Senate committee weighs SB 6246 to tighten EITE reporting, tie no‑cost allowances to decarbonization plans
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Summary
SB 6246 would require emissions‑intensive, trade‑exposed facilities (EITEs) to submit facility‑specific decarbonization plans and biannual emissions reports as a condition of continued no‑cost allowance allocation under the Climate Commitment Act; testimony split between advocates seeking accountability and industry warning of job leakage and grid constraints.
Senator Slatter introduced SB 6246 to the Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee as a measure to preserve the Climate Commitment Act’s emissions cap while increasing accountability for emissions‑intensive, trade‑exposed facilities (EITEs).
The bill directs the Department of Ecology to recommend an allowance allocation approach for EITEs between 2035 and 2050, to propose a policy requiring some EITE allowances to be consigned for use in decarbonization investments, and to require owners/operators to submit facility‑specific information and decarbonization plans as a condition of receiving no‑cost allowances beginning in the second compliance period (2027). Committee staff described reporting requirements as biannual facility submissions of production and emissions data and four‑year third‑party‑verified decarbonization plans with budgets and timelines.
Supporters said the measure fills information gaps and keeps the CCA’s integrity intact. Leah Missick of Climate Solutions said the bill “is a critical first step to ensuring that EITEs plan to reduce their pollution” and that better data will help tailor policy. Caitlin Kren of Washington Conservation Action testified the bill “conditions ongoing state subsidy of no cost allowances … on proactive planning” and called the reporting a first step toward accountability.
Industry and labor witnesses urged caution. Chris McCabe of the Northwest Pulp and Paper Association and Josh Estes of the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers described recent mill closures and warned that the bill’s reporting and the provision allowing Ecology to withhold allowances could destabilize investments. McCabe said a provision in section 9, which ties continued allocations to agency satisfaction with qualitative or quantitative reporting, is “really a problem” for facilities that have budgeted under the existing CCA trajectory. Utilities and manufacturers including Nucor, Simplot and Callas PUD highlighted persistent barriers — limited clean electricity, permitting uncertainty and capital intensity — and urged policy choices that pair reporting with funding and grid investments.
Ecology’s Joel Creswell told the committee the agency “generally supports this bill’s approach” and that the information and planning requirements will be helpful but may need streamlining to avoid duplication with existing greenhouse‑gas reporting. Creswell also warned the bill requires significant agency work not currently funded in the governor’s budget.
Committee members repeatedly pressed on leakage analysis and feasibility. Proponents emphasized the bill is primarily informational and intended to preserve competitiveness while avoiding unchecked allowance allocations post‑2035; opponents said the bill must more explicitly address financing, grid capacity and economic impacts to avoid incentivizing facility closures rather than technology deployment.
The hearing closed with the committee taking testimony from a wide range of stakeholders and signaling further questions for staff and Ecology as the bill moves forward.
