WASHTUCNA, Wash. — Brian Baumann and his family have been farming the land outside of Washtucna for more than 100 years. It’s a challenging line of work, that he says, has become more difficult since the Climate Commitment Act went into effect.
"Why are we making it more burdensome on farmers by adding these unnecessary burdens?” he asked.
Baumann’s great-grandfather first put down roots on the plot of land back in 1918. His family grows soft white winter wheat on roughly 4,000 acres. From here, it’s taken to port and sold on the global market.
"If your price is set too high on what you’re willing to sell your wheat for then nobody will buy it. They don’t have to buy it if they don’t want to,” Baumann explained.
It’s a high-volume, low-margin business. Any added production costs cut into the bottom line. That includes the price of fuel. Baumann says the state’s Climate Commitment Act has noticeably driven up diesel prices for him and other farmers in Washington.
"Oh yeah, and it's unfortunate,” he said. "I think the best word for me to use to be accurate would be I’m just disappointed, really."
The law took effect in January 2023, intending to substantially cut the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. At the center of it is a new carbon market where the state’s largest polluters have to buy carbon allowances at quarterly auctions.
The law generated nearly 2 billion dollars in the first year. It’s also driven up prices at the pump. When we talked with the Department of Ecology in November, Luke Martland, who is in charge of implementing the Climate Commitment Act, said drivers were likely paying at least 25 cents more per gallon because of the cap-and-invest program.
"It's hard to make that connection month by month or week by week," Martland said at the time. "But we have estimated that we think the impact could be around 25 cents a gallon, maybe 27 cents a gallon. And these are only estimates."
Critics put the increase closer to 40-to-45 cents per gallon. And, even though the law dictates that certain industries like agriculture are supposed to be exempt from fuel surcharges, Baumann says, just like everyone else, he too is paying more for fuel.
"When you tack on 45 cents on a 9-thousand gallon load, you know, that adds up," Baumann said. "It adds up a lot.”
It is why the Washington Farm Bureau is trying to get the state legislature to act.
“The exemption for both on-farm and on-highway fuel used for agriculture purposes from the carbon price under the CCA has not been honored, resulting in significant financial losses for farmers and ranchers within the first year," Washington Farm Bureau wrote in a statement, "Damages are likely hundreds of millions of dollars and counting. The WFB has consistently urged the state to reopen the statute to address this crisis.”
Last May, the Department of Ecology formed a workgroup to tackle the issue. After several meetings, Ecology published a report in October, writing, “By the time the workgroup began in June, a few fuel suppliers and distributors had stopped imposing these surcharges. Over the following three months that number increased substantially.”
But, for Baumann, issues remain. He hopes one day to re-coup the added fuel costs he was supposed to be exempt from.
"Are the farmers going to receive any interest payment on the money that is rightfully theirs from the government?" Baumann asked. "Chances are probably not, but that would make it right."
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