&EPA
Roadmap for Incorporating Energy
Efficiency/Renewable Energy
Policies and Programs into State and Tribal
Implementation Plans
Appendix G: Emerging/Voluntary Measures
Pathway
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EPA-456/D-12-001h
July 2012
Roadmap for Incorporating Energy Efficiency/Renewable Energy
Policies and Programs into State and Tribal Implementation Plans
Appendix G: Emerging/Voluntary Measures Pathway
By:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards
Outreach and Information Division
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards
Outreach and Information Division
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to acknowledge substantial contributions from members of an inter-office EPA
team that included the Office of Atmospheric Programs, the Office of Policy Analysis and
Review, the Office of General Counsel and Regions 1 and 6. This document also reflects
comments received from a number of stakeholders, including state and local air quality
agencies.
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Contents
SECTION G.I: BASICS OF EMERGING/VOLUNTARY MEASURES G-4
Pathway Description G-4
Tradeoffs of Pathway G-5
Circumstances the Pathway is Best Suited For G-5
SECTION G.2: FOUR CRITERIA FOR SIP/TIP EMERGING/VOLUNTARY MEASURES G-5
Quantifiable G-5
Surplus G-7
Enforceable G-7
Permanent G-8
How a State or Tribe Can Get SIP/TIP Approval for Emerging/Voluntary Measures G-8
SECTION G.3: BUNDLING OF EMERGING/VOLUNTARY MEASURES G-8
REFERENCES G-9
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SECTION G.I: BASICS OF EMERGING/VOLUNTARY MEASURES
Pathway Description
In the 2004 guidance1, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized that many
areas of the country have implemented most available traditional emission control strategies
and are interested in new types of
pollutant reduction strategies to
attain and maintain applicable
National Ambient Air Quality
Standard (NAAQS), including
emerging and voluntary energy
efficiency/renewable energy (EE/RE)
programs. The EPA supports and
encourages the testing of voluntary
and emerging pollutant reduction
strategies. A voluntary measure is a
measure or strategy that is not
enforceable against an individual
emissions source or party
administering the measure. An
emerging measure is a measure or
strategy that does not have the same
high level of certainty as traditional
measures for quantification purposes.
A measure can be either emerging or
voluntary, or both.
Similar to the control strategy pathway, under this option an EE/RE program can receive
emission reduction State Implementation Plan/Tribal Implementation Plan (SIP/TIP) credit and
would need to satisfy the four criteria for SIP/TIP measures:
• Quantifiable
• Surplus
• Enforceable
• Permanent
EPA's Emerging and Voluntary Measures Policy2 provides flexibility for emerging measures on
the quantifiable criterion, and for voluntary measures it provides flexibility regarding the
enforceable criterion.
•/
Task Checklist:
Emerging/Voluntary Measures Pathway
Identify and describe the emerging/voluntary EE/RE
policies and programs to be included in pathway
Calculate emissions reductions, including description
of quantification technique
The state, tribal, or local agency needs to make an
enforceable commitment to:
•S Implement those parts of the measure for
which the agency is responsible
S Monitor, evaluate, and report at least every
three years on progress toward emission
reductions
S Remedy any SIP/TIP credit shortfall if the
program does not achieve projected emission
reductions
Certify EE/RE policies and programs are permanent
Certify EE/RE policies and programs are surplus and
not accounted for as part of another pathway
1 EPA (2004).
2 EPA (2004).
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Tradeoffs of Pathