Chapter 173-446 WAC – Cap-and-Invest Offsets (U.S. Forest Protocol)

On June 16, 2026, we adopted amendments to provisions of Chapter 173-446 WAC, the Climate Commitment Act Program rule, related to the US Forest offset protocol. The US Forest protocol lays out criteria for land management and conservation offset projects under the CCA, and the adopted changes would make it more reflective of local forest conditions and make it easier for smaller landowners to participate. The objective of this rulemaking is to update the adopted California US Forest protocol to make it more applicable to Washington’s forests and diverse ecoregions.

We adopted four offset protocols from California’s Cap-and-Trade program, including the US Forest protocol. The Climate Commitment Act (CCA) directs Ecology to regularly review and update our offset protocols based on the best available science, with the goal of supporting the needs of Washington communities (RCW 70A.65.170(4)(b)).

Offset projects are designed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In the Cap-and-Invest Program, offset projects must also provide direct environmental benefits to Washington. Offset credits allow businesses to balance out a small portion of the negative impacts of their emissions by funding a project that benefits the environment, such as capturing methane on dairy farms or planting trees in urban areas. For additional information, visit our site on Cap-and-Invest offsets.

We announced the Cap-and-Invest Offsets rulemaking in September 2023. This is a distinct rulemaking process from the WAC 173-446-Offsets - ODS Protocol rulemaking adopted on July 21, 2025.

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Rulemaking timeline

Timeline

Date	Activity
Sept. 12, 2023	Announced rulemaking (filed CR-101 form)
Summer 2025	Develop Rule Language Hold Public Meetings
Jan. 21, 2026	Propose rule (file CR-102 form)
Feb. 26 and March 3, 2026	Hold public hearings
June 16, 2026	Adopt rule (file CR-103 form)

Announcement phase (CR-101)

Filing date:
Sept. 12, 2023

Announcement documents

Announcement Notice – CR-101 form

Rule development phase

Sept 13, 2023 - Early 2026

Public input & involvement

We are holding public meetings tprovide information about the rulemaking and seek your input. To get updates about these meetings and this rulemaking, join our email list.

U.S. Forest Protocol Draft rule language (Sept. 5, 2025)

U.S. Forest Protocol Draft rule language (July 15, 2025)

Public comment period (informal)

July 15, 2025, at midnight - Aug. 18, 2025, at 11:59 p.m.

See comments about the draft rule language and considered revisions to the U.S. Forest protocol.

Public comment period (informal)

Sept. 5, 2025, at 12 p.m. - Sept. 30, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.

See comments on the updated draft rule language and considered revisions to the U.S. Forest protocol.

Ecology's public meetings

Meeting/Date	Documents	Location
Environmental justice working group Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.	Presentation	Meeting recording
Cap-and-Invest Program rulemakings- Community forum Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025 2 - 3:30 p.m.	Presentation	Meeting recording
U.S. Forest protocol public meeting Thursday, July 24, 2025 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.	Presentation	Meeting recording
Environmental justice working group Wednesday, July 23, 2025 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.	Presentation	Meeting recording
Environmental justice working group Wednesday, June 25, 2025 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.	Presentation	Meeting recording
Environmental justice working group Wednesday, May 28, 2025 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.	Presentation	Meeting recording
Environmental justice working group Wednesday, April 23, 2025 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.	Presentation	Meeting recording
Environmental justice working group Wednesday, March 26, 2025 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.	Presentation	Meeting recording
U.S. Forest protocol working group Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.	Presentation	Meeting recording
U.S. Forest protocol working group Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.	Presentation	Meeting recording
U.S. Forest protocol working group Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.	Presentation	Meeting recording
U.S. Forest protocol working group Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.	Presentation	Meeting recording
U.S. Forest protocol working group Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.	Presentation	Meeting recording
U.S. Forest protocol working group Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.	Presentation	Meeting recording
U.S. Forest protocol working group Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.	Presentation	Meeting recording
U.S. Forest protocol working group Tuesday, July 2, 2024 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.	Presentation	Meeting recording
U.S. Forest protocol working group Tuesday, June 4, 2024 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.	Presentation	Not recorded

¹ Webinar information
Register for each meeting to get your meeting ID and passcode.
To hear the meeting better or to call in only, use your phone (instead of the computer) to call 253‑215‑8782.

Rule proposal phase (CR-102)

Filing date:
Jan. 21, 2026

Rule proposal documents:

A geospatial dataset of wildfire and disease buffer pool contributions is available upon request. Please contact CCAOffsets@ecy.wa.gov to request this dataset.

*Links will automatically download Excel files when clicked

Comment period

Comments were due March 13, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Please see submitted comments here.

Public hearings

Hearings will be online (webinar) only. Please contact Kayla Stevenson (kayla.stevenson@ecy.wa.gov) as soon as possible to request accomodation or interpretation services.

Date

Time

Location

Comment

Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026

9 a.m.

Watch the Feb. 26, 2026 public hearing recording.

Presentation followed by the hearing. We are holding this hearing via webinar.

