Washington Legislature OKs Bill About Montana Coal Plants

Washington's Legislature has passed a bill that would allow the state's largest utility to create a fund to pay for the eventual shutdown of two coal-powered electricity plants in Montana.

Senate Bill 6248 sailed through the House on a 92-5 vote on Friday after being easily approved by the Senate in February. It now heads to Gov. Jay Inslee's desk.

The bill would let Puget Sound Energy put money aside to cover future decommissioning and remediation costs of the power plants in Colstrip, Montana, if they're closed after 2023. The utility owns half of Colstrip Units 1 and 2.