (2) of this section. Except where existing equipment is retrofit, nothing in this subsection requires a person that acquired a restricted product or equipment prior to the effective date of the restrictions in subsection (2) of this section to cease use of that product or equipment. Products or equipment manufactured prior to the applicable effective date of the restrictions specified in subsection (2) of this section may be sold, imported, exported, distributed, installed, and used after the specified effective date.
(2) The restrictions under subsection (1) of this section for the following products and equipment identified in appendix U and V, Subpart G of 40 C.F.R. Part 82, as those read on January 3, 2017, take effect beginning:
(a) January 1, 2020, for:
(i) Propellants;
(ii) Rigid polyurethane applications and spray foam, flexible polyurethane, integral skin polyurethane, flexible polyurethane foam, polystyrene extruded sheet, polyolefin, phenolic insulation board, and bunstock;
(iii) Supermarket systems, remote condensing units, and stand-alone units;
(b) January 1, 2021, for:
(i) Refrigerated food processing and dispensing equipment;
(ii) Compact residential consumer refrigeration products;
(iii) Polystyrene extruded boardstock and billet, and rigid polyurethane low-pressure two component spray foam;
(c) January 1, 2022, for:
(i) Residential consumer refrigeration products other than compact and built-in residential consumer refrigeration products; and
(ii) Vending machines;
(d) January 1, 2023, for cold storage warehouses;
(e) January 1, 2023, for built-in residential consumer refrigeration products;
(f) January 1, 2024, for centrifugal chillers and positive displacement chillers; and
(g) On either January 1, 2020, or the effective date of the restrictions identified in appendix U and V, Subpart G of 40 C.F.R. Part 82, as those read on January 3, 2017, whichever comes later, for all other applications and end uses for substitutes not covered by the categories listed in (a) through (f) of this subsection.
(3) The department may by rule:
(a) Modify the effective date of a prohibition established in subsection (2) of this section if the department determines that the rule reduces the overall risk to human health or the environment and reflects the earliest date that a substitute is currently or potentially available;
(b) Prohibit the use of a substitute if the department determines that the prohibition reduces the overall risk to human health or the environment and that a lower risk substitute is currently or potentially available;
(c)(i) Adopt a list of approved substitutes, use conditions, or use limits, if any; and
(ii) Add or remove substitutes, use conditions, or use limits to or from the list of approved substitutes if the department determines those substitutes reduce the overall risk to human health and the environment; and
(d) Designate acceptable uses of hydrofluorocarbons for medical uses that are exempt from the requirements of subsection (2) of this section.
(4) The department shall adopt rules requiring that manufacturers disclose the substitutes used in their products or equipment or to disclose the compliance status of their products or equipment. That disclosure must take the form of:
(a) A label on the equipment or product. The label must meet requirements designated by the department by rule. To the extent feasible, the department must recognize existing labeling that provides sufficient disclosure of the use of substitutes in the product or equipment or of the compliance status of the products or equipment.
(i) The department must consider labels required by state building codes and other safety standards in its rule making; and
(ii) The department may not require labeling of aircraft and aircraft components subject to certification requirements of the federal aviation administration.
(b) Submitting information about the use of substitutes to the department, upon request.
(i) By December 31, 2019, all manufacturers must notify the department of the status of each product class utilizing hydrofluorocarbons or other substitutes restricted under subsection (1) of this section that the manufacturer sells, offers for sale, leases, installs, or rents in Washington state. This status notification must identify the substitutes used by products or equipment in each product or equipment class in a manner determined by rule by the department.
(ii) Within one hundred twenty days after the date of a restriction put in place under this section, any manufacturer affected by the restriction must provide an updated status notification. This notification must indicate whether the manufacturer has ceased the use of hydrofluorocarbons or substitutes restricted under this section within each product class and, if not, what hydrofluorocarbons or other restricted substitutes remain in use.
(iii) After the effective date of a restriction put in place under this section, any manufacturer must provide an updated status notification when the manufacturer introduces a new or modified product or piece of equipment that uses hydrofluorocarbons or changes the type of hydrofluorocarbons utilized within a product class affected by a restriction. Such a notification must occur within one hundred twenty days of the introduction into commerce in Washington of the product or equipment triggering this notification requirement.
(c) Alternative disclosure requirements to (a) of this subsection, if the department determines that the inclusion of a label denoting substitutes used or compliance status is not feasible for a particular product or equipment.
(5) The department may adopt rules to administer, implement, and enforce this section. If the department elects to adopt rules, the department must seek, where feasible and appropriate, to adopt rules, including rules under subsection (4) of this section, that are the same or consistent with the regulatory standards, exemptions, reporting obligations, disclosure requirements, and other compliance requirements of other states or the federal government that have adopted restrictions on the use of hydrofluorocarbons and other substitutes. Prior to the adoption or update of a rule under this section, the department must identify the sources of information it relied upon, including peer-reviewed science.
(6) For the purposes of implementing the restrictions specified in appendix U of Subpart G of 40 C.F.R. Part 82, as it read on January 3, 2017, consistent with this section, the department must interpret the term "aircraft maintenance" to mean activities to support the production, fabrication, manufacture, rework, inspection, maintenance, overhaul, or repair of commercial, civil, or military aircraft, aircraft parts, aerospace vehicles, or aerospace components.
(7) Except where existing equipment is retrofit, the restrictions of this section do not apply to or limit any use of commercial refrigeration equipment that was installed or in use prior to the effective date of the restrictions established in this section.
[ 2021 c 315 s 7; 2020 c 20 s 1404; 2019 c 284 s 3. Formerly RCW 70A.45.080, 70.235.080.]
Notes:
Finding—Intent—2019 c 284: "(1) The legislature finds that hydrofluorocarbons are air pollutants that pose significant threats to our environment and that safer alternatives for the most damaging hydrofluorocarbons are readily available and cost-effective.
(2) Hydrofluorocarbons came into widespread commercial use as United States environmental protection agency-approved replacements for ozone-depleting substances that were being phased out under an international agreement. However, under a 2017 federal appeals court ruling, while the environmental protection agency had been given the power to originally designate hydrofluorocarbons as suitable replacements for the ozone-depleting substances, the environmental protection agency did not have clear authority to require the replacement of hydrofluorocarbons once the replacement of the original ozone-depleting substances had already occurred.
(3) Because the impacts of climate change will not wait until congress acts to clarify the scope of the environmental protection agency's authority, it falls to the states to provide leadership on addressing hydrofluorocarbons. Doing so will not only help the climate, but will help American businesses retain their positions as global leaders in air conditioning and refrigerant technologies. Although hydrofluorocarbons currently represent a small proportion of the state's greenhouse gas emissions, emissions of hydrofluorocarbons have been rapidly increasing in the United States and worldwide, and they are thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide. However, hydrofluorocarbons are also a segment of the state's emissions that will be comparatively easy to reduce and eliminate without widespread implications for the way that power is produced, heavy industries operate, or people transport themselves. Substituting or reducing the use of hydrofluorocarbons with the highest global warming potential will provide a significant boost to the state's efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to the limits established in RCW 70.235.020.
(4) Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to transition to the use of less damaging hydrofluorocarbons or suitable substitutes in various applications in Washington, in a manner similar to the regulations that were adopted by the environmental protection agency, and that have been subsequently adopted or will be adopted in several other states around the country." [ 2019 c 284 s 1.]

