WA public records access is getting worse, says watchdog report

More than 36,000 homes, businesses and public facilities lost natural gas service Wednesday in southeast Washington and parts of Idaho following a rupture in a pipeline near Pullman. 

School districts, government offices and businesses throughout the region remained closed without heat Thursday as Avista Utilities announced they would have to go meter-by-meter to restore gas service once the pipeline is repaired. 

Williams Cos., which owns the pipeline servicing the area, wrote in a statement to Crosscut that a third party ruptured an underground line just north of Pullman on Wednesday. No injuries occurred. Williams stated it had a repair team on site and it expected to have the pipeline fixed by later today. 

Avista called the service shutdown the largest natural gas outage in its history. Crews worked to manually turn off lines at each individual meter as part of purging the line. Avista expected its crews would start going back to restore service at individual meters on Friday and it would likely take the next three to five days to get to all customers.

“We know this incident has caused hardship for you and your families,” Avista wrote in a statement to customers, “and we are grateful for your patience as we work to restore your service.”

Restaurants throughout the area abruptly started closing their doors Wednesday evening when they lost natural gas for heating and cooking. Several school districts canceled classes and government agencies closed offices. The University of Idaho in Moscow canceled classes and non-essential services through Friday. Washington State University in Pullman announced it had switched to an alternative heat source and would operate as normal. 

The Washington Department of Ecology is seeking public comment on proposed new rules aimed at reducing landfill methane emissions.

The new rules will require municipal solid-waste landfills to do more to prevent methane from escaping into the atmosphere, as well as to track emissions and make reports to the state. The state also plans to make $15 million in grants available to landfill owners and operators to cover the costs associated with the proposed new regulations.

These proposed new rules would put Washington on par with California, Oregon and Maryland in setting standards for decreasing methane emissions that occur when food and yard waste decompose in landfills.

“Methane gas emissions from landfills are a significant contributor to the climate crisis, and this new program will help us take measures to reduce them,” said Laura Watson, Ecology’s director, in a news release. “Cutting landfill methane emissions is an important step toward meeting our statewide commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 95% by 2050.”

Public comments on the proposal will be accepted online, by mail or at a public hearing on Dec. 6. 

Washington wants to link its carbon pricing program with California and the Canadian province of Quebec in hopes of trimming economic ripple effects, the Ecology Department announced Thursday.

“Connecting the market here in Washington to similar programs elsewhere … would incentivize wise long-term strategies to reduce emissions,” Ecology Department Director Laura Watson wrote in a blog post. 

A recent Ecology Department preliminary analysis concluded the proposed coalition would likely improve the cap-and-invest program’s economic durability, longevity and efficacy. “In a larger, more liquid market with a greater number of participants, allowance prices would likely be lower and change more predictably. Predictable prices can foster greater investments in decarbonization,” the report said.

Participants in Washington’s cap-and-invest program would be able to improve their long-range planning, and perhaps more readily pursue carbon reduction measures, the report said. 

Washington’s carbon pricing market is slightly bigger than Quebec’s, but smaller than California’s. 

Joel Creswell, Washington Ecology Department climate pollution reduction program manager, recently briefed the state House Energy & Environment Committee about this proposed move. He said a three-government cap-and-trade collation would likely shrink Washington’s final bid prices in its quarterly cap-and-invest auctions. 

Washington’s final “settlement” prices were $48.50 per allowance (roughly one metric ton of carbon) for the first quarter of 2023; $56.01 per allowance for the second quarter; and $63.03 per allowance for the third quarter.

Watson said a final decision will depend on talks with the California-Quebec coalition. The earliest that the two markets could link is 2025.

Critics of cap-and-invest are blaming the program’s high final bid prices for increasing gasoline prices at the pump. However, program supporters blame the increasing gasoline prices on oil companies’ greed. Washington’s Democratic legislators plan to introduce an oil industry financial transparency bill in the 2024 session.  

"California has the highest gas prices in the country and the third highest retail electricity rates in the country. ...  Everything California policymakers touch related to energy markets ends in disaster for consumers," State Rep. Mary Dye, ranking Republican on the House Energy & Environment Committee, said in a news release. 

A Crosscut analysis showed numerous independent factors are in play — increasing crude oil prices, high real estate costs, oil transportation costs, different states having different margins between wholesale and retail prices, what is happening elsewhere globally and several other reasons.

Washington’s health insurance exchange, which launched its open enrollment period Wednesday, is expanding access to health and dental plans to every state resident regardless of citizenship or immigration status, the Washington Health Benefit Exchange announced.

Federal subsidies such as sliding scale tax credits continue to be available solely to U.S. citizens or immigrants with legal documentation, according to the agency. However, people without immigration documentation with modest incomes could be eligible for the state subsidy program. The program, Cascade Care Savings, will be available to anyone in Washington who meets the income eligibility limits, regardless of immigration status.

About one out of four of the remaining uninsured in Washington are people who are undocumented, according ot the state. 

“Disparities exist and access to insurance coverage can often be the difference between life and death,” Wynne McHale, chief of staff at the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, told Crosscut. “We are glad to be opening our doors to everybody.”

