Washington Administrative Code › Title 173 - Ecology, Department of (See also Titles 197, 317, 372, and 508) › Chapter 173-446 - Climate Commitment Act program rule › GENERAL REQUIREMENTS › Section 173-446-056 - Cap and invest consultants and advisors

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) A "cap and invest
				consultant or advisor" is an individual or party that is providing any of the
				following services in relation to the cap and invest program or the GHG
				reporting program to a registered entity for which the individual or party is
				not an owner or employee regardless of if the consultant or advisor is acting
				in the capacity of an offset or emissions verifier:
(a) Designing, developing, implementing,
				reviewing, or maintaining an inventory or offset project information or data
				management system for air emissions or development of a forest management plan,
				or timber harvest plan, unless the review is part of providing GHG offset
				verification services; or, where applicable, designing, developing,
				implementing, reviewing, or maintaining electricity or fuel transactions,
				unless the review is part of providing GHG verification services;
(b) Developing GHG emission factors or other
				GHG-related engineering analyses, including developing or reviewing a GHG
				analysis to comply with the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) that includes
				offset project specific information;
(c) Designing energy efficiency, renewable
				power, or other projects that explicitly identify GHG reductions and GHG
				removal enhancements as a benefit;
(d) Designing, developing, implementing,
				internally auditing, consulting, or maintaining an offset project resulting in
				GHG emission reductions and GHG removal enhancements;
(e) Owning, buying, selling, trading, or
				retiring shares, stocks, or ecology offset credits, or registry offset credits
				from an offset project;
(f) Dealing
				in or being a promoter of Washington offset credits on behalf of an offset
				project operator, authorized project designee, if applicable, and their
				technical consultant(s), or where the credits are owned by or the offset
				project was developed by the reporting party;
(g) Preparing or producing GHG-related
				manuals, handbooks, or procedures specifically for a reporting party or an
				offset project operator, authorized project designee, if applicable, and their
				technical consultant(s);
(h)
				Providing appraisal services of carbon or GHG liabilities or assets;
(i) Brokering in, advising on, or assisting
				in any way in carbon or GHG-related markets;
(j) Being directly responsible for developing
				any health, environment or safety policies for the offset project operator,
				authorized project designee, if applicable, and their technical consultant(s);
				or directly managing any health, environment or safety functions for a
				reporting party;
(k) Bookkeeping or
				other services related to the accounting records or financial
				statements;
(l) Providing any
				service related to information systems, including International Organization
				for Standardization 14001 Certification for Environmental Management (ISO 14001
				Certification) and energy management systems, including those conforming to ISO
				50001, unless those systems will not be part of an emissions verification
				process and will not be reviewed as part of the offset verification
				process;
(m) Appraisal and
				valuation services, both tangible and intangible;
(n) Fairness opinions and
				contribution-in-kind reports in which the verification body has provided its
				opinion on the adequacy of consideration in a transaction, unless the resulting
				services will not be part of the emissions verification process and the
				information reviewed in formulating the offset verification statement will not
				be reviewed as part of the offset verification process;
(o) Any actuarially oriented advisory service
				involving the determination of accounts recorded in financial statements and
				related accounts;
(p) Any internal
				audit service that has been outsourced by the reporting party or by the offset
				project operator, authorized project designee, if applicable, and their
				technical consultant(s) that relates to the offset project operator's,
				authorized project designee's, if applicable, and their technical
				consultant(s)' internal accounting controls, financial systems, or financial
				statements, unless the systems and data reviewed during those services, as well
				as the result of those services will not be part of the offset verification
				process;
(q) Acting as a
				broker-dealer (registered or unregistered), promoter or underwriter on behalf
				of a reporting party or an offset project operator, authorized project
				designee, if applicable, and their technical consultant(s);
(r) Any legal services provided by outside
				counsel hired by a registered entity and providing legal services related to
				any of the other services described in this section. Also, any attorney
				providing nonlegal services, such as brokering, auditing, financial advice, bid
				strategy, or other services listed in this section; and
(s) Expert services to an emissions reporter
				or to the offset project operator, authorized project designee, if applicable,
				and their technical consultant(s) or a legal representative for the purpose of
				advocating the offset project operator's, authorized project designee's, if
				applicable, and their technical consultant(s)' interests in litigation or in a
				regulatory or administrative proceeding or investigation, unless providing
				factual testimony.