catchline: Prohibited products and equipment—Department's rule-making authority—Disclosure of substitutes used in products or equipment.


title: RCW 70A.60.070

text:
(1) A person who services or repairs or disposes of a motor vehicle air conditioning system; commercial or industrial air conditioning, heating, or refrigeration system; or consumer appliance shall use refrigerant extraction equipment to recover regulated refrigerants and substitutes that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.
(2) Upon request, the department shall provide information and assistance to persons interested in collecting, transporting, or recycling regulated refrigerants and substitutes.
(3) The willful release of regulated refrigerants and substitutes from a source listed in subsection (1) of this section is prohibited.
[ 2021 c 315 s 4; 1991 c 199 s 602. Formerly RCW 70A.15.6410, 70.94.970.]
Notes:
Finding—1991 c 199: "The legislature finds that:
(1) The release of chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting chemicals into the atmosphere contributes to the destruction of stratospheric ozone and threatens plant and animal life with harmful overexposure to ultraviolet radiation;
(2) The technology and equipment to extract and recover chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting chemicals from air conditioners, refrigerators, and other appliances are available;
(3) A number of nonessential consumer products contain ozone-depleting chemicals; and
(4) Unnecessary releases of chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting chemicals from these sources should be eliminated." [ 1991 c 199 s 601.]
Finding—1991 c 199: See note following RCW 70A.15.1005.

catchline: Recovery of regulated refrigerants.


title: RCW 70A.60.080

text:
No person may sell, offer for sale, or purchase any of the following:
(1) A substitute with a global warming potential of greater than 150 or a regulated refrigerant in a container designed for consumer recharge of a motor vehicle air conditioning system or consumer appliance during repair or service;
(2) Nonessential consumer products that contain hydrofluorocarbons with a global warming potential of greater than 150 and chlorofluorocarbons or other ozone-depleting chemicals, and for which suitable alternatives are readily available. Products affected under this subsection shall include, but are not limited to, party streamers, tire inflators, air horns, noise makers, and cleaning sprays designed for noncommercial or nonindustrial cleaning of electronic or photographic equipment. Products and equipment subject to restrictions on applications or end uses under RCW 70A.60.060 are not nonessential products for which hydrofluorocarbons are restricted under this section.
[ 2021 c 315 s 5; 1991 c 199 s 603. Formerly RCW 70A.15.6420, 70.94.980.]
Notes:
Finding—1991 c 199: See note following RCW 70A.15.1005.

catchline: Regulated refrigerants—Substitutes—Nonessential consumer products containing hydrofluorocarbons—Limitation on sale or purchase.


title: RCW 70A.60.090

text:
The department shall adopt rules to implement RCW 70A.60.070 and 70A.60.080. Rules shall include but not be limited to minimum performance specifications for refrigerant extraction equipment, procedures under which owners or operators of stationary refrigeration equipment and air conditioning equipment subject to the requirements of RCW 70A.60.030 must provide the department with information related to their use of regulated refrigerants and substitutes, as well as procedures for enforcing RCW 70A.60.070, 70A.60.080, and 70A.60.020.
[ 2021 c 315 s 6; 2020 c 20 s 1160; 1991 c 199 s 604. Formerly RCW 70A.15.6430, 70.94.990.]
Notes:
Finding—1991 c 199: See note following RCW 70A.15.1005.

catchline: Refrigerants—Rules.


