SB 6353 – In 2007, the Legislature allowed applicants to opt-in to the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) process when siting transmission facilities meeting the following conditions:
- New transmission lines 115 kilovolts (kV) or greater that are necessary to connect a power plant to the region's power grid.
- Electrical transmission facilities in national interest electric transmission corridors as designated by the U.S. Secretary of Energy.
- Certain facilities 115 kV or greater that run between existing local government boundaries if an applicant opts-in to EFSEC.
Cities and counties worked hard on this compromise in 2007, to limit the preemption of local siting authority to those conditions only. This bill would have expanded the pre-emption to allow EFSEC to site all transmission facilities that carry 115 kV or greater. For that reason, AWC and the City of Tacoma testified opposed to this bill. Ultimately, the bill did not receive a Do Pass recommendation from the Senate Energy, Natural Resources & Marine Waters Committee before the cut-off deadline, so the bill is considered dead for this year.