Limitations on the use of allowances.
(1) A covered party may use allowances from GHG emission reduction programs to generate ERUs when ecology determines:
(a) The allowances are issued by an established multisector GHG emission reduction program;
(b) The covered party is allowed to purchase allowances within that program; and
(c) The allowances are derived from methodologies congruent with chapter
173-441 WAC.
(2) A covered party may demonstrate compliance through the acquisition and use of allowances to generate ERUs based on the limitations in this subsection.
(a) A covered party may use a quantity of allowances to generate ERUs for a compliance period that does not exceed the applicable percentage in Table 3 of the covered party's compliance obligation:
Table 3
Percentage Limits on Use of Allowances for a Compliance Period
Compliance Period | Upper Limit |
2017-19 | 100% |
2020-22 | 100% |
2023-25 | 50% |
2026-28 | 25% |
2029-31 | 15% |
2032-34 | 10% |
2035 and beyond | 5% |
(b) A quantity of allowances intended for use consistent with (a) of this subsection must be divided so that the proportion of those allowances from a single vintage year does not exceed the percentages in Table 4. The originating GHG emission reduction program assigns the vintage year for each allowance.
Table 4
Vintage Year Requirements for a Quantity of Allowances Used Within a Compliance Period
Year within the compliance period | Vintage year of allowance | Percentage not to exceed (%) |
1st year | Same year as the 1st year of the compliance period | 35 |
2nd year | Same year as the 2nd year of the compliance period | 40 |
3rd year | Same year as the 3rd year of the compliance period | 40 |
(3) The covered party must document that an allowance used to generate an ERU has been invalidated from use or placed into a permanent holding account in its originating GHG emission reduction program.
[Statutory Authority: Chapters
70.94,
70.235 RCW. WSR 16-19-047 (Order 15-10), ยง 173-442-170, filed 9/15/16, effective 10/16/16.]