title: RCW 70A.60.100

text:
(1) It is prohibited to sell, distribute, or otherwise enter into commerce in the state newly produced bulk hydrofluorocarbons or newly produced bulk hydrofluorocarbon blends that:
(a) Have a global warming potential that exceeds 1,500, beginning January 1, 2030; and
(b) Have a global warming potential that exceeds 750, beginning January 1, 2033.
(2)(a) The department shall adopt rules to implement the requirements of this section.
(b) The department may adopt by rule lower global warming potential limits than are specified in subsection (1) of this section, or earlier dates for global warming potential limits than are specified in subsection (1) of this section, provided the department finds that an adequate supply of reclaimed refrigerant would be available in the state to accommodate any such change to the requirements of subsection (1) of this section.
(c) When adopting rules to conform to this section, the department may update the definitions of terms used in this section, including the definitions of "bulk" and "reclaim" in RCW 70A.60.010, in order to maintain consistency with federal regulations or to harmonize the department's rules with similar requirements adopted by other jurisdictions.
(d) In adopting rules to implement the provisions of this section, the department must consider and may incorporate factors that minimize or potentially eliminate disincentives and maximize or potentially incentivize the recovery of refrigerant and its reclamation or destruction including, but not limited to, prohibiting fees for destroying recovered refrigerant.
(3)(a) The prohibitions established under this section do not apply to:
(i) Hydrofluorocarbons that are reclaimed;
(ii) An application receiving application-specific allowances under subsection (e)(B) of the American innovation and manufacturing act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 7675);
(iii) Hydrofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbon blends regulated for use in aircraft maintenance or on board aircraft by the federal aviation administration, department of defense, or other equivalent authorities; or
(iv) Transshipments of bulk newly produced hydrofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbon blends.
(b) For newly produced bulk hydrofluorocarbon blends, the global warming potential limits of this section apply to the global warming potential of the blend and not to any individual component of such a blend.
(4) The department may adopt rules to provide for:
(a)(i) A temporary exemption for a newly produced bulk hydrofluorocarbon or a newly produced bulk hydrofluorocarbon blend where the department determines complying with a requirement of this section is technically or economically infeasible.
(ii) An exemption granted by the department under (a)(i) of this subsection may not exceed three years and must be conditional upon the exemption recipient carrying out a plan, on an enforceable timeline, to meet the requirements of this section. Each exemption granted by the department shall end after three years unless, at least six months prior to the expiration of the exemption, the exemption recipient submits a request for extension with justification. The department may determine whether to renew or modify the exemption based on its review of the request for extension.
(b)(i) Up to a 30 calendar day emergency exemption to an applicant registered under RCW 70A.60.030 for purchasing a specific quantity of a newly produced bulk hydrofluorocarbon or a newly produced bulk hydrofluorocarbon blend. The department must issue this exemption within three business days of receiving an exemption application, where the applicant demonstrates:
(A) There is an emergency in which loss of refrigerating capacity in an existing system will cause substantial economic loss or risk to health;
(B) Repairs to the system will require it being recharged with hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants;
(C) The price or availability of reclaimed hydrofluorocarbons or hydrofluorocarbon blends at the time of repair makes the repair technically or economically infeasible; and
(D) It can purchase a newly produced bulk hydrofluorocarbon or newly produced bulk hydrofluorocarbon blend in a sufficient quantity to meet the emergency need.
(ii) The department may not authorize the purchase of a newly produced bulk hydrofluorocarbon or newly produced bulk hydrofluorocarbon blend in a larger quantity than the amount needed to make emergency repairs, which must not exceed the total refrigerant charge for the system.
(5) A violation of the requirements of this section are subject to penalties as provided in chapter 70A.15 RCW.
[ 2025 c 313 s 2.]
Notes:
Findings—Intent—2025 c 313: "(1) The legislature finds that:
(a) The Kigali amendment to the Montreal protocol and the American innovation and manufacturing act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 7675), establish phased reductions in hydrofluorocarbon production and consumption but leave gaps in ensuring widespread use of reclaimed refrigerants and managing refrigerants at the end of their life cycle; and
(b) State action is urgently needed to complement federal and international efforts by promoting refrigerant recovery, reclamation, and the transition to climate-friendly refrigerants with lower or no global warming potential, through regulations and market-based incentives.
(2) It is the intent of the legislature to:
(a) Study feasible pathways to an expeditious transition of new equipment by 2035 to low global warming potential refrigerants of less than 150 carbon dioxide equivalents and ultra-low global warming potential refrigerants of less than 10 carbon dioxide equivalents;
(b) Support the development of robust refrigerant recovery infrastructure and foster public-private partnerships to promote the reclamation and reuse of refrigerants;
(c) Establish a clear regulatory framework for reducing emissions from refrigerants through phased limitations on high global warming potential substances and increasing recovery and use of reclaimed refrigerants; and
(d) Enhance industry compliance and stakeholder collaboration through education, training, and financial incentives, ensuring alignment with national and international climate objectives." [ 2025 c 313 s 1.]

catchline: Prohibition on bulk hydrofluorocarbons—Rule making—Exceptions—Penalties.


