West Coast Ballot Initiatives Could Increase Refinery Costs

SUGAR LAND--November 7, 2016--Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Washington State's recently enacted Clean Air Rule requires petroleum refiners and other energy-intensive businesses in the state to lower their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by an average of 1.7% per year, starting in 2017. On November 8, voters in the Evergreen State will go to the polls to vote on a separate measure, Initiative 732, which would impose the nation's first carbon tax on GHG-emitting industries like refineries. If passed, Initiative 732's carbon tax would be set at $15 per ton of GHG emissions in July 2017, rising to $25 per ton a year later.

Within this article: Projections on how the ballot initiative would affect Washington's economy and environment.