WHAT'S NEW:

No recent state activity has been identified.

AIR EMISSIONS REGULATIONS:

Washington 's General Regulations for Air Pollution Sources, last updated on September 6, 2007 can be found here.

Air Quality Status	There are no areas listed in nonattainment with air quality standards, although WA has requested that the Wapato Hills-Puyallup River Valley be designated as nonattainment with PM2.5 standards. EPA's Nonattainment Areas
Major Source Threshold	A potential to emit 250 tons per year (100 tpy for listed sources) of any criteria pollutant in attainment areas triggers PSD.
Minor Source Permitting Exemption	Based on PTE
Minor Source Treatment	State BACT
Emergency Generating Limits	500 hrs/yr

CARBON DIOXIDE STANDARD:

Washington is the second state in the nation, after Oregon to enact a law specifically requiring CO 2 emissions offsets from new power plants. On March 09, 2004 the Washington legislature approved House Bill 3141, which requires fossil-fueled power plants with a generating capacity of 25 megawatts or more to mitigate 20% of the CO2 emissions the plant produces over 30 years. This requirement also applies to new power plants seeking site certification and existing plants that increase production of CO2 emissions by 15% or more.

Washington's regulations implementing the CO2 offset requirements from new power plants are Chapter 173-407 WAC – “Carbon Dioxide Mitigation Program for Fossil-Fueled Thermal Electric Generating Facilities.” The Washington State Department of Ecology (DEC) is currently working on amending this regulation to include an emissions performance standards required by SB 6001, which requires the adoption of California's emissions performance standard of 1,100 lbs of CO2/MWh for all new, long-term baseload electric power generation contracts. All CHP units in the state that are fueled by natural gas or waste gas or a combination of both, and that are in operation as of June 30, 2008 are considered to be in compliance with this GHG emissions performance standard.

DE MINIMIS EXEMPTIONS

Sources with a potential to emit less than the thresholds listed below are exempt from permitting. State notification is required for these sources:

• PM-10: 0.75 tpy
• NOx, SO2 and VOCs: 2.0 tpy
• CO: 5.0 tpy
• Lead 0.005 tpy
• Ozone Depleting Substances: 1.0 tpy

The owner/operator may begin actual construction on the project thirty-one days after the permitting agency receives the summary, unless the permitting agency notifies the owner/operator within thirty days that the proposed new source requires a notice of construction application.

MINOR SOURCE PERMITTING

A state BACT analysis for the appropriate pollutant will be required for all minor sources with a potential to emit more than the de minimus levels listed above. However, sources may take permit limits to avoid BACT. A unique analysis must be completed for each permit. BACT and other permitting fees can be found here.

A permit requires a 30 day public comment. The whole permitting process usually takes around 120 days.

MAJOR NSR/PSD PERMITTING

If the unit is located in an attainment area then a potential to emit 250 tons of any criteria pollutant triggers PSD. All sources with combined aggregate heat inputs of combustion units equal or less than the following are exempt from NSR in attainment areas:

• less than or equal to 500,000 Btu/hr using oil
• less than 500,000 Btu/hr using coal with less than or equal to 0.5% sulfur, or using other fuels with less than or equal to 0.5% sulfur
• less than or equal to 1MMBtu/hr using kerosene, #1 or #2 fuel oil and with less than or equal to 0.05% sulfur
• less than or equal to 4 MMBtu/hr using natural gas, propane, or LPG

TREATMENT OF EMERGENCY ENGINES

Diesel-powered and gas-fired emergency electrical generators must go through a permit process. Gas-fired emergency electric generators are limited to 500 hours of total operation per year, and not more than 30 hours for testing purposes. Diesel-fired emergency generators must also follow these same operating limits. Gas-fired generators must be 850 bhp or smaller and diesel-fired generators must be no greater 530 bhp. Specific operating limits for gas-fired emergency generators are located here (click on the general order link at the bottom of the page), and diesel limits can be accessed here (click on the general order link for more information).

