PT Air Watchers v. State of Washington, Department of Ecology

Summary

The Washington Supreme Court affirmed the Pollution Control Hearings Board's decision upholding the Department of Ecology's determination that a proposed cogeneration project would not have significant environmental impacts requiring an environmental impact statement. The court held that Ecology properly considered greenhouse gas emissions, forest-resource impacts, and the legislative policy concerning biomass combustion. The court also held that the project fell within the statutory exemption for an energy recovery facility operating before January 1, 1989.

Holdings

1. Ecology properly considered the legislative policy favoring biomass fuel in RCW 70.235.020(3), together with project-specific environmental information, and reasonably concluded that the project's greenhouse-gas emissions would not have significant environmental impacts.
2. Ecology properly concluded that the project would not result in adverse impacts to forest resources and was not required to consider speculative harvesting or every conceivable environmental impact.
3. The project was exempt from the EIS requirement in RCW 70.95.700 because power boiler 10 was an energy recovery facility that had burned solid waste before January 1, 1989.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Ecology and the Pollution Control Hearings Board properly considered the legislative policy in RCW 70.235.020(3) in determining that the project's greenhouse-gas emissions would not have significant environmental impacts.
2. Whether Ecology and the Board properly concluded that the project would not result in adverse impacts to forest resources.
3. Whether the project was exempt from the environmental impact statement requirement in RCW 70.95.700 because it involved an energy recovery facility operated before January 1, 1989.

Disposition

affirmed