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Clerk 08/21/2026
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AN ORDINANCE relating to the sale of biomethane held by the county; authorizing the wastewater treatment division to enter into an agreement for the sale of pipeline quality biomethane produced at the South Treatment Plant to Puget Sound Energy.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. The wastewater treatment division of the department of natural resources and parks operates three regional wastewater treatment facilities, including the South Treatment Plant in Renton, Washington, which treats approximately twenty-eight billion gallons of wastewater each year.
2. Anaerobic digesters at the treatment plant generate methane biogas as part of the water and associated solid material treatment and purification processes.
3. Since 1988, the wastewater treatment division has been removing impurities from the digester biogas to create what is then called pipeline quality biomethane. The biomethane meets gas quality standards equivalent to fossil fuel-derived natural gas, and as such is a direct substitute for fossil fuel natural gas. The pipeline quality biomethane gas can be injected into the regional natural gas pipeline.
4. Between 1988 and 2016, the pipeline quality biomethane not consumed at the treatment plant was injected into the natural gas pipeline and sold directly by King County to Puget Sound Energy.
5. In addition to the energy content of the pipeline quality biomethane, the origin of the biomethane as a byproduct of the wastewater treatment process provides significant greenhouse gas reduction and other environmental benefits when compared to the consumption of fossil fuel-derived natural gas.
6. Those environmental benefits, as an extension of the energy content, are recognized as environmental attributes. Environmental attributes refer to renewable energy or other characteristics of a resource that are distinguished from a commodity and can have financial value related to both voluntary and mandatory environmental requirements.
7. Since July 2022, the wastewater treatment division has been selling both the biomethane gas and environmental attributes to a private company, called Anew, the successor to Bluesource, LLC, as authorized by Ordinance 19448.
8. The original terms of the contract authorized by Ordinance 19448 with Anew allowed for the extension of the contract, by mutual agreement, through June 30, 2027. Due to changing market conditions, Anew and King County have chosen not to renew the contract under the original contract terms.
9. Ordinance 20085 enacted June 23, 2026, authorized the King County executive to sell the environmental attributes related to the biomethane gas generated at the South Treatment Plant to Karbone Energy LLC ("Karbone"). Karbone did not have an interest in purchasing the pipeline quality biomethane from the facility.
10. As the local natural gas utility serving most of King County and beyond, Puget Sound Energy supplies natural gas to approximately 900,000 customers.
11. In accordance with K.C.C. 4.56.100.A.2 unique circumstances are present for this agreement because the market for the sale of pipeline quality biomethane and natural gas is highly specialized and is subject to local market conditions and market variability. K.C.C. 4.56.100.A.2. authorizes the county to make a negotiated direct sale to a person or entity when the council determines that such a sale is in the best interests of the public. For the reasons indicated in this Statement of Facts, Puget Sound Energy is a logical purchaser of the pipeline quality biomethane produced by the South Treatment Plant biogas processing facility. The county has negotiated directly with Puget Sound Energy to sell biomethane produced at the South Treatment Plant biogas processing facility.
12. The sale of the biomethane provides public benefit by increasing the revenue generated to the wastewater treatment division through the sale of the biomethane resource.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings: The King County council has determined, and therefore finds, that unique circumstances make a negotiated direct sale of biomethane associated with the South Treatment Plant biogas processing facility in the best interests of the public.
SECTION 2. The King County executive is hereby authorized to execute a base contract for the sale and purchase of pipeline quality biomethane with Puget Sound Energy, substantially in the form of Attachment A to this ordinance.
SECTION 3. Moneys from the sale of environmental attributes under section 2 of this ordinance shall be allocated to the wastewater treatment division and reinvested in
Strategic Climate Action Plan-related actions, including efforts that increase the beneficial use of biogas.