SITING REQUIREMENTS FOR NON-UTILITY GENERATORS:

Electric power generating facilities that are 350 MW or greater are subject to review by the Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC). Alternative energy facilities of any size for which the customer chooses to attain EFSEC certification, including wind, solar, geothermal, landfill gas, wave or tidal action, and biomass, are also subject to review.

Chapter 80.50 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) is the law that the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council must follow in siting and regulating major energy facilities. Title 463 of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) is the regulation by which the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council functions under state and federal law.

For more information contact the EFSEC:

Washington State Energy Facilities Site Evaluation Council

905 Plum Street SE
PO Box 43172  
Olympia, WA 98504-3172

Phone: 360-956-2121 
Fax: 360-956-2158

Email: efsec@cted.wa.gov

BUILDING, ZONING AND FIRE CODES:

Building Codes: Washington State enforces the 2006 State Building Code, which references the 2006 IBC with some amendments. This serves as a mandatory statewide minimum.

• Building Codes Council

Energy Codes : Washington State enforces the 2006 State Energy Code, a state-specific code that is stricter than ASHRAE 90.1-2004. This serves as a mandatory statewide minimum.

• Energy Program

Fire Codes: Washington State enforces the 2006 State Building Code, which references the 2006 IFC with some amendments. This serves as a mandatory statewide minimum.

• State Fire Marshal’s Office

Zoning: Zoning and planning happens at the local level. Check with each jurisdiction regarding their zoning codes.

Resources (information may not be as current as provided above)

A general overview of each state’s enacted codes can be found HERE.

The International Code Council Adoption page gives state-by-state adoption status of specific ICC codes, as well as information about code adoption by some municipal governments within that state.

Information about energy codes can be found at the DOE’s Building Codes for Energy Efficiency page or at the Building Codes Assistance Project.

INTERCONNECTION REQUIREMENTS:

In September 2007 the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) adopted two levels of interconnection standards. The first applies to systems up to 300 kW capacity; the second level, for systems up to 20 MW capacity, follows the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) interconnection standards. More information about the FERC standards can be found here.

There is a $100 maximum application fee for systems up to 25 kW, and a $500 maximum for systems between 25 and 300 kW.

Systems up to 300 kW capacity must follow all applicable codes and standards, including he National Electric Code (NEC); National Electric Safety Code (NESC); the standards of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE); the standards of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC); the standards of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC); American National Standards Institute (ANSI); Underwriters Laboratories (UL) standards; local, state and federal building codes, and any electrical company's written electric service requirement approved by the UTC.

For more information contact your electric generation and distribution utility or the UTC.

Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission

1300 South Evergreen Park Drive, S.W.
P.O. Box 47250
Olympia , WA 98504-7250

Dick Byers

Phone: (360) 664-1209
E-Mail:dbyers@wutc.wa.gov
Web site:http://www.wutc.wa.gov

EXIT FEES:

Washington does not have a statewide policy on exit fees, but DG unit owners are typically not charged an exit fee. However, many of the large industrial DG owners have their own special contracts with the utility and in the contract terms the DG owner may be charged some sort of fee. Contact your local electric generation and transmission for more details.

UTILITY STANDBY RATES:

Washington does not have a statewidepolicy on standby rates.

PacifiCorp - Schedule 47 T - standby service is provided through a contract with the utility. A customer charge and moderate reservation charge is assessed every month based on contract demand. Actual usage is based on energy charges and a demand charge based on the maximum 15 minute demand of the month. There is a penalty for exceeding the contract demand.

Puget Sound Energy Inc - Schedule 458 - standby delivery service is provided through a contract with the utility. A customer charge and a demand based charge is assessed every month. The demand charge is based on the maximum 30 minute demand of the month. Actual usage would consist of energy charges that must be contracted for through a separate provider.