Fuel Exemptions under the Cap-and-Invest Program
Under Washington’s Cap-and-Invest Program, qualifying fuel suppliers incur a compliance obligation based on their annual greenhouse gas emissions. These suppliers must buy allowances equal to their annual covered emissions. However, emissions from certain fuel uses are exempt, including:
- Fuels used for agricultural purposes by a farm fuel user
- Fuels used to transport agricultural products on public highways (through 2029)
- Emissions from watercraft fuels combusted outside of Washington
- Fuels used for aviation purposes
Claiming the exemption
In order to claim the exemptions, fuel suppliers must report exempt fuel sales to Ecology and have those emissions deducted from their compliance obligation. In early 2023, Ecology issued interim guidance with detailed instructions for how to report and document exempt fuels and certificates designed to help fuel suppliers document agricultural and maritime exemptions:
Finding exempt agricultural fuel
Ecology has compiled the following directory to identify retail fuel stations that have voluntarily registered as offering exempt agricultural fuel.
If you are a fuel supplier and/or retail station sellers that offers exemptions, please see our guidance document for how to register your fueling station: Interim Guidance on Registering Retail Fuel Stations for Agricultural Fuel Use Exemptions Under the Climate Commitment Act
Fuel station information is self-reported and continuously being updated. We recommend calling the fuel station directly to verify the information and learn more about its individual documentation requirements.
Exempt Fuels workgroup
In 2023, Ecology brought together a workgroup to facilitate a collaborative and solution-focused dialogue to ensure that maritime, agricultural, and aviation customers were able to benefit from the exemptions set in state law. The information gathered throughout this process supported the development of the guidance listed above.
The workgroup focused on providing policy clarifications and developing best practices that can be applied, under existing law, to ensure that all fuel suppliers, distributors, and customers are aware of these exemptions and that end-users are not paying surcharges on exempt fuels.
A full summary of the group’s results and solutions, as well as all meeting agendas, summaries and workgroup members can be found here:
Contact information
Emissions Reporting and Verification Section
GHGReporting@ecy.wa.gov