Mandatory Reporting Of Green House Gas Emissions Now Required By EPA

It’s official - on September 22, 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency promulgated  the much anticipated Greenhouse Gases Rule, which requires certain facilities to report the emission of greenhouse gasses from their facility.  The full rule can be found at www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ghgrulemaking.html. 

The EPA expects that the reporting rule will cover approximately 85% of the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions by requiring approximately 10,000 facilities to report their greenhouse gas emissions.  The first reports will cover the calendar year 2010 and are due for submission in early 2011.  The 2010 reports do not cover all facilities that potentially fall within the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule, as other sectors are phased into reporting requirements beginning in 2011 and beyond.  While most categories of sources are included in the final rule, not all categories have been finalized.  The EPA expects to include or exclude some categories of sources upon further review. 

It is now time for those facilities that annually emit more than 25,000 metric tons of CO2 or CO2 equivalent of methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfurhexaflouride or other fluorinated gases to determine whether reporting will be required for their facility and begin preparations to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases for the near and long term future.