(1) The department shall adopt rules that establish standards that reduce carbon intensity in transportation fuels used in Washington. The standards established by the rules must be based on the carbon intensity of gasoline and gasoline substitutes and the carbon intensity of diesel and diesel substitutes. The standards:

(a) Must reduce the overall, aggregate carbon intensity of transportation fuels used in Washington;

(b) May only require carbon intensity reductions at the aggregate level of all transportation fuels and may not require a reduction in carbon intensity to be achieved by any individual type of transportation fuel;

(c) Must assign a compliance obligation to fuels whose carbon intensity exceeds the standards adopted by the department, consistent with the requirements of RCW 70A.535.030; and

(d) Must assign credits that can be used to satisfy or offset compliance obligations to fuels whose carbon intensity is below the standards adopted by the department and that elect to participate in the program, consistent with the requirements of RCW 70A.535.030.

(2) The clean fuels program adopted by the department must be designed such that:

(a) Regulated parties generate deficits and may reconcile the deficits, and thus comply with the clean fuels program standards for a compliance period, by obtaining and retiring credits;

(b) Regulated parties and credit generators may generate credits for fuels used as substitutes or alternatives for gasoline or diesel;

(c) Regulated parties, credit generators, and credit aggregators shall have opportunities to trade credits; and

(d) Regulated parties shall be allowed to carry over to the next compliance period a small deficit without penalty.

(3) The department shall, throughout a compliance period, regularly monitor the availability of fuels needed for compliance with the clean fuels program.

(4)(a) Under the clean fuels program, the department shall monthly calculate the volume-weighted average price of credits and, no later than the last day of the month immediately following the month for which the calculation is completed, post the formula and the nonaggregated data the department used for the calculation and the results of the calculation on the department’s website.

(b) In completing the calculation required by this subsection, the department may exclude from the data set credit transfers without a price or other credit transfers made for a price that falls two standard deviations outside of the mean credit price for the month. Data posted on the department’s website under this section may not include any individually identifiable information or information that would constitute a trade secret.

(5)(a) Except as provided in this section, the rules adopted under this section must reduce the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to each unit of the fuels to 20 percent below 2017 levels by 2038 based on the following schedule:

(i) No more than 0.5 percent each year in 2023 and 2024;

(ii) No more than an additional one percent each year beginning in 2025 through 2027;

(iii) No more than an additional 1.5 percent each year beginning in 2028 through 2031; and

(iv) No change in 2032 and 2033.

(b) The rules must establish a start date for the clean fuels program of no later than January 1, 2023.

(6) Beginning with the program year beginning in calendar year 2028, the department may not increase the carbon intensity reductions required by the applicable clean fuels program standard adopted by the department under subsection (5) of this section beyond a 10 percent reduction in carbon intensity until the department demonstrates that the following have occurred:

(a) At least a 15 percent net increase in the volume of in-state liquid biofuel production and the use of feedstocks grown or produced within the state relative to the start of the program; and

(b) At least one new or expanded biofuel production facility representing an increase in production capacity or producing, in total, in excess of 60,000,000 gallons of biofuels per year has or have received after July 1, 2021, all necessary siting, operating, and environmental permits post all timely and applicable appeals. As part of the threshold of 60,000,000 gallons of biofuel under this subsection, at least one new facility producing at least 10,000,000 gallons per year must have received all necessary siting, operating, and environmental permits. Timely and applicable appeals must be determined by the attorney general’s office.

(7) Beginning with the program year beginning in calendar year 2031, the department may not increase the carbon intensity reductions required by the applicable clean fuels program standard adopted by the department under subsection (5) of this section beyond a 10 percent reduction in carbon intensity until the:

(a) Joint legislative audit and review committee report required in RCW 70A.535.140 has been completed; and

(b) 2033 regular legislative session has adjourned, in order to allow an opportunity for the legislature to amend the requirements of this chapter in light of the report required in (a) of this subsection.

(8) Transportation fuels exported from Washington are not subject to the greenhouse gas emissions reduction requirements in this section.

(9) To the extent the requirements of this chapter conflict with the requirements of chapter 19.112 RCW, the requirements of this chapter prevail.

Effective date—2022 c 182 §§ 313, 408-414, and 421: See note following RCW 82.21.030.

Intent—2022 c 182: See note following RCW 70A.65.240.