(The Center Square) – Facing $8 million in fees set to begin next year, the city of Spokane is asking the state for more time to comply with Washington’s Climate Commitment Act after falling short last year.
Public Works Director Marlene Feist briefed the Spokane City Council on Monday about the proposal. If approved, it would create a “glide path” to compliance for the city’s Waste-to-Energy facility. The trash incinerator is the only solid waste system in the state subject to Washington’s cap-and-trade program.
The CCA caps the amount of emissions that entities can emit and requires them to purchase credits if they intend to surpass that threshold. Former Gov. Jay Inslee argued it would only add pennies to the price at the gas pump, but House Republicans say the CCA ultimately added 40 to 60 cents per gallon.
“It really does penalize good technology,” Feist told the officials. “We can’t offset our way out of it.”
Spokane built the WTE facility more than 30 years ago to protect the aquifer beneath it, which provides water to much of the region. Feist said it burns about 250,000 tons of solid waste per year, enough to power 13,000 homes and generate up to $5 million annually, according to Solid Waste Services.
The state put $60 million behind the project back in the day, but will begin charging the city CCA fees in 2027. The Legislature exempted landfills in 2022 after they fell under new methane regulations, which WTE facilities aren’t subject to. Critics last year said an exemption undercuts the state’s climate goals.
The city is conducting feasibility studies to determine the cost of complying with the CCA. One option could cost taxpayers $210 million over about a decade. Federal tax credits could help pay for upgrading the WTE facility, but Feist said Monday that the state hasn’t set rules around sequestered carbon yet.
The project would essentially suck the carbon out of the WTE facility’s smokestack and convert it into carbonated water for underground storage. She said the city could also use the carbon for sustainable jet fuel, fertilizers and other things. The issue is that it will take years to finish, so the city needs more time.
“The legislation that we’re seeking basically gives us a glide path,” Feist said. “Initially, no-cost credits, and then our proposal is they would go up by 3%, so in the next compliance period, we would be 97% covered. In the next compliance period, 94% covered, so that we have time to develop a strategy.”
Sen. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, and Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Cheney, joined Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, and Rep. Natasha Hill, D-Spokane, on Monday in filling that “glide path” proposal to the Legislature. It comes as the state faces another multibillion-dollar deficit and Democrats propose increased spending.
The bipartisan support, with a proposal in each chamber, helps Spokane’s case. The bills essentially ask for what lawmakers suggested last year, a graduated approach, rather than a 10 year exemption. If approved, the state would cover the $8 million in CCA fines through 2030. When the third compliance begins in 2031, the city would pay 3% of its fines, with that amount increasing by 3% after each period.
The outcome would provide Spokane more time to build out the hardware to comply with the CCA. If it fails again, city residents and those in neighboring jurisdictions will face the $8 million in fees starting next year through higher rates, and those increases would fall on top of any future WTE upgrades.
The Legislature convened for the 2026 legislative session on Monday, referring both bills to the House and Senate environment and energy committees; neither has scheduled hearings for the proposals yet.
State lawmakers have until mid-March to act on the proposal, with modifications likely along the way.
“The legislature intends to treat all municipal solid waste management systems fairly,” according to Senate Bill 6092 and House Bill 2416. “This act achieves more equal treatment of all communities with municipal solid waste management systems under the [CCA] by adding a narrow allocation of no-cost allowances for the state’s only waste-to-energy municipal solid waste management system.”
