Ferguson signs bill to give energy-generating trash incinerator more time to reduce emissions

OLYMPIA – Gov. Bob Ferguson signed legislation Wednesday that will give Spokane’s Waste-to-Energy Plant more time to comply with state law.

As the bill worked its way through the Legislature, city officials and local lawmakers warned that without it, ratepayers would face increased solid waste bills, as the city spends millions each year due to the facility’s carbon emissions.

The new law requires the Department of Ecology to provide no-cost carbon credits to the facility through 2030 as it gradually reduces its carbon emissions.

By December 2030, the owner or operator of the facility must submit a plan to show how it will comply with statewide greenhouse gas emission reduction standards by 2040 and 2050. The facility is also required to produce a plan to reduce waste.

Ferguson said Wednesday the legislation “recognizes the facility’s important and unique contributions to the Spokane community, while maintaining progress towards our state’s greenhouse gas emission reduction limit.”

“The legislation outlines a reduced-cost pathway for the facility to comply with our state’s climate laws, which will mean incentivizing long-term carbon reduction and minimize rate impacts for residents,” Ferguson said. “This legislation reflects great collaboration, which I really appreciate, between environmental organizations, the city of Spokane, labor unions and the Department of Ecology.”

Passed by the Legislature in 2021, the greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program of the Climate Commitment Act exempts landfills, which produce emissions as waste decomposes. However, the Waste-to-Energy Plant received no such exemption from lawmakers.

Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown has traveled to Olympia to push lawmakers to act on the legislation, as officials warned if the city were to enter the state’s auction for credits for those 100,000 tons, it could come with a cost of $2.5 million to $8 million each year.

Ferguson said Wednesday he had a “number of conversations” with people in Spokane about the legislation, including Brown. In a statement Thursday, Brown said she was grateful for the work of Ferguson and Spokane-area lawmakers who got it across the finish line.

The legislation was sponsored by state Rep. Natasha Hill, D-Spokane, and state Sen. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane.

“This bill was a strong example of what thoughtful negotiation can look like,” Brown said in a statement. “It provides a balanced solution that keeps environmental priorities at the forefront while ensuring our ratepayers are not overburdened.”