EPA proposes CO2, greenhouse gas reporting rule

March 16, 2009
The US Environmental Protection Agency has proposed the first comprehensive national system for reporting emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced by major sources.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has proposed the first comprehensive national system for reporting emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced by major sources.

The other gases covered by the proposed rule are methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and other fluorinated gases, including nitrogen trifluoride and hydrofluorinated ethers.

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said the reporting would provide comprehensive and accurate data about the production of GHG emissions. The proposal covers about 13,000 plants, accounting for 85-90% of GHG emissions in the US, she said.

The rule is being developed under the authority of the Clean Air Act. The proposed rule will be open for public comment for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Public hearings are scheduled for Apr. 6-7 in Arlington, Va., and Apr. 16 in Sacramento, Calif.

The new reporting requirements would apply to suppliers of fossil fuels and industrial chemicals, manufacturers of motor vehicles and engines, and large direct emitters of GHG emissions equal to or greater than a threshold of 25,000 tonnes/year.

API, NPRA studying proposal

The American Petroleum Institute and the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association both said they were analyzing the 1,400-page draft rule.

“API has spent more than 10 years in creating the API Compendium for measuring and estimating emissions, so we are not surprised by the complexity,” API said.

The API Compendium has been endorsed by the US Department of Energy, EPA, the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association, as well as other groups.

“Any final rule should be a unified system for state and regional governments that is practical for companies to implement,” API said.

NPRA said it would like to see some basic principles included in a GHG reporting rule.

“Those would include reporting at the facility level, reporting on an annual basis, every effort to develop one standard for state and federal reporting, and rejecting the notion of a third-party verification requirement,” NPRA said.

CERA comments

Cambridge Energy Research Associates issued a statement saying the rule could prove to be far reaching.

Robert LaCount, director of CERA’s climate change and clean energy research, said the rule “draws on a long and complex list of reporting protocols to establish a federal standard that will now apply across all of a company’s facilities regardless of their location.”

LaCount also noted that the rule shifts reporting from mostly voluntary programs to a mandatory system “at breakneck speed.”

The first annual report would be submitted to EPA in 2011 for the calendar year 2010, except for vehicle and engine manufacturers, which would begin reporting for model year 2011.

EPA estimates that the expected cost to comply with the reporting requirements to the private sector would be $160 million for the first year. In subsequent years, the estimated costs for the private sector would be $127 million/year.