By Charlie Bermant

Peninsula Daily News and The Associated Press

PORT TOWNSEND — Proposed state regulations requiring the state’s largest industrial emitters to reduce carbon emissions by 5 percent every three years would not affect Port Townsend Paper Corp., because the factory is already within acceptable levels, according to the company.

“Port Townsend Paper Corporation is currently in full compliance primarily because of the work we’ve done over the past several years,” said company spokesman Felix Vicino in an email.

“And we expect to stay that way.”

The state Department of Ecology’s proposed Clean Air Rule would initially apply to about two dozen manufacturing plants, refineries, power plants, natural gas distributors and others that release at least 100,000 metric tons of carbon a year.

Ecology’s proposal would have the threshold drop by 5,000 metric tons every three years — thus applying to more entities until it reaches a point under 70,000 metric tons.

The mill is already there, Vicino said, reporting an annual emission of 61,300 metric tons in 2015, a significant decrease from the 2005 level of 151,000 metric tons.

“Our current emissions are about 61,300 tons because we have already done much of the work to reduce them,” Vicino said.

“Through improved maintenance, operational efficiency improvements and the boiler controls improvements implemented, we have reduced over 59 percent in about 10 years.”

The state listed Port Townsend Paper as one business that could be affected by the proposed rule after 2017 because the list was based on projections based on 2012-13 data, said Ecology spokeswoman Camille St. Onge.

No other North Olympic Peninsula businesses were listed on the Ecology website.

Vicino said that if emissions never increase above the threshold, the mill will not be in the program because it already did the work.

St. Onge agreed that if the reported emissions continue at levels below the threshold, the mill would not be subject to the rule.

Public comment on the proposed rule will be accepted until April 8.

Ecology expects to finalize the rule by summer.

“Port Townsend Paper voluntarily started early doing the things this rule targets because it makes sense to do so,” Vicino said.

The draft rule comes after Gov. Jay Inslee failed last year to get legislation passed on his ambitious cap-and-trade plan that would have charged industrial facilities a fee for carbon emissions.

In July, Inslee directed Ecology to limit carbon pollution using its existing authority under the state’s Clean Air Act.

Officials say its Clean Air Rule would capture about 60 percent of the state’s overall carbon emissions, but it would not get the state all the way toward its mandate to limit emissions of greenhouse gases to the 1990 level.

Environmental and other groups applauded the draft rule as a crucial step in addressing climate change.

But business groups and others have worried the efforts could hurt the state’s ability to attract and retain industries.

Two competing efforts are trying to limit carbon pollution through statewide initiatives.

In one effort, backers of Initiative 732 have turned over 350,000 signatures on a proposal to tax carbon pollution at $25 a metric ton while lowering other state taxes.

If verified, I-732 would go before the Legislature. If lawmakers don’t act, the measure would go on the 2016 ballot.

A coalition of environmental, labor and social justice groups, the Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy, is also planning a statewide ballot initiative.

That measure hasn’t been finalized, but it could impose new fees on carbon pollution and direct the money for clean-energy projects, low-income communities and other projects.

Facilities would have different ways to comply with the rule, including buying credits from another carbon market system such as California’s or sponsoring projects that permanently reduce carbon pollution.

Ecology plans four hearings in March, one in Seattle, one in Spokane and two webinars.

For more information about the proposed rule, see http://tinyurl.com/PDN-carbonrule.

To comment online and to see a hearing schedule, go to http://tinyurl.com/PDN-comment.

________

Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.