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Committee hears carbon-credit update for Sawyer County Forest; credits expected after third-party verification
Summary
Consultants reported the Sawyer County forest carbon project has completed modeling and due diligence and is at step 9 of a 12-step process; third-party verification is under review and the American Carbon Registry (ACR) submission and credit issuance are expected before sales ramp up.
County staff updated the Land, Water, Forest Resources Committee on the Sawyer County forest carbon-credit project, reporting that project developers have completed modeling, documentation and due-diligence and have submitted the package to a third-party verifier.
A representative summarized the status: “We’re at step 9 of 12. All the due diligence and modeling and documentation of our growth rates and how many credits the county forest will generate has been done. They’ve submitted that to the third party verifier; that’s where it sits right now.” The presenter said the third-party verifier expects to complete its review in May, after which the project will be submitted to the American Carbon Registry (ACR) for issuance of credits.
Timing and budget implications
Staff said credits are not issued until ACR approves them; consultants expect credits to be issued in the third quarter and projected county receipts could arrive optimistically in the first or second quarter of the following year. Committee members were advised not to budget projected carbon revenue until a check is in hand. “We’ve advised from the start that don’t, don’t budget it until you have the check-in hand,” a staff presenter said.
Project monitoring and contract term
Committee discussion clarified monitoring and contract terms: the carbon project requires monitoring for 40 years under registry rules, but the county’s contract with the developer (Anew) covers 10 years, after which the county can renew, change contractors, or manage monitoring internally. Staff noted other counties in the program have begun receiving small revenues as credits are sold, providing a cautious precedent.
Next steps
Staff said they will wait for the verifier’s sign-off and ACR issuance; the county will address budgeting for potential revenue in future budget cycles only after receipts are realized.
