Ethanol Production &EPA
United States
Proposed Rule: Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases
Under the proposed Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) rule, owners or
operators of facilities that contain ethanol production processes (as defined below) and that emit
25,000 metric tons of GHGs per year or more (expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents) from
stationary combustion, miscellaneous use of carbonates, and other source categories (see
information sheet on General Provisions) would report emissions from all other source
categories located at the facility for which emission calculation methods are defined in the rule.
Owners or operators would collect emission data; calculate GHG emissions; and follow the
specified procedures for quality assurance, missing data, recordkeeping, and reporting.
How Is This Source Category Defined?
Under the proposal, ethanol production consists of facilities that produce ethanol from the fermentation of
sugar, starch, grain, or cellulosic biomass feedstocks, or produce ethanol synthetically from ethylene or
hydrogen and carbon monoxide.
What GHGs Would Be Reported?
The proposal calls for ethanol producers to report:
• Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CFL,), and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from each stationary
combustion unit by following the requirements of 40 CFR part 98, subpart C (General Stationary
Fuel Combustion Sources).
emissions for each onsite landfill.
emissions for each onsite wastewater treatment system.
The information sheets on general stationary fuel combustion sources, landfills, and industrial wastewater
treatment systems summarize the proposal for calculating and reporting emissions from these source
categories.
In addition, each facility would report GHG emissions for any other source categories for which
calculation methods are provided in other subparts of the rule.
How Would GHG Emissions Be Calculated?
Under the proposal, owners or operators would determine GHG emissions according to the following
procedures, as appropriate:
• For each stationary combustion unit, follow the procedures in 40 CFR part 98, subpart C (General
Stationary Fuel Combustion Sources).
• For each onsite landfill, follow the procedures in 40 CFR part 98, subpart HH (Landfills).
• For each onsite wastewater treatment system, follow the procedures 40 CFR part 98, subpart II
(Wastewater Treatment).
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What Information Would Be Reported?
In addition to the information required by the General Provisions at 40 CFR 98.3(c), the proposal calls for
ethanol producers to report information specified in the following subparts, as applicable:
• Subpart C
• Subpart HH
• Subpart II
For More Information
This series of information sheets is intended to assist reporting facilities/owners in understanding key
provisions of the proposed rule. However, these information sheets are not intended to be a substitution
for the rule. Visit EPA's Web site (www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ghgrulemaking.html) for more
information, including the proposed preamble and rule and additional information sheets on specific
industries, or go to to access the rulemaking docket (EPA-HQ OAR-2008-0508).
For questions that cannot be answered through the Web site or docket, call 1-877-GHG-l 188.
March 2009 2 EPA-430-F-09-041
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