Washington is one of the few states to offer access and state subsidies for health insurance through its exchange to all residents regardless of immigration status. Generally, the federal Affordable Care Act prohibits undocumented immigrants from purchasing health care through state exchanges. Washington received an innovation waiver from the federal government last year that allows the state to expand its enrollment to “work towards its goals of improving health equity and reducing racial disparities by expanding access to coverage for the uninsured population” without raising costs. The waiver is effective from 2024 to 2028.

A similar expansion of Washington Apple Health, the state’s Medicaid plan, is scheduled to launch in July 2024.

Five states – California, Illinois, Oregon, New York and Colorado – and the District of Columbia currently offer state-funded coverage or subsidies to all residents, according to health policy nonprofit KFF. Minnesota has plans to do so as well by 2025.

Enrollment through the Washington State Healthplanfinder is open through Jan. 15. People who enroll by Dec. 15 can sign up for a plan that starts Jan. 1. People who enroll between Dec. 16 and Jan. 15 can sign up for a plan that will start Feb. 1.

Washington’s Liquor and Cannabis Board has suspended the certification of an Olympia cannabis testing laboratory.

The True Northwest lab received an emergency suspension of its state certification on Tuesday and has 180 days to appeal that decision to the Cannabis Board.

The agency’s staff determined that the lab failed to meet several accreditation requirements, including not having a lab director and not having its scales properly calibrated. The lab provided incorrect results to its customers, the Board said in a news release.

In September, the Cannabis Board received documents that suggested the lab was producing inaccurate test results. On Sept. 19, an independent lab certification firm, RJ Lee, confirmed that True Northwest had failed proficiency tests on June 16, 2022 and May 23, 2023.

On Oct. 9, the Board and RJ Lee audited True Northwest and found five major deficiencies. Board spokeswoman Julie Graham said the deficiencies included the lack of a lab director, improperly labeled chemicals, improperly calibrated balances and scales, calibration curves for residual solvents being noncompliant with regulations, and the inability to complete the lab’s data review process.

On Oct. 11, the Board ordered True Northwest not to accept new samples or proceed with tests. After Tuesday’s suspension, Washington has seven remaining marijuana quality-assurance labs. 

The lab tested marijuana samples for THC levels (the potency of the substance that gets you high) and CBD levels (the substance that helps medical patients deal with pain and nausea), as well as moisture and bacteria content. The THC results are sent to the state marijuana testing database and to growers. Those numbers would then be put on the labels for the pot to be sold.

At least one other marijuana quality-assurance lab — Praxis Laboratory in Centralia — has had its certification suspended. Inspections determined in 2021 that Praxis sent inflated THC figures to its grower clients, tricking them into thinking their cannabis was more potent than it really was. Praxis did not contest the suspensions after the 180-day waiting period, and lost its certification. 

Washington’s backlog of about 10,000 sexual-assault test kits has been cleared, eight years after the state began targeted efforts to analyze old evidence that had been collected but never processed, Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office announced this week.

As a result of testing thousands of kits and uploading the data to a national DNA database known as CODIS, defendants have been charged in 21 cases, all dating from 2015 to 2022, Ferguson’s office announced. 

Prior to a 2015 law that set clear deadlines for handling and processing rape test kits, some law enforcement agencies didn’t have a consistent system for processing them, in some cases storing untested evidence for more than a decade. According to Ferguson’s office, some kits found during efforts to clear the backlog dated back to the 1980s.

About 1,000 tested kits still need to be processed and uploaded to CODIS, a process that should be completed by the end of the year, according to Ferguson’s office.

Other steps that the state has taken to clear the cases include a tracking system for the test kits, funding for testing in private labs and the completion of a new Washington State Patrol crime lab in Vancouver.

Sexual-assault kits contain tools used by medical professionals to collect and preserve physical evidence for later DNA testing during the investigation. The evidence could be blood, semen, saliva or other biological traces. The kit also includes procedures for packaging the evidence and preserving the chain of custody as it gets processed.

King County voters deciding how to vote on the proposed property tax increases on the Nov. 7 ballot can use an online tool to estimate the potential financial impact of that choice.

King County Assessor John Wilson offers his Taxpayer Transparency Tool for the sake of government transparency.

“Taxpayers have a right to know where their money is going, and what each proposed property tax levy will cost them,” he said in a news release Monday when the 2023 election tool was released. “Property taxes keep going up. We need to make sure the public understands why.”

The tool is designed to help property owners in Kirkland, Maple Valley, Seattle, Enumclaw, Fife and Kent, plus those who live within the boundaries of the Skykomish School District; the King County FIre Protection District 27 in Fall City; Snoqualmie Pass Fire and Rescue; the Valley Regional Fire Authority covering Auburn, Algona and Pacific; and the Si View Metropolitan Park District in North Bend.

King County has offered the Tax Transparency Tool since 2018. It was developed by a software company called Spatialest, which focuses on property assessment data analysis.

The tax increase estimates offered by the tool are likely not accurate for the life of any levy, as those numbers usually change during the life of the tax.

