Washington Administrative Code › Title 173 - Ecology, Department of (See also Titles 197, 317, 372, and 508) › Chapter 173-446 - Climate Commitment Act program rule › OFFSETS › Section 173-446-510 - Requirements for offset projects using ecology compliance offset protocols

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) General
				requirements for offset projects. In order to ensure that offset credits
				generated by an offset project can be used as compliance instruments under this
				chapter, an offset project operator or authorized project designee must ensure
				that the offset project:
(a) Meets all of the
				requirements set forth in the applicable compliance offset protocol;
(b) Any offset credits used must have been
				issued for reporting periods wholly after July 25, 2021, or within two years
				prior to July 25, 2021;
(c)
				Provides direct environmental benefits in the state of Washington, pursuant to
				WAC 173-446-595; and
(d) Meets the
				following additionality requirements, regardless of whether such requirements
				are set forth in the applicable compliance offset protocol, as of the date of
				offset project commencement:
(i) The
				activities that result in GHG emission reductions and GHG removal enhancements
				are not required by law, regulation, or any other legally binding mandate
				applicable in jurisdiction in which the offset project is located, and would
				not otherwise occur in a conservative business-as-usual scenario; and
(ii) The GHG emission reductions and GHG
				removal enhancements resulting from the offset project must exceed the project
				baseline calculated pursuant to the applicable version of the compliance offset
				protocol under which the offset project has been listed, or under which the
				offset project has been transitioned for that offset project type, as set forth
				in WAC 173-446-505(3).
(iii) The
				offset project operator or authorized project designee may transition an offset
				project to the most recently adopted version of the compliance offset protocol
				by updating the listing information in an offset project data report.
(A) An offset project may only be
				transitioned to the most recently adopted version of the compliance offset
				protocol through an offset project data report submitted to ecology or the
				offset project registry prior to the site visit.
(B) To properly transition to the most
				recently adopted version of the compliance offset protocol, the offset project
				data report for the transitioning offset project must specify the most recently
				adopted compliance offset protocol as the version under which the offset
				project is reporting. Offset projects may only transition to the most recently
				adopted version of the compliance offset protocol during a reporting period
				that is subject to a full offset verification.
(C) For projects using a U.S. Forest Projects
				protocol issued by the California Air Resources Board, the first offset
				verification after transitioning to the most recently adopted version of the
				compliance offset protocol must meet all the requirements of WAC
				173-446-535.
(D) An offset project
				will be considered to have completed the transition to being listed under the
				most recently adopted version of the compliance offset protocol upon ecology's
				approval of a positive or qualified positive offset verification statement for
				the applicable reporting period.
(E) An offset project that transitions to
				being listed under a newly adopted version of the compliance offset protocol
				during a crediting period will continue in the same crediting period and not
				start a new crediting period.
(e) For purposes of subsection (1)(a) of this
				section, "the applicable compliance offset protocol" is the version of a
				compliance offset protocol under which the offset project has been listed or
				transitioned as described in (d)(iii) of this subsection, except as follows.
If, during an offset project's crediting period, any new law,
				  regulation, or other legally binding mandate requiring GHG emission reductions
				  or GHG removal enhancements goes into effect in Washington, in a linked
				  jurisdiction, or in another jurisdiction in which the offset project is
				  located, during an offset project's crediting period, then the offset project
				  is eligible to continue to receive offset credits for those GHG emission
				  reductions and GHG removal enhancements for the remainder of the offset
				  project's crediting period, but the offset project may not renew that crediting
				  period. If an offset project has not been listed under a compliance offset
				  protocol prior to the effective date of the new law, regulation, or other
				  legally binding mandate, or if the new law, regulation, or other legally
				  binding mandate goes into effect before the offset project's crediting period
				  renews, then only those GHG emission reductions or GHG removal enhancements
				  that are in excess of what is required to comply with the new law, regulation,
				  and/or other legally binding mandate are eligible for offset credits.