On December 3, 2007, the City Council adopted Ordinance 122574 that requires City departments that perform environmental review under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) to evaluate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when reviewing permit applications for development. King County began this evaluation in October 2007, becoming the nation’s first local government to officially add GHG emissions to the environmental review of construction projects. Seattle will be one of the first cities in the country to require such a review.

The City Council adopted Comprehensive Plan goals and policies in 2007 related to achieving reductions in GHG emissions. To carry out these goals and policies, assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from proposed development will be required beginning March 31, 2008. Under this assessment, developers for projects that trigger environmental review will be required to identify the climate change impact of their proposals as shown by calculating the GHG emissions. At this point, the legislation does not require changes in the development proposals as a result of the review. Instead, the requirement is a first step toward limiting the potential negative effects of construction projects on the environment by disclosing emissions.

DPD is now working to develop procedures for carrying out the directive.

Background
The Washington State Environmental Policy Act requires environmental review of certain development proposals that may have an adverse impact on the environment. If a proposed development is subject to SEPA review, the project proponent is required to complete a SEPA checklist. The checklist currently includes questions relating to air emissions from new development.
King County has created a Climate Change Impacts Worksheet to assist developers in providing the information required by their SEPA checklist. The checklist responses will help estimate the quantity of GHG emissions generated over the life span of a building. This includes emissions associated with obtaining construction materials, fuel used during construction, energy consumed during the building’s operation, and transportation impacts of the building’s occupants.

Public Comments
City of Seattle staff are working with King County to establish procedures for identifying climate change impacts that are as consistent as possible across jurisdictions. We anticipate that Seattle’s Climate Change Impacts Worksheet will be very similar to the one developed by King County. Over the next two months City staff will be briefing stakeholder groups to introduce them to the new disclosure requirements, and to solicit public comments.

Details on upcoming outreach activities, as well as a link to updated versions of the City’s Climate Change Impacts Worksheet, will be posted on the project website as they become available.