King County Council approves sale of Cedar Hills landfill biomethane rights to Puget Sound Energy

The Metropolitan King County Council on Sept. 2 approved a substitute ordinance (2025-0236) authorizing the sale of rights tied to the capture, cleaning and sale of biomethane produced at the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill to Puget Sound Energy. The council voted unanimously to adopt the ordinance following a briefing and executive-session review.

Councilmember Dembowski told colleagues the ordinance ‘‘has to do with, approving a contract to sell, rights, related to the capture, cleaning and sale of methane gas at the Cedar Hills Landfill,’’ and said some rights would be retained by the county. The item came to the council with a unanimous ‘‘do pass’’ recommendation from the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee and was presented with Department of Natural Resources and Parks staff available for questions.

The measure was moved by Councilmember Dembowski and adopted in a roll-call vote that recorded nine yes votes. The clerk read the ordinance title into the record as part of the public hearing and agenda process earlier in the meeting.

A public hearing portion of the meeting occurred before the vote; one person spoke in chambers but his comments were unrelated to the ordinance. The ordinance authorizes county staff to enter into an agreement to sell a portion of the landfill-produced biomethane and related environmental attributes to Puget Sound Energy; details about contract term, price, or the exact rights the county will retain were not specified in the council discussion.

Next steps for implementing the contract were not detailed on the floor; staff from the Solid Waste Division and the Department of Natural Resources and Parks were on hand to assist with follow-up implementation and negotiation as needed.