On June 30, Delaware Governor Ruth Minner signed legislation (S.B. 263) permitting the state to participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), along with nine other Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. The bill was passed by the state legislature earlier in June. Unlike several states that plan to auction close to 100 percent of their allowances from the start of the program, the Delaware bill calls for 40 percent of the allowances to be allocated to electric generators proportionally based on historical emissions. This allocation decreases by 8 percent per year, resulting in a 100 percent auction by 2014. The bill also specifies how auction proceeds will be distributed among various state programs.

While several attempts were made during the legislative process prevent DNREC from exempting any facilities, all the relevant amendments were defeated. The final DNREC regulations are scheduled to take effect in December with the first compliance period beginning January 1, 2009.

Click here for a summary of the state-specific provisions of this bill.