title: RCW 70A.60.110

text:
(1) The department must establish a refrigerant transition task force to study opportunities and barriers to transitioning to climate-friendly refrigerants and enhancing refrigerant recovery, recycling, reclamation, and destruction.
(a) By July 1, 2026, the department must appoint members of the task force. All representatives must disclose to the department all material financial interests related to the work of the task force, including funding sources for their work.
(b) Starting no later than June 1, 2027, for a period extending at least 60 days, the department must make available a draft of the task force report required in subsection (4) of this section for public input and comment.
(c) The department must submit the task force report required in subsection (4) of this section to the appropriate committees of the legislature no later than December 1, 2027.
(2) The task force must be chaired by a representative of the department and must consist of the following members appointed by the department:
(a) One representative from the private sector or a private sector trade association with expertise in installing, servicing, repairing, and decommissioning refrigeration and air conditioning equipment;
(b) One representative from the private sector or a private sector trade association with expertise in refrigerant recovery and reclamation;
(c) One representative from the private sector or a private sector trade association with expertise in manufacturing refrigeration and air conditioning equipment and the distribution and sale thereof;
(d) One Washington state representative from the private sector or a private sector trade association that installs and services either air conditioning or refrigeration equipment, or both;
(e) Three representatives from environmental nonprofit organizations with familiarity with the climate risks of hydrofluorocarbons;
(f) One representative of Washington agricultural businesses that own or operate either air conditioning or refrigeration equipment;
(g) One representative from a labor union representing workers who install and service refrigeration and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment;
(h) One representative of the state building code council with expertise in fire safety;
(i) One member representing tribal or indigenous organizations guiding decisions for purchase and operation of equipment using hydrofluorocarbons; and
(j) One representative of Washington businesses that own or operate refrigeration equipment containing more than 50 pounds of ultra-low global warming potential refrigerants.
(3) The department may invite the input of others with relevant expertise to work with the task force for one or more task force discussions including, but not limited to:
(a) A representative of environmental justice organizations;
(b) A representative for Washington independent, small, or rural grocers;
(c) State agency staff with relevant expertise, potentially including the department of labor and industries and others; and
(d) Others valuable for informing one or more task force discussions.
(4)(a) The task force must draft and submit to the department a report assessing the opportunities, barriers, and recommendations for transitioning to refrigerants with low global warming potential and ultra-low global warming potential by 2035, accounting for distinctions among different types of equipment and appliances for hydrofluorocarbon-using sectors and subsectors and the timelines needed for each sector or subsector to complete such a transition.
(b) In drafting the report required in this section, each member of the task force must make a good faith effort to reach consensus on each point and provision in the report.
(c) Where one or more members of the task force object to a point or provision in the report, that member or members may provide a description of such an objection, with all such descriptions listed in an annex to the report.
(5)(a) The department shall provide administrative and operating support, including arrangements for virtual meetings, to the task force and may contract with a third-party facilitator or other consultants to assist in carrying out the activities of the task force.
(b) A majority of the task force constitutes a quorum. Action by the task force, including the inclusion of a point or provision in the report, requires a quorum and a majority of those present and voting.
(6) The department may disband the task force created in this section upon the submission of the report under subsection (1)(c) of this section.
[ 2025 c 313 s 3.]
Notes:
Findings—Intent—2025 c 313: See note following RCW 70A.60.100.

catchline: Refrigerant transition task force.


title: RCW 70A.60.120

text:
(1) To achieve the transition to refrigerants with low global warming potential and ultra-low global warming potential by 2035, accounting for distinctions among different types of equipment and appliances for hydrofluorocarbon-using sectors and subsectors and the timelines needed for each sector or subsector to complete such a transition, the department shall adopt rules, informed by the work and the report of the task force, to require low global warming potential or ultra-low global warming potential alternatives to hydrofluorocarbons in a sector unless it is not practicable for entities in the sector to comply with the requirement.
(2) The department may not issue a proposed rule under chapter 34.05 RCW related to subsection (1) of this section until January 1, 2028.
(3) The department may combine rule making under this section with rule making authorized under RCW 70A.60.100 for purposes of efficiency.
[ 2025 c 313 s 4.]
Notes:
Findings—Intent—2025 c 313: See note following RCW 70A.60.100.

catchline: Transition to refrigerants with low global warming potential—Rule making.