This is an online meeting that you can attend from any computer using internet access.

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

5 p.m.

Watch the March 3, 2026 public hearing recording.

Presentation followed by the hearing. We are holding this hearing via webinar.

This is an online meeting that you can attend from any computer using internet access.

Rule adoption phase (CR-103)

Adoption date:
June 16, 2026

Rule effective date:
July 17, 2026

Rule adoption documents:

A geospatial dataset of wildfire and disease buffer pool contributions is available upon request. Please contact CCAOffsets@ecy.wa.gov to request this dataset.

*Links will automatically download Excel files when clicked

Additional languages

Español (Spanish)

El Departamento de Ecología ha adoptado una serie de modificaciones al capítulo173-446 del Código Administrativo de Washington (WAC), Programa de la Ley de Compromiso Climático (Climate Commitment Act Program). Esta normativa actualiza el protocolo de compensaciones forestales de EE. UU. y aumenta la flexibilidad de los proyectos de compensaciones forestales, mejora la viabilidad de los proyectos para propietarios de terrenos más pequeños y mejora la aplicabilidad del protocolo a los bosques de Washington.

Para más información, por favor llame a Kayla Stevenson al 360-072-0313 y solicite un intérprete.

中文 (Chinese)

Department of Ecology 通过了《华盛顿州行政法规》(Washington Administrative Code, WAC) 第 173-446 章“气候承诺法案计划” (Climate Commitment Act Program)（以下简称“气候承诺法案计划”）的修正案。此次规则制定更新了美国森林抵消协议，将提高美国森林抵消项目的灵活性，增强小型土地所有者实施项目的可行性，并提升该协议对 Washington 森林的适用性。

如需了解更多信息，请致电 360-072-0313 联系 Kayla Stevenson，并要求提供口译服务。

Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)

Sở sinh thái (Department of Ecology) đã thông qua các sửa đổi đối với Chương 173-446 của Bộ luật Hành chính Washington (Washington Administrative Code, WAC) trong Chương trình Đạo luật cam kết khí hậu (Climate Commitment Act Program). Quy trình xây dựng quy định này cập nhật nghị định thư về bù đắp rừng của Hoa Kỳ, giúp tăng cường tính linh hoạt cho các dự án bù đắp rừng của Hoa Kỳ, cải thiện tính khả thi của dự án đối với các chủ sở hữu đất quy mô nhỏ, đồng thời nâng cao khả năng áp dụng nghị định thư này đối với các khu rừng ở bang Washington.

Để biết thêm thông tin, vui lòng liên hệ Kayla Stevenson theo số 360-072-0313 và yêu cầu thông dịch viên

한국어 (Korean)

생태부는 Chapter 173-446 Washington주 행정법(Washington Administrative Code, WAC) Climate Commitment Act Program (기후 공약법 프로그램)의 개정안을 채택하였습니다. 본 규칙 제정은 US Forest offsets protocol(미국 산림 상쇄 프로토콜)을 갱신하며, US Forest offset(미국 산림 상쇄) 프로젝트의 유연성을 증대하고, 더욱 소규모인 지주에 대한 프로젝트의 실현가능성을 개선하고, Washington주의 산림에 대한 프로토콜의 적용가능성을 개선할 것입니다.

추가 정보에 대한 문의는 Kayla Stevenson에게 360-072-0313번으로 전화하여 통역사를 요청하십시오.

Pусский (Russian)

Department of Ecology (Департамент экологии) принял поправки к Главе 173-446 WAC Climate Commitment Act Program (Программа закона о климатических обязательствах). Данная процедура нормотворчества обновляет протокол по лесным компенсациям США; она повысит гибкость реализации таких проектов, улучшит их экономическую целесообразность для мелких землевладельцев, а также расширит применимость данного протокола к лесам штата Washington.

Для получения дополнительной информации позвоните Kayla Stevenson по телефону 360-072-0313 и попросите переводчика.

Yкраїнський (Ukrainian)

Department of Ecology (Департамент екології) ухвалив поправки до Глави 173-446 WAC Climate Commitment Act Program (Програма закону про кліматичні зобов'язання). Ця процедура нормотворчості оновлює протокол щодо лісових компенсацій США; вона підвищить гнучкість реалізації таких проектів, покращить їхню економічну доцільність для дрібних землевласників, а також розширить застосовність даного протоколу до лісів штату Washington.

Для отримання додаткової інформації зателефонуйте Kayla Stevenson за телефоном 360-072-0313 та попросіть перекладача.

Contact information

Kayla Stevenson (she/her)
Environmental Planner
kayla.stevenson@ecy.wa.gov
360-972-0313

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Accessibility

To request ADA accommodation for disabilities, or printed materials in a format for the visually impaired, contact Ecology's ADA Coordinator by email at ecyadacoordinator@ecy.wa.gov, or call 360-407-6831. People with impaired hearing may call Washington Relay Service at 711. People with speech disability may call TTY at 877-833-6341.