Resources: Laws & Regulations: Washington State
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General RCWs
Key 2007 Developments
Key 2006 Developments
RCW 54, Public Utility Districts
RCW 54, Public Utility Districts
Title 54 of the Washington State RCW pertains to public utility districts. The above link navigates to the RCW table of contents.
RCW 80, Public Utilities
RCW 80, Public Utilities
Title 80 of the Washington State
RCW pertains to investor-owned utilities. The above link
navigates to the RCW table of contents.
RCW 77, Fish and Wildlife
RCW 77, Fish and Wildlife
Title 77 of the Washington State
RCW pertains to fish and wildlife. The above link
navigates to the RCW table of contents.
RCW 90, Water Rights – Environment
RCW 90, Water Rights – Environment
Title 77 of the Washington State
RCW pertains to fish and wildlife. The above link
navigates to the RCW table of contents.
Amending RCW 90.16.050 and RCW
90.16.090, Waterpower License Fees (SSB 5881)
Increases water power license fees to fund stream gaging
and other surveys and staff expenses at the Washington
State Department of Ecology and the Washington State
Department of Fish and Wildlife related to participation
in FERC project licensed implementation. Requires the
Department of Ecology to submit a progress report to the
appropriate committees of the legislature prior to
December 31, 2009, and biennially thereafter. The fees
sunset in 2017 unless the legislature extends the
authorization.
RCW Amencing RCW 17.85, Concerning
the statewide salmon recovery office (SSB 5224)
The primary purpose of the GSRO is expanded to provide
coordination and assistance for the implementation and
revision of regional salmon recovery plans. Changes the
expiration date of the GSRO from 2007 to 2015.
Amending RCW 35.92, 54.16, and
36.01, Authorizing utilities to engage in environmental
mitigation efforts (SHB 1929)
Grants express authority to municipal-owned utilities and
public utility districts to engage in mitigation activities
for environmental impacts (specifically GHG emissions
offsets).
Amending RCW 80.50, Adding RCW
80.70, Mitigating the impacts of climate change (SSB6001)
Intends to establish goals for the statewide reduction
in greenhouse gas emissions and reduction in petroleum
use, and to adopt the governor's mechanism in Executive
Order No. 07-02 to design and recommend a comprehensive
set of measures to accomplish the goals. Declares that
immediate actions be authorized in the electric power
generation sector for the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions and to accelerate efficiency in the
transportation sector.
RCW 90.90, Columbia River Basin Water Supply (HB2860)
HB2860 established the need for a
Columbia River Basin Water Management Program and
directed Ecology to aggressively pursue development of
water supplies to benefit both instream and
out-of-stream uses through storage, conservation and
voluntary regional water management agreements. The bill
also created a Columbia River Basin development account.
See the latest on implementation of this law by visiting
Columbia River Basin development account.
RCW 19.285, the Energy Independence Act (Initiative 937)
The Energy Independence Act was
passed by Washington State Initiative in November, 2006.
Under the new law, utilities in the state serving a
retail load of more than 25,000 are required to use
eligible renewable resources or acquire equivalent
renewable energy credits, or a combination of both, to
meet serve 3 percent of load by January 1, 2012; 9
percent by January 1, 2016; and 15 percent by January 1,
2020. Incremental, by not existing, hydropower qualifies
as an eligible renewable resource. The law would also
require utilities to pursue all available conservation
that is cost-effective, reliable, and feasible. The
Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission will
implement regulations pertaining to investor-owned
utilities. The Department of Community, Trad and
Economic Development is issuing regulations applicable
to consumer-owned utilities. See the
Pending Legislation and Rulemaking page for the
latest on the implementation of this new law.
Development of a resource plan — Requirements of a
resource plan (HB1010)
HB 1010 was passed by the 2006
Washington State legislature and has been signed by the
Govenor. It would require investor-owned and
consumer-owned electric utilities that have more than
25,000 customers (and are not full BPA requirements
customers) to develop integrated resource plans by
September 1, 2008. See the
Pending Legislation and Rulemaking page for the
latest on the implementation of this new law. The Washington Department of
Community, Trade and Economic Development has launched a
stakeholder process with regard to implementation of
HB1010, which was passed by the Washington State
Legislature in 2006. Implementation of the new law can
be tracked on
CTED's webpage.
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