title: RCW 70A.65.005

text:
(1) The legislature finds that climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing our state and the world today, an existential crisis with major negative impacts on environmental and human health. Washington is experiencing environmental and community impacts due to climate change through increasingly devastating wildfires, flooding, droughts, rising temperatures and sea levels, and ocean acidification. Greenhouse gas emissions already in the atmosphere will increase impacts for some period of time. Actions to increase resilience of our communities, natural resource lands, and ecosystems can prevent and reduce impacts to communities and our environment and improve their ability to recover.
(2) In 2020, the legislature updated the state's greenhouse gas emissions limits that are to be achieved by 2030, 2040, and 2050, based on current science and emissions trends, to support local and global efforts to avoid the most significant impacts from climate change. Meeting these limits will require coordinated, comprehensive, and multisectoral implementation of policies, programs, and laws, as other enacted policies are insufficient to meet the limits.
(3) The legislature further finds that while climate change is a global problem, there are communities that have historically borne the disproportionate impacts of environmental burdens and that now bear the disproportionate negative impacts of climate change. Although the state has done significant work in the past to highlight these environmental health disparities, beginning with senator Rosa Franklin's environmental equity study, and continuing through the work of the governor's interagency council on health disparities, the creation of the Washington environmental health disparities map, and recommendations of the environmental justice task force, the state can do much more to ensure that state programs address environmental equity.
(4) The legislature further finds that while enacted carbon policies can be well-intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide environmental benefits to communities, the policies may not do enough to ensure environmental health disparities are reduced and environmental benefits are provided to those communities most impacted by environmental harms from greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions.
(5) The legislature further finds that wildfires have become one of the largest sources of black carbon in the last five years. From 2014 through 2018, wildfires in Washington state generated 39,200,000 metric tons of carbon, the equivalent of more than 8,500,000 cars on the road a year. In 2015, when 1,130,000 acres burned in Washington, wildfires were the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions releasing 17,975,112 metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Wildfire pollution affects all Washingtonians, but has disproportionate health effects on low-income communities, communities of color, and the most vulnerable of our population. Restoring the health of our forests and investing in wildfire prevention and preparedness will therefore contribute to improved air quality and improved public health outcomes.
(6) The legislature further finds that by exercising a leadership role in addressing climate change, Washington will position its economy, technology centers, financial institutions, and manufacturers to benefit from national and international efforts that must occur to reduce greenhouse gases. The legislature intends to create climate policy that recognizes the special nature of emissions-intensive, trade-exposed industries by minimizing leakage and increased life-cycle emissions associated with product imports. The legislature further finds that climate policies must be appropriately designed, in order to avoid leakage that results in net increases in global greenhouse gas emissions and increased negative impacts to those communities most impacted by environmental harms from climate change. The legislature further intends to encourage these industries to continue to innovate, find new ways to be more energy efficient, use lower carbon products, and be positioned to be global leaders in a low carbon economy.
(7) Under the program, the legislature intends to identify overburdened communities where the highest concentrations of criteria pollutants occur, determine the sources of those emissions and pollutants, and pursue significant reductions of emissions and pollutants in those communities. The legislature further intends for the department of ecology to conduct environmental justice assessments to ensure that funds and programs created under this chapter provide direct and meaningful benefits to vulnerable populations and overburdened communities. Additionally, the legislature intends to prevent job loss and provide protective measures if workers are adversely impacted by the transition to a clean energy economy through transition and assistance programs, worker-support projects, and workforce development and other activities designed to grow and expand the clean manufacturing sector in communities across Washington state. The legislature further intends to empower the environmental justice council established under RCW 70A.02.110 to provide recommendations for the development and implementation of the program, the distribution of funds, and the establishment of programs, activities, and projects to achieve environmental justice and environmental health goals. The legislature further intends for the department of ecology to create and adopt community engagement plans and tribal consultation frameworks in the administration of the program to ensure equitable practices for meaningful community and federally recognized tribal involvement. Finally, the legislature intends to establish this program to contribute to a healthy environment for all of Washington's communities.
[ 2021 c 316 s 1.]

catchline: Findings—Intent.


