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 A proposed hydrogen production plant for Centralia got a boost from the Biden Administration?s selection of the Pacific Northwest as a Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub. (Image courtesy of Fortescue Future Industries)
Pedro Picazo, a junior at Centralia High School, built a hydrogen-powered go-kart. He?s a go-getter. And he?s got the same idea as many adult innovators in Lewis County: the potential of hydrogen is enormous.
?Frankly, people don?t think of Lewis County as the origin of great, high technology,? Gov. Jay Inslee said. ?They need to understand, that is what is happening. And it?s happening because of you and this team really showing local leadership. That?s why it?s happening.?
In October, the Biden Administration announced the Pacific Northwest?s selection as a Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub, a distinction that comes with $1 billion to nurture hydrogen innovation throughout the region. In Lewis County, those funds will support a proposed hydrogen production plant run by Australia-based Fortescue Future Industries. The state is chipping in, too. Twin Transit will build the Washington?s very first hydrogen refueling station supported by a $2.5 million legislative appropriation. And funds from the state?s Climate Commitment Act are matching critical federal investments and funding local clean tech initiatives that create jobs and improve air quality. The state?s bold support for clean tech through the CCA factored in the federal government?s selection of region?s hydrogen hub proposal.
For Centralia and Lewis County, this clean tech boom is timely. The TransAlta Centralia Coal Plant is the last operating coal-fired power plant in the state. Its days are numbered, and the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state will close next year. The state?s last coal mine also closed in Centralia in 2006. The decommissioning of two important but obsolete assets has affected employment in the region, but new clean tech jobs are opening in their place.
During his visit last Friday, the governor met with local officials and industry leaders preparing coal workers for new trades in clean energy. The Pacific Northwest Center of Excellence for Clean Energy, TransAlta, and industry partners have planned this transition for years. Even at new jobs, these workers will do what they?ve always done: power their community. And from now on, Lewis County will breathe a little easier.
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Wednesday?s Results Washington Public Performance Review gathered experts to discuss the state?s fentanyl response and included Oxford House resident Austin Hoberg?s journey of recovery.
Fentanyl stole 1,803 lives in Washington state in 2022. The death rate has quintupled since 2019. Law enforcement sees street prices as low as $0.50 a pill, and one pill can kill. And as severe as the problem seems in cities, rural areas suffer more. On Wednesday, Gov. Jay Inslee convened experts for a public review of the state's response to the crisis.
"Fentanyl was a 12-year battle for me. I just recently celebrated one year sober," said Austin Hoberg, now an Oxford House resident in recovery. "This drug is very powerful. You could be good one minute and the next, it's all you think about... The craving is that powerful."
The state is funding awareness campaigns to warn of the drug's deadly risks. It's distributing naloxone to reverse overdoses. It's engaging high-risk communities. The state is funding Oxford Houses and medication treatment facilities to promote recovery. It's supporting police task forces disrupting the supply of the drug. And it's investing settlement money recovered from irresponsible opioid manufacturers into solutions.
This session, Inslee requested legislation to require fentanyl education in schools. He proposed a strategy and corresponding budget to address the full scope of the crisis. And on Wednesday, he called for local leaders to confidently site medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment centers. Legislators on both sides of the aisle are also sharing proposals and agreeing on the urgency of acting this session.
"Unfortunately, because of misperceptions, there's been community resistance to locating treatment centers," said Inslee. "There?s what you might call an old-fashioned approach of somehow expecting people?s willpower to overpower chemical addiction. So we have more work to do to get the community to accept this, because MOUDs are having tremendous success.?
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The 60-day session is nearing the first of a few crucial deadlines. Policy cutoff is next Wednesday, marking the deadline for legislators to pass policy bills out of policy committees. The fiscal committee cutoff comes quickly after, on Feb. 5. Expect a flurry of committee action as legislators work to keep their bills moving.
Two bills advanced this week in service of a cleaner, greener future. The House passed a bill that transitions new buildings away from methane gas to electricity, and the House Committee on Environment and Energy is advancing a bill to improve recycling rates.
The latter bill is a ?ReWRAP? of ?WRAP Act? legislation discussed last year. It requires producers to pay for the recycling of their packaging and encourages improvements in packaging as well. A Seattle Times op-ed co-written by local leaders from three Washington counties argues in favor of the bill, estimated to yield a 26% improvement in the state?s recycling rate and start curbside recycling in 11 counties currently without. A competing bill would yield only a 1% improvement.
The American Library Association counted 1,300 attempts to ban or censor books nationwide in 2022. SB 6208 sponsored by Sen. Monica Stonier and a companion bill HB 2331 sponsored by Rep. Lisa Wellman would insulate schools from harsh demands to remove books by creating a process to hear complaints and by forming an instructional materials committee. Another bill would keep libraries open in response to recent anti-intellectual outbursts in Washington state and across the country. The library protection bill sponsored by Sen. Sam Hunt passed the senate unanimously.
The Senate also passed a measure sponsored by Sen. Liz Lovelett to allow municipalities to tax short-term rentals to help pay for affordable housing programs. On Thursday the House heard a bill sponsored by Rep. Julia Reed and requested by the governor that would promote density near transit hubs. Both measures would improve housing supply and affordability. In 2019, Harvard Business Review found that the rise of short-term rentals is directly tied to rising rents.
The House Committee on Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry heard a bill to lower the allowable blood-alcohol concentration to drive. ?In Washington, only a small percentage of people tell us they drive impaired. And yet they are accountable for more than half of the 800 people who have died,? said Shelly Baldwin, director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. ?Point oh-five saves lives.?
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Flags lowered for fallen firefighter
On Friday, Gov. Jay Inslee ordered flags statewide to be lowered to half-staff to honor fallen Walla Walla Fire Department paramedic and engineer Ryan Pleasants. Pleasants died on duty earlier this month
Office of Homeless Youth awards grants to address housing instability
The Washington State Office of Homeless Youth announced a total of $4.8 million in grants awarded to 19 local organizations helping youth find safe and stable places to live. The funds will create community support teams, school-based programs, health care services, housing providers, and more, all in the spirit of supporting youth at risk of homelessness.
Climate Commitment Act helps ports slash emissions
In keeping with state goals to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, regional ports are phasing out emissions, too. They?re electrifying piers and adding shore power and more. These ambitious projects are being supported by federal grants, including a recent $12 million award to the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, and by the state?s Climate Commitment Act. This week, KNKX reported on how ports are leveraging state and federal investments to decarbonize.
Washington 'LEEDs' on clean buildings
The U.S. Green Building Council placed Washington state fourth in the nation among states that added the most Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified buildings. Last year, 91 projects were LEED-certified in Washington state, including offices, schools, hospitals, stadiums, and homes.
Expect I-5 delays near Olympia this weekend
State work crews will close the left lane of I-5 in both directions on Saturday and Sunday near the US 101 interchange near Olympia and Tumwater. Expect similar closures on Saturday, Feb. 3 and Sunday, Feb. 4.
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