Starting this week, voters in the 4th Congressional District in Central Washington will see radio ads in Spanish and English explaining how Democratic Party values align with voters’ beliefs in a region where conservative candidates have generally dominated. 

The ads are part of a $350,000, 14-month public awareness campaign from Rural Americans United. Doug White, a fourth-generation farmer and Democrat from Yakima, formed the organization and developed the group’s strategy based on what he learned during his unsuccessful run for Congress against U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, who was elected to a fourth term in 2022.  

The marketing campaign will feature 20,000 English and Spanish radio spots on a variety of issues, including public education, healthcare access, improving roads and other infrastructure, job creation, immigration reform, unions and supporting veterans. 

In a news release announcing the campaign, White contends there are more Democratic-leaning voters in the region than election results let on, but that those voters haven’t received messaging that would compel them to vote for Democratic candidates. 

“On the campaign trail, I learned that 80 percent of the Central Washington population has never heard a positive Democratic message,” White claimed. “Worse yet, younger generations are being constantly bombarded with one-sided far-right rhetoric.”

Rural Americans United has several goals for the 2024 election: increase votes for Democratic candidates by 11% percent, shift more independent voters, and increase Latinx voter turnout by 7%. 

The group also wants to double the number of active Democrats in Central Washington, create revenue opportunities for the party and attract more Democratic candidates.

The 4th District has not elected a Democrat to Congress since Gov. Jay Inslee won a single term in 1992. Inslee lost that seat to Republican Doc Hastings but continued his political career by relocating to Western Washington. Hastings served in Congress for two decades before retiring in 2015.

This story, originally published on Oct. 19, 2023, was recently revised to correct the amount of the 14-month public awareness campaign. It was $350,000, not $330,000. 

The Pacific Northwest is among seven regions picked to receive federal money to become hydrogen industrial hubs.

The Northwest venture — the public/private Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association involving Washington, Oregon and Montana — could receive up to $1 billion in federal dollars. The exact amount and parameters still have to be negotiated.

“The projects in this hub will support thousands of new jobs in Washington and the Northwest, while slashing emission in sectors such as heavy transportation, maritime, agriculture and industrial operations,” said Gov. Jay Inslee in a written statement.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced seven regional winners Friday chosen from 33 finalist proposals. Five of the winners are in Texas or further east. California is the only other winner west of Texas.

The Pacific Northwest coalition believes it can meet a DOE target of producing 50 to 100 metric tons of hydrogen fuel daily. Under this program, each hub is required to provide matching funds to make up at least 50% of the total costs.

While there are many ways to produce hydrogen fuel, this federal venture is interested in “green hydrogen,” created using water and sources of electricity like solar, wind or hydropower. The carbon footprint from this production process can be close to zero.

According to a 2020 Department of Energy report, the U.S. already produces upward of 10 million metric tons of hydrogen annually, but most of this is made using a method that involves natural gas. Only about 1% comes from the non-carbon-emitting “electrolysis” process that yields green hydrogen.

Projects already under in Washington include Fortescue Future Industries of East Perth, Australia, which is planning to build a green hydrogen production facility on the site of a closed coal mine next to the TransAlta coal-fired power plant in Centralia in Lewis County. The only one in Washington, TransAlta's coal-fired plant is scheduled to close in 2025.

The ports of Tacoma and Seattle are brainstorming developing fuel production facilities.

The Douglas County Public Utility District in Central Washington is building a complex along the Columbia River to produce hydrogen. That plant is on track to begin operating in 2024.

Several companies are planning to test hydrogen aircraft near Moses Lake.

The National Association of Realtors is spending big to back candidates in Seattle and Spokane this election cycle.

According to an Oct. 6 filing with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission, NAR spent $225,781 in support of Seattle City Council candidates and $150,779 on Spokane City Council and mayoral candidates in the general election. NAR spent an additional $282,745 in Spokane during the primary, according to a July 7 filing.  

In Seattle, the Association spent $61,324 in support of Tanya Woo, District 2; $54,425 for Joy Hollingsworth, District 3; $57,404 for Maritza Rivera, District 4; and $52,628 for Bob Kettle, District 7. The money paid for direct mail, phone banking and online advertising in support of the candidates.

In Spokane, NAR spent $99,008 in support of mayoral candidate Nadine Woodward during the primary and another $4,165 for the general election so far. In the races for Spokane City Council, the group has spent $13,256 on Michael Cathcart (District 1) in the general and $66,574 on Earl Moore (District 3); $184,672 on Kim Plese (City Council President); and $65,847 on Katey Treloar (District 2) in the primary and general.

Crosscut reached out to the National Association of Realtors for comment on their investments in Seattle and Spokane elections and will update this story if they respond.

Chicago-based NAR is the country’s largest real estate industry trade association with more than 1.5 million members. The Association recently made national headlines when several of the country’s largest real estate brokerages, including Seattle-based Redfin, announced they were leaving the organization in the wake of sexual harassment allegations against its leadership and two antitrust class-action lawsuits.