Could cow burps and farts be taxed under the Climate Commitment Act?

A bill filed by several House Democrats in Olympia is raising a stink with House Republicans.

House Bill 1630 (HB 1630) mandates that dairy farms and feedlots report their annual methane emissions — a lot produced from cow burps and farts — to the state’s Department of Ecology.

The bill’s implied goal is to gain a clearer understanding of how much “enteric methane emissions,” the more technical term for bovine burps and farts, contribute to the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Scientists say the average cow emits, yearly, 200 pounds of methane, one of the seven major greenhouse gases.

Why the Climate Commitment Act may play a role

If passed as written, owners or operators of dairy farms and feedlots must submit an annual report to the state’s Department of Ecology, detailing the total metric tons of methane emitted in the previous year.

If a facility’s emissions exceed certain thresholds, it could fall under the regulations of the state’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA), which aims to reduce overall greenhouse gas outputs.

Under the CCA, air polluters such as the oil and gas industry must offset their greenhouse gas emission by buy carbon offsets. Those purchases have resulted in millions of dollars of income for the state.

Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, says the bill is just a precursor to taxing farmers.

“If they find that there was sufficient methane equivalent to 25,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions, these facilities would likely come under the Climate Commitment Act” Schmick said in a statement to KIRO Newsradio and MyNorthwest.

When we think of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide often steals the spotlight. However, methane—a gas that’s over 25 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere—plays a significant role in climate change.

A surprising contributor to methane emissions? Our bovine friends, who release methane through their burps and farts, a process scientifically known as enteric fermentation.

More from Matt Markovich: Washington aims to curb drunk driving with bold civil protection orders

Seaweed to the rescue for cow burps and farts?

While monitoring emissions is a crucial first step, reducing them is the ultimate goal. Enter an unexpected hero: seaweed.

Research has shown that incorporating certain types of seaweed into cattle feed can significantly reduce methane emissions from enteric fermentation. For instance, a study from the University of California, Davis, found that adding seaweed to cattle feed reduced methane emissions from beef cattle by about 40%. A previous study showed seaweed cut methane emissions 82% in feedlot cattle, the university said.

Similarly, trials in Australia demonstrated that feeding cattle a supplement derived from red seaweed resulted in an average methane reduction of 51.7%, with some instances reaching up to 91%. Importantly, these reductions didn’t compromise the quality of the meat or the health of the animals.

In 2020, Washington Democratic U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier introduced the Research to Reduce Agricultural Methane Act aiming to fund studies on innovative methods to reduce methane emissions in livestock, including through feed additives like seaweed. The bill has gone nowhere in Congress.

Racing into trouble: New Washington bill targets chronic speeders

In 2022, the Washington Legislature set a target to reduce the amount of organic materials going into landfills by 75% by 2030, recognizing the role of decomposing organic waste in methane emissions.

This led to the adoption of regulations requiring municipal solid waste landfills to implement measures to monitor and capture methane emissions.

HB 1630 was just referred to the House Environment & Energy Committee. A public hearing date has not been set.

Matt Markovich often covers the state legislature and public policy for KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of Matt’s stories here. Follow him on X, or email him here.

Follow @https://twitter.com/mattmarkovich