Carbon Management and Permanent Carbon Sequestration Exemption Pathways 

May 21st and 28th 10am – 12pm PST 

The Washington State Department of Ecology is seeking feedback on point source carbon capture and storage, carbon utilization, carbon transport, and technology-based carbon dioxide removal in the context of the cap-and-invest program and Washington State. Their goal is to understand broad interest, relevance, and needs. Representatives from the department stated that carbon management is not a replacement for other emissions reductions but is likely to play a role in meeting Washington state’s climate commitment goals. They imagine these tools will be most useful in the hard-to-abate sectors. The department also sited multiple relevant Washington Administrative Codes (WACs):  

WAC 173-446-040: The Climate Commitment Act (CCA) accepts emissions exemptions under cap-and-invest in the form of sequestrated carbon dioxide emissions when it can be “demonstrated to The Dept of Ecology’s satisfaction”.  

WAC 173-407-110: To be considered permanently sequestered within Washington State there needs to be a “high degree of confidence that substantially ninety-nine percent of greenhouse gases will remain contained for at least one thousand years”. 

The Department of Ecology presented the meeting’s main topic, providing the Dept of Ecology’s goals, perspective, and desired feedback areas. Presentations were followed by group white boarding sessions and discussions. Participants identified carbon management strategies like geologic carbon sequestration in basalt and saline aquifers, utilization (in concrete for permanence of 1000 years), marine carbon dioxide removal, and enhanced rock weathering as ideal for Washington state to pursue.   

Key Takeaways  

• Need to clarify terminology, rules, and regulations for what is compliant under the Cap-and-Invest program and how technologies will be categorized (i.e. phased permanence, utilization, language in existing WACs).  
• Washington State should align Class V and VI permitting, rules, and regulations with the unique properties of the state’s Columbia River Basalt Group.  
• The Department of Ecology should focus on currently deployable technologies and frameworks; like utilization, above ground and marine mineralization, and existing voluntary carbon market foundational principles, while building and supporting permanent carbon dioxide storage projects and frameworks, like geologic carbon sequestration and international standards.  

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