title: RCW 70A.65.010

text:
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Allowance" means an authorization to emit up to one metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent.
(2) "Allowance price containment reserve" means an account maintained by the department with allowances available for sale through separate reserve auctions at predefined prices to assist in containing compliance costs for covered and opt-in entities in the event of unanticipated high costs for compliance instruments.
(3) "Annual allowance budget" means the total number of greenhouse gas allowances allocated for auction and distribution for one calendar year by the department.
(4) "Asset controlling supplier" means any entity that owns or operates interconnected electricity generating facilities or serves as an exclusive marketer for these facilities even though it does not own them, and has been designated by the department and received a department-published emissions factor for the wholesale electricity procured from its system. The department shall use a methodology consistent with the methodology used by an external greenhouse gas emissions trading program that shares the regional electricity transmission system. Electricity from an asset controlling supplier is considered a specified source of electricity.
(5) "Auction" means the process of selling greenhouse gas allowances by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then distributing the allowances to winning bidders.
(6) "Auction floor price" means a price for allowances below which bids at auction are not eligible to be accepted.
(7) "Auction purchase limit" means the limit on the number of allowances one registered entity or a group of affiliated registered entities may purchase from the share of allowances sold at an auction.
(8) "Balancing authority" means the responsible entity that integrates resource plans ahead of time, maintains load-interchange-generation balance within a balancing authority area, and supports interconnection frequency in real time.
(9) "Balancing authority area" means the collection of generation, transmission, and load within the metered boundaries of a balancing authority. A balancing authority maintains load-resource balance within this area.
(10) "Best available technology" means a technology or technologies that will achieve the greatest reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, taking into account the fuels, processes, and equipment used by facilities to produce goods of comparable type, quantity, and quality. Best available technology must be technically feasible, commercially available, economically viable, not create excessive environmental impacts, and be compliant with all applicable laws while not changing the characteristics of the good being manufactured.
(11) "Biomass" means nonfossilized and biodegradable organic material originating from plants, animals, and microorganisms, including products, by-products, residues, and waste from agriculture, forestry, and related industries as well as the nonfossilized and biodegradable organic fractions of municipal wastewater and industrial waste, including gases and liquids recovered from the decomposition of nonfossilized and biodegradable organic material.
(12) "Biomass-derived fuels," "biomass fuels," or "biofuels" means whichever of the following fuels derived from biomass has lower associated life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions: (a) Fuels that have at least 30 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions based on a full life-cycle analysis when compared to petroleum fuels for which biofuels are capable as serving as a substitute; or (b) fuels that meet a standard adopted by the department by rule that align with the definition of biofuel, or other standards applicable to biofuel, established by a jurisdiction with which the department has entered into a linkage agreement.
(13) "Carbon dioxide equivalents" means a measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases based on their global warming potential.
(14) "Carbon dioxide removal" means deliberate human activities removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and durably storing it in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs, or in products. "Carbon dioxide removal" includes existing and potential anthropogenic enhancement of biological or geochemical sinks and including, but not limited to, carbon mineralization and direct air capture and storage.
(15) "Climate commitment" means the process and mechanisms to ensure a coordinated and strategic approach to advancing climate resilience and environmental justice and achieving an equitable and inclusive transition to a carbon neutral economy.
(16) "Climate resilience" is the ongoing process of anticipating, preparing for, and adapting to changes in climate and minimizing negative impacts to our natural systems, infrastructure, and communities. For natural systems, increasing climate resilience involves restoring and increasing the health, function, and integrity of our ecosystems and improving their ability to absorb and recover from climate-affected disturbances. For communities, increasing climate resilience means enhancing their ability to understand, prevent, adapt, and recover from climate impacts to people and infrastructure.
(17) "Closed facility" means a facility at which the current owner or operator has elected to permanently stop production and will no longer be an emissions source.
(18) "Compliance instrument" means an allowance or offset credit issued by the department or by an external greenhouse gas emissions trading program to which Washington has linked its greenhouse gas emissions cap and invest program. One compliance instrument is equal to one metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent.
(19) "Compliance obligation" means the requirement to submit to the department the number of compliance instruments equivalent to a covered or opt-in entity's covered emissions during the compliance period.
(20) "Compliance period" means the four-year period, except as provided in RCW 70A.65.070(1)(a)(ii), for which the compliance obligation is calculated for covered entities.
(21) "Cost burden" means the impact on rates or charges to customers of electric utilities in Washington state for the incremental cost of electricity service to serve load due to the compliance cost for greenhouse gas emissions caused by the program. Cost burden includes administrative costs from the utility's participation in the program.
(22) "Covered emissions" means the emissions for which a covered entity has a compliance obligation under RCW 70A.65.080.
(23) "Covered entity" means a person that is designated by the department as subject to RCW 70A.65.060 through 70A.65.210.
(24) "Cumulative environmental health impact" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 70A.02.010.
(25) "Curtailed facility" means a facility at which the owner or operator has temporarily suspended production but for which the owner or operator maintains operating permits and retains the option to resume production if conditions become amenable.
(26) "Department" means the department of ecology.
(27) "Electricity importer" means:
(a) For electricity that is scheduled with a NERC e-tag to a final point of delivery into a balancing authority area located entirely within the state of Washington, the electricity importer is identified on the NERC e-tag as the purchasing-selling entity on the last segment of the tag's physical path with the point of receipt located outside the state of Washington and the point of delivery located inside the state of Washington;
(b) For facilities physically located outside the state of Washington with the first point of interconnection to a balancing authority area located entirely within the state of Washington when the electricity is not scheduled on a NERC e-tag, the electricity importer is the facility operator or owner;
(c) For electricity imported through a centralized market, the electricity importer will be defined by rule consistent with the rules required under RCW 70A.65.080(1)(c);
(d) For electricity provided as balancing energy in the state of Washington, including balancing energy that is also inside a balancing authority area that is not located entirely within the state of Washington, the electricity importer may be defined by the department by rule;
(e) For electricity from facilities allocated to serve retail electricity customers of a multijurisdictional electric company, the electricity importer is the multijurisdictional electric company;
(f) If the importer identified under (a) of this subsection is a federal power marketing administration over which the state of Washington does not have jurisdiction, and the federal power marketing administration has not voluntarily elected to comply with the program, then the electricity importer is the next purchasing-selling entity in the physical path on the NERC e-tag, or if no additional purchasing-selling entity over which the state of Washington has jurisdiction, then the electricity importer is the electric utility that operates the Washington transmission or distribution system, or the generation balancing authority;
(g) For electricity that is imported into the state by a federal power marketing administration and sold to a public body or cooperative customer or direct service industrial customer located in Washington pursuant to section 5(b) or (d) of the Pacific Northwest electric power planning and conservation act of 1980, P.L. 96-501, the electricity importer is the federal marketing administration;
(h) If the importer identified under (g) of this subsection has not voluntarily elected to comply with the program, then the electricity importer is the public body or cooperative customer or direct service industrial customer;
(i) For electricity from facilities allocated to a consumer-owned utility inside the state of Washington from a multijurisdictional consumer-owned utility, the electricity importer is the consumer-owned utility inside the state of Washington; or
(j) For imported electricity not otherwise assigned an electricity importer by this subsection, the electricity importer may be defined by the department by rule.
(28) "Electricity wheeled through the state" means electricity that is generated outside the state of Washington and delivered into Washington with the final point of delivery outside Washington including, but not limited to, electricity wheeled through the state on a single NERC e-tag, or wheeled into and out of Washington at a common point or trading hub on the power system on separate e-tags within the same hour.
