It will be first-come, first-served when Washington distributes $28.5 million to partially refund cap-and-trade surcharges to farmers and haulers of farm goods.

The Department of Licensing plans to activate a website and start taking applications for rebates at 8 a.m. Aug. 26. Applicants can file online or print applications to mail.

Farmers and truckers need not submit receipts, but must attest they are being truthful about the fuel they bought and the farm goods they produced or transported.

The department will provide rebates until the money is gone, Deputy Director Alejandro Sanchez said during a webinar.

“The Legislature was very direct in saying we need to focus on speed and efficiency, and rightly so. We want to get this fund out to the industry as quickly and efficiently as possible,” he said.

Lawmakers purportedly exempted fuel used on farms and to transport farm goods from cap-and-trade’s tax on fossil fuels.

Cap-and-trade, however, went into effect Jan. 1, 2023, without direction from the Department of Ecology on how fuel suppliers or distributors could apply the exemption.

Farmers saw cap-and-trade fees on fuel delivered to farms. Some distributors later removed the surcharges, but the riddle of taxing some fuel but not all fuel, especially at retail stations, has never been fully solved.

Lawmakers acknowledged the problem this year by setting aside $30 million from cap-and-trade taxes for rebates. The Licensing Department was allowed to spend $1.5 million to administer the program.

Farmers and truckers will not be fully reimbursed. Refunds will be limited to fuel purchased in 2023 and distributed in four tiers.

People who report buying fewer than 1,000 gallons will be eligible for a $600 rebate. People who bought 1,000 to 4,000 gallons can get $2,300.

People who purchased 4,000 to 10,000 gallons will be eligible for $3,400. People who bought more than 10,000 gallons can get $4,500.

The department plans to activate a website Aug. 26, dol.wa.gov/agriculture-support-program, with more information, including a video on applying. The application site will be: agsupport-wa.submittable.com/submit.

Representatives of the farm and trucking industries advised the department staff on setting up the system.

“They’ve been very fair and objective in this process,” Washington State Trucking Associations President and CEO Sheri Call said. “I feel pretty good about it.”

By taxing fossil fuels, cap-and-trade raises pump prices, though the tax is not fixed or transparent to motorists.

“We’re going to encourage every one of our members who is eligible to apply,” Call said. “We realize funds are limited and we are competing with farmers.”

Initiative 2117, on the November ballot, would repeal cap-and-trade. The state collected $2.15 billion from cap-and-trade auctions in the first 18 months, according to the Office of Financial Management.

The money goes into several government accounts for various programs.

The Natural Climate Solutions Account funds 58 full-time state jobs. The Climate Investment Account funds 116 positions, and the Climate Commitment Account funds 136, according to OFM.