This document was developed for the Proposed Mandatory GHG Reporting Rule.
For the final document, please visit the final Mandatory Reporting of
Greenhouse Gases Rule.
Guide for State and Local Agencies
United Slates
Proposed Rule: Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Environmental Protection
The proposed Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) rule would require annual
reporting of GHG emissions by certain facilities and by suppliers of fossil fuels and industrial
GHGs. The threshold generally is 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 26) per
year. The emissions that would be reported are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH^, nitrous
oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6),
and other fluorinated compounds.
Purpose of the Rule
The FY 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (December 26, 2007) authorized EPA to develop a
mandatory reporting program for GHG emissions above appropriate thresholds in all sectors of the U.S.
economy. The goal of the reporting program is to provide comprehensive and accurate data to inform
future climate change policies. These policies could include research and development initiatives,
economic incentives, new or expanded voluntary programs, adaptation strategies, emission standards, a
carbon tax, or a cap and trade program.
How Do Existing State or Regional Efforts, Such as The Climate Registry, the
Western Climate Initiative, and the Regional GHG Initiative, Fit in With This
Rulemaking?
The proposed rule builds on the enormous amount of work on GHG monitoring and reporting that has
been carried out by states, state and regional groups, environmental groups, corporations, and others in
recent years. A number of states have demonstrated leadership and developed corporate voluntary GHG
reporting programs individually or joined with other states to develop GHG reporting programs as part of
their approaches to addressing GHG emissions. The proposed rulemaking drew upon methods from
existing mandatory and voluntary reporting systems, such as those from federal, state, corporate, and
industry protocols. EPA worked especially closely with existing programs, such as The Climate Registry's
voluntary reporting program and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) mandatory reporting
protocol to ensure coordination and consistency where possible.
EPA recognizes that many state or regional programs might be broader in scope and more aggressive in
implementation. States collecting additional information might have determined that some types of data
not collected by this proposal are necessary to implement a variety of climate efforts. While EPA's
proposal was developed in response to the Appropriations Act, there may be a need to collect additional
data from sources subject to this rule as well as other sources, depending on the types of policies being
developed and implemented (e.g., indirect emissions and offsets).
Addressing climate change will require a suite of policies and programs, and this proposal for a
mandatory reporting program is just one effort to collect the information necessary to inform those
policies. This reporting rule could potentially help many of the states that do not have active GHG
reporting programs in place to access GHG emissions data.
March 2009 1 EPA-430-F-09-048
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This document was developed for the Proposed Mandatory GHG Reporting Rule.
For the final document, please visit the final Mandatory Reporting of
Greenhouse Gases Rule.
Role of the States
EPA is proposing that facilities affected by this rule report directly to EPA. We are taking comments,
however, on whether we should formally delegate implementation of the rule to state and local agencies,
assuming the requirements of this rule (e.g., methods and timing) are met. More importantly, state and
local air pollution control agencies routinely interact with many of the sources that would report under
this rule. Many states have already implemented or are in the process of implementing mandatory GHG
reporting and reduction programs. Therefore, in concert with their routine inspection and other
compliance and enforcement activities for other Clean Air Act programs, state and local agencies will
serve an important role in communicating the requirements of the rule, providing compliance assistance,
and assuring compliance.
How Will the Rule Be Implemented?
Facilities and suppliers that are subject to the rule would submit the emission data reports directly to EPA
in an electronic format to be specified later by the Administrator, in order to provide timely data
necessary for policymaking purposes. Unlike some of the state GHG reporting programs, reporters would
not be required to obtain independent, third-party verification of the emission data. Instead, following the
Acid Rain Program model, EPA will verify the data (e.g., perform the quality assurance/quality control
checks) by conducting automated checks for data completeness, quality, and consistency and by other
means. EPA plans to make data available to state agencies and the public by publishing it once a year.
EPA also plans to develop mechanisms to provide feedback to reporters as a way of improving the quality
of future reports.
To facilitate implementation and compliance, EPA plans to conduct an active outreach and technical
assistance program following publication of the final rule. Outreach materials might include compliance
guides, brochures, fact sheets, sample reporting forms, and GHG emission calculating tools. EPA is also
considering a compliance assistance hotline that would be particularly helpful to industrial, commercial,
and institutional sectors that do not routinely deal with air pollution regulations.
Will the Rule Affect States and Municipalities?
States, municipalities, and tribes could be required to submit an annual GHG report if they own or operate
facilities subject to the rule. Landfills and stationary combustion equipment are the types of facilities that
would most likely trigger applicability. The rule would apply to all types of stationary combustion
equipment (except for emergency generators and portable equipment) if the aggregate maximum rated
heat input capacity of all stationary fuel combustion units at a facility is 30 million British thermal units
per hour (mmBtu/hr) or greater, and the facility emits 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent
(CO2e) or more per year from all stationary fuel combustion sources. The rule would apply to landfills
that generate CIL, in amounts equal to 25,000 metric tons of CO2e or more per year. It would also apply to
municipal power generation plants that report to the Acid Rain Program or emit 25,000 metric tons of
CO2e or more per year. The rule is not expected to impact state and local operations such as schools and
offices or institutional operations such as prisons or hospitals.
For More Information
March 2009 2 EPA-430-F-09-048
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This document was developed for the Proposed Mandatory GHG Reporting Rule.
For the final document, please visit the final Mandatory Reporting of
Greenhouse Gases Rule.
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.
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