Big Oil Companies Bankroll Anti I-1631 Campaign

SEATTLE, WA - Some of the world's largest petroleum companies are pouring millions into a campaign opposing I-1631, a carbon tax initiative that will appear on the November ballot. Just four organizations - Phillips 66, BP, Andeavor, and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers - have given over $16 million to the anti-1631 campaign so far.

In total, the anti-1631 campaign has banked over $21 million, according to state records. Most of that money has been put toward paid media, like direct mail and TV commercials.

On the pro I-1631 side, environmental groups and Washington residents have raised about $8 million. Some of the biggest donors to that campaign include The Nature Conservancy ($1 million), the League of Conservation Voters ($900,000), and Craig McKibben ($500,000), founder of the former Seattle software company WRQ Inc.

I-1631 would impose a tax on carbon that would increase each year until emissions are 25 percent below 1990 levels, according to the state Department of Ecology.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, the pollution fee is set at $15 per metric ton of carbon content. The fee would increase by $2 per metric ton each year and is also adjusted for inflation each year. The $2 annual increases would continue until the state’s existing greenhouse gas reduction goal for 2035 is met and the state is on pace and likely to meet the 2050 greenhouse gas reduction goal. At that time, the pollution fee would be fixed, except for annual inflation adjustments. The initiative would provide exemptions from the fee for certain fossil fuels and facilities." - state Office of Fiscal Management.

Here are all the donors who have given $1,000 or more to the anti-1631 campaign:

• PHILLIPS 66 - $7.2 million
• BP AMERICA - $6.3 million
• ANDEAVOR - $4.3 million
• AMERICAN FUEL AND PETROCHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS - $1 million
• U.S. OIL & REFINING COMPANY - $558,531
• CHEVRON U.S.A. INC. - $500,000
• VALERO ENERGY CORPORATION - $495,000
• KOCH INDUSTRIES, INC. - $300,000
• THE HOLLYFRONTIER COMPANIES - $250,000
• CASCADE NATURAL GAS COMPANY - $50,000
• BP AMERICA - (in kind) $47,677.63
• WESTERN STATES PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION - (in kind) $46,887.08
• CHS, INC. - $30,000
• POTATO PAC - $15,000
• WASHINGTON STATE TREE FRUIT ASSOCIATION - $15,000
• WILLIAMS - NORTHWEST PIPELINE LLC - $10,000
• ASSOCIATED GENERAL CONTRACTORS OF WA (BUILD PAC) - $10,000
• PACIFICORP - $10,000
• WA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE PAC - $7,500
• BROOKS MANUFACTURING CO - $5,000
• BUSCH DISTRIBUTORS, INC. - $2,500
• LEWIS COUNTY FARM BUREAU - $1,000
• WA ASSOCIATION OF WHEAT GROWERS - $1,000

Caption: A gas truck sits on standby at a Phillips 66 gas station in case of any gas shortages on Aug. 20, 2017 in Jackson, Wyoming.

Photo by George Frey/Getty Images