(29) "Emissions containment reserve allowance" means a conditional allowance that is withheld from sale at an auction by the department or its agent to secure additional emissions reductions in the event prices fall below the emissions containment reserve trigger price.
(30) "Emissions containment reserve trigger price" means the price below which allowances will be withheld from sale by the department or its agent at an auction, as determined by the department by rule.
(31) "Emissions threshold" means the greenhouse gas emission level at or above which a person has a compliance obligation.
(32) "Environmental benefits" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 70A.02.010.
(33) "Environmental harm" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 70A.02.010.
(34) "Environmental impacts" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 70A.02.010.
(35) "Environmental justice" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 70A.02.010.
(36) "Environmental justice assessment" has the same meaning as identified in RCW 70A.02.060.
(37) "External greenhouse gas emissions trading program" means a government program, other than Washington's program created in this chapter, that restricts greenhouse gas emissions from sources outside of Washington and that allows emissions trading.
(38) "Facility" means any physical property, plant, building, structure, source, or stationary equipment located on one or more contiguous or adjacent properties in actual physical contact or separated solely by a public roadway or other public right-of-way and under common ownership or common control, that emits or may emit any greenhouse gas.
(39) "First jurisdictional deliverer" means the owner or operator of an electric generating facility in Washington or an electricity importer.
(40) "General market participant" means a registered entity that is not identified as a covered entity or an opt-in entity that is registered in the program registry and intends to purchase, hold, sell, or voluntarily retire compliance instruments.
(41) "Greenhouse gas" has the same meaning as in RCW 70A.45.010.
(42) "Holding limit" means the maximum number of allowances that may be held for use or trade by a registered entity at any one time.
(43) "Imported electricity" means electricity generated outside the state of Washington with a final point of delivery within the state.
(a) "Imported electricity" includes electricity from an organized market, such as the energy imbalance market.
(b) "Imported electricity" includes imports from linked jurisdictions, but such imports shall be construed as having no emissions.
(c) Electricity from a system that is marketed by a federal power marketing administration shall be construed as "imported electricity," not electricity generated in the state of Washington.
(d) "Imported electricity" does not include any electricity that the department determines by rule to be: (i) Wheeled through the state; or (ii) separately accounted for in this chapter.
(e) For a multijurisdictional electric company, "imported electricity" means electricity, other than from in-state facilities, that contributes to a common system power pool. Where a multijurisdictional electric company has a cost allocation methodology approved by the utilities and transportation commission, the allocation of specific facilities to Washington's retail load will be in accordance with that methodology.
(f) For a multijurisdictional consumer-owned utility, "imported electricity" includes electricity from facilities that contribute to a common system power pool that are allocated to a consumer-owned utility inside the state of Washington pursuant to a methodology approved by the governing board of the consumer-owned utility.
(44) "Leakage" means a reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases within the state that is offset by a directly attributable increase in greenhouse gas emissions outside the state and outside the geography of another jurisdiction with a linkage agreement with Washington.
(45) "Limits" means the greenhouse gas emissions reductions required by RCW 70A.45.020.
(46) "Linkage" means a bilateral or multilateral decision under a linkage agreement between greenhouse gas market programs to accept compliance instruments issued by a participating jurisdiction to meet the obligations of regulated entities in a partner jurisdiction and to otherwise coordinate activities to facilitate operation of a joint market.
(47) "Linkage agreement" means a nonbinding agreement that connects two or more greenhouse gas market programs and articulates a mutual understanding of how the participating jurisdictions will work together to facilitate a connected greenhouse gas market.
(48) "Linked jurisdiction" means a jurisdiction with which Washington has entered into a linkage agreement.
(49) "Multijurisdictional consumer-owned utility" means a consumer-owned utility that provides electricity to member owners in Washington and in one or more other states in a contiguous service territory or from a common power system.
(50) "Multijurisdictional electric company" means an investor-owned utility that provides electricity to customers in Washington and in one or more other states in a contiguous service territory or from a common power system.
(51) "NERC e-tag" means North American electric reliability corporation (NERC) energy tag representing transactions on the North American bulk electricity market scheduled to flow between or across balancing authority areas.
(52) "Offset credit" means a tradable compliance instrument that represents an emissions reduction or emissions removal of one metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent.
(53) "Offset project" means a project that reduces or removes greenhouse gases that are not covered emissions under this chapter.
(54) "Offset protocols" means a set of procedures and standards to quantify greenhouse gas reductions or greenhouse gas removals achieved by an offset project.
(55) "Overburdened community" means a geographic area where vulnerable populations face combined, multiple environmental harms and health impacts or risks due to exposure to environmental pollutants or contaminants through multiple pathways, which may result in significant disparate adverse health outcomes or effects.
(a) "Overburdened community" includes, but is not limited to:
(i) Highly impacted communities as defined in RCW 19.405.020;
(ii) Communities located in census tracts that are fully or partially on "Indian country" as defined in 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1151; and
(iii) Populations, including Native Americans or immigrant populations, who may be exposed to environmental contaminants and pollutants outside of the geographic area in which they reside based on the populations' use of traditional or cultural foods and practices, such as the use of resources, access to which is protected under treaty rights in ceded areas, when those exposures in conjunction with other exposures may result in disproportionately greater risks, including risks of certain cancers or other adverse health effects and outcomes.
(b) Overburdened communities identified by the department may include the same communities as those identified by the department through its process for identifying overburdened communities under RCW 70A.02.010.
(56) "Person" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 70A.15.2200(5)(g)(iii).
(57) "Point of delivery" means a point on the electricity transmission or distribution system where a deliverer makes electricity available to a receiver, or available to serve load. This point may be an interconnection with another system or a substation where the transmission provider's transmission and distribution systems are connected to another system, or a distribution substation where electricity is imported into the state over a multijurisdictional retail provider's distribution system.
(58) "Price ceiling unit" means the units issued at a fixed price by the department for the purpose of limiting price increases and funding further investments in greenhouse gas reductions.
(59) "Program" means the greenhouse gas emissions cap and invest program created by and implemented pursuant to this chapter.
(60) "Program registry" means the data system in which covered entities, opt-in entities, and general market participants are registered and in which compliance instruments are recorded and tracked.
(61) "Registered entity" means a covered entity, opt-in entity, or general market participant that has completed the process for registration in the program registry.
(62) "Resilience" means the ability to prepare, mitigate and plan for, withstand, recover from, and more successfully adapt to adverse events and changing conditions, and reorganize in an equitable manner that results in a new and better condition.
(63) "Retire" means to permanently remove a compliance instrument such that the compliance instrument may never be sold, traded, or otherwise used again.
(64) "Specified source of electricity" or "specified source" means a facility, unit, or asset controlling supplier that is permitted to be claimed as the source of electricity delivered. The reporting entity must have either full or partial ownership in the facility or a written power contract to procure electricity generated by that facility or unit or from an asset controlling supplier at the time of entry into the transaction to procure electricity.
(65) "Supplier" means a supplier of fuel in Washington state as defined in RCW 70A.15.2200(5)(g)(ii).
(66) "Tribal lands" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 70A.02.010.
(67) "Unspecified source of electricity" or "unspecified source" means a source of electricity that is not a specified source at the time of entry into the transaction to procure electricity.
(68) "Voluntary renewable reserve account" means a holding account maintained by the department from which allowances may be retired for voluntary renewable electricity generation, which is directly delivered to the state and has not and will not be sold or used to meet any other mandatory requirements in the state or any other jurisdiction, on behalf of voluntary renewable energy purchasers or end users.
(69) "Vulnerable populations" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 70A.02.010.
[ 2024 c 352 s 1; 2022 c 181 s 10; 2021 c 316 s 2.]
Notes:
Reviser's note: The definitions in this section have been alphabetized pursuant to RCW 1.08.015(2)(k).
Contingent effective date—2024 c 352: "This act takes effect January 1, 2025, only if Initiative Measure No. 2117 is not approved by a vote of the people in the 2024 general election. If Initiative Measure No. 2117 is approved by a vote of the people in the 2024 general election, this act is null and void." [ 2024 c 352 s 14.] Initiative Measure No. 2117 was rejected by the voters at the November 2024 general election.


title: RCW 70A.65.020

text:
(1) To ensure that the program created in RCW 70A.65.060 through 70A.65.210 achieves reductions in criteria pollutants as well as greenhouse gas emissions in overburdened communities highly impacted by air pollution, the department must:
(a) Identify overburdened communities, which may be accomplished through the department's process to identify overburdened communities under chapter 70A.02 RCW;
(b) Deploy an air monitoring network in overburdened communities to collect sufficient air quality data for the 2023 review and subsequent reviews of criteria pollutant reductions conducted under subsection (2) of this section; and
(c)(i) Within the identified overburdened communities, analyze and determine which sources are the greatest contributors of criteria pollutants and develop a high priority list of significant emitters.
(ii) Prior to listing any entity as a high priority emitter, the department must notify that entity and share the data used to rank that entity as a high priority emitter, and provide a period of not less than 60 days for the covered entity to submit more recent data or other information relevant to the designation of that entity as a high priority emitter.
(2)(a) Beginning in 2023, and every two years thereafter, the department must conduct a review to determine levels of criteria pollutants, as well as greenhouse gas emissions, in the overburdened communities identified under subsection (1) of this section. This review must also include an evaluation of initial and subsequent health impacts related to criteria pollution in overburdened communities. The department may conduct this evaluation jointly with the department of health.
(b) Once this review determines the levels of criteria pollutants in an identified overburdened community, then the department, in consultation with local air pollution control authorities, must:
(i) Establish air quality targets to achieve air quality consistent with whichever is more protective for human health:
(A) National ambient air quality standards established by the United States environmental protection agency; or
(B) The air quality experienced in neighboring communities that are not identified as overburdened;
(ii) Identify the stationary and mobile sources that are the greatest contributors of those emissions that are either increasing or not decreasing;
(iii) Achieve the reduction targets through adoption of emission control strategies or other methods;
(iv) Adopt, along with local air pollution control authorities, stricter air quality standards, emission standards, or emissions limitations on criteria pollutants, consistent with the authority of the department provided under RCW 70A.15.3000, and may consider alternative mitigation actions that would reduce criteria pollution by similar amounts; and
(v) After adoption of the stricter air quality standards, emission standards, or emissions limitations on criteria pollutants under (b)(iv) of this subsection, issue an enforceable order or the local air authority must issue an enforceable order, as authorized under RCW 70A.15.1100, as necessary to comply with the stricter standards or limitations and the requirements of this section. The department or local air authority must initiate the process, including provision of notice to all relevant affected permittees or registered sources and to the public, to adopt and implement an enforceable order required under this subsection within six months of the adoption of standards or limitations under (b)(iv) of this subsection.
(c) Actions imposed under this section may not impose requirements on a permitted stationary source that are disproportionate to the permitted stationary source's contribution to air pollution compared to other permitted stationary sources and other sources of criteria pollutants in the overburdened community.
(3) An eligible facility sited after July 25, 2021, that receives allowances under RCW 70A.65.110 must mitigate increases in particulate matter in overburdened communities due to its emissions.
(4)(a) The department must create and adopt a supplement to the department's community engagement plan developed pursuant to chapter 70A.02 RCW. The supplement must describe how the department will engage with overburdened communities and vulnerable populations in:
(i) Identifying emitters in overburdened communities; and
(ii) Monitoring and evaluating criteria pollutant emissions in those areas.
(b) The community engagement plan must include methods for outreach and communication with those who face barriers, language or otherwise, to participation.
[ 2022 c 181 s 5; 2021 c 316 s 3.]

catchline: Environmental justice review.