AB 1072

This bill does the following related to the measurement of carbon emissions and

carbon emission offset transactions associated with animal agriculture operators

and renewable natural gas and energy produced at animal agriculture facilities:

1. The bill requires the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer

Protection to promulgate rules that establish voluntary and market-driven

standards for quantifying the carbon emissions produced directly and indirectly

from an animal agriculture operator's activities. DATCP must also create a form

that an animal agriculture operator can use to submit information related to the

operator's activities for calculating the carbon emissions produced directly and

indirectly from the operator's activities. If an animal agriculture operator submits

a completed form to DATCP, DATCP must calculate the carbon emissions produced

by using the standards DATCP must establish under the bill and notify the operator

of that amount.

2. Also, under the bill, DATCP must facilitate trade in products and services

related to transactions between animal agriculture operators and other parties for

carbon emission offsets and may operate an electronic marketplace for selling and

purchasing carbon emission offsets. DATCP must also do both of the following: a)

conduct research on and provide grants for conducting research on carbon

sequestration practices and carbon offset practices and b) monitor transactions

involving carbon emission offsets between animal agriculture operators and persons

that market carbon emission offsets. Under the bill, the seller and purchaser of a

carbon emission offset must each pay an assessment equaling 0.5 percent of the sales

price of the offset.

3. The bill also requires the Public Service Commission to develop a statewide

master plan for the collection, transportation, and commercialization of renewable

natural gas produced from animal wastes, biomass, and other organic sources. PSC

must develop standardized pipeline interconnection agreements for renewable

natural gas for both intrastate and interstate gas pipelines, and the agreements

must include provisions establishing specifications for renewable natural gas

injected into natural gas pipelines. Also, under the bill, PSC must require all

pipeline operators to accept renewable natural gas that satisfies the specifications

established in the standardized agreements developed by PSC. PSC must also

conduct a study of methods for the state to provide financing support for designing,

developing, and operating infrastructure for collecting and transporting renewable

natural gas produced from animal wastes, biomass, and other organic sources. PSC

must prepare a report detailing the results of the study and making

recommendations and submit the report to the appropriate standing committees of

the legislature.

4. The bill requires PSC to establish standardized power purchase agreements

and standardized agreements for the provision of energy as a service between animal