WAC 173-446-595

(1) Except as specified in subsection (4) of this section, offset projects that are located within the state of Washington, or that reduce or avoid GHG emissions that would otherwise occur within the state of Washington, are presumed to provide direct environmental benefits in the state.

(2) For any offset project located outside the state of Washington, the offset project operator or authorized project designee may request a determination by ecology of whether the offset project provides direct environmental benefits in the state.

(a) Such a determination must be based on a showing that the offset project or offset project type provides for either:

(i) The reduction or avoidance of emissions of any air pollutant that is not credited pursuant to the applicable compliance offset protocol in the state of Washington; or

(ii) A reduction or avoidance of any pollutant that is not credited pursuant to the applicable compliance offset protocol that could have an adverse impact on waters of the state of Washington.

(b) To support a request for such a determination, the offset project operator or authorized project designee may submit the following information to ecology:

(i) Scientific, peer-reviewed information or reports demonstrating that the offset project or offset project type results in this type of reduction or avoidance of any pollutant in the state of Washington;

(ii) Governmental reports from local, regional, state, or national environmental, health, or energy agencies, or multinational bodies (such as the intergovernmental panel on climate change) demonstrating that the offset project or offset project type results in this type of reduction or avoidance of any pollutant in the state of Washington; or

(iii) Monitoring or other analytical data demonstrating that the offset project or offset project type results in this type of reduction or avoidance of any pollutant in the state of Washington.

(c) Ecology may require additional information from the offset project operator or authorized project designee at any time throughout the life of the project to verify that the specific actions, practices, or conditions on which this determination has been made remain in effect throughout the duration of the project. This information is subject to verification during the next full verification, as described in subsection (5) of this section.

(3) New offset projects. In order to be eligible to demonstrate that a new offset project located outside the state of Washington provides direct environmental benefits in the state, the offset project operator or authorized project designee shall submit all relevant materials listed in subsection (2)(b) of this section along with or prior to the first reporting period offset project data report.

(4) Offset projects listed after January 1, 2027, must be consistent with offset protocols adopted by ecology in order to receive a designation of providing direct environmental benefits to the state.

(5) Projects that are not presumed to provide direct environmental benefits to the state under subsection (1) of this section, but which are determined to provide direct environmental benefits based on planned activities, must have the implementation of these activities verified at each full verification. The offset project operator or authorized project designee must provide relevant documentation of planned and completed activities to the verification body in order for credits issued to the project to retain a status of providing direct environmental benefits to Washington state. Projects that do not provide direct environmental benefits to the state of Washington are ineligible for credit issuance by ecology per WAC 173-446-500 (2)(c).