(1) A city or town authorized to acquire and operate utilities for the purpose of furnishing the city or town and its inhabitants and other persons with water, with electricity for lighting and other purposes, or with service from sewerage, storm water, surface water, or solid waste handling facilities, may develop and make publicly available a plan to reduce its greenhouse gases emissions or achieve no-net emissions from all sources of greenhouse gases that the utility owns, leases, uses, contracts for, or otherwise controls.

     (2) A city or town authorized to acquire and operate utilities for the purpose of furnishing the city or town and its inhabitants and other persons with water, with electricity for lighting and other purposes, or with service from sewerage, storm water, surface water, or solid waste handling facilities, may, as part of its utility operation, mitigate the environmental impacts, such as greenhouse gases emissions, of its operation, including any power purchases. The mitigation may include, but is not limited to, those greenhouse gases mitigation mechanisms recognized by independent, qualified organizations with proven experience in emissions mitigation activities. Mitigation mechanisms may include the purchase, trade, and banking of greenhouse gases offsets or credits. If a state greenhouse gases registry is established, a utility that has purchased, traded, or banked greenhouse gases mitigation mechanisms under this section shall receive credit in the registry.

[2007 c 349 § 2.]

NOTES:

     Finding -- Intent -- 2007 c 349 § 2: "The legislature finds and declares that greenhouse gases offset contracts, credits, and other greenhouse gases mitigation efforts are a recognized utility purpose that confers a direct benefit on the utility's ratepayers. The legislature declares that section 2 of this act is intended to reverse the result of Okeson v. City of Seattle (January 18, 2007), by expressly granting municipal utilities the statutory authority to engage in mitigation activities to offset their utility's impact on the environment." [2007 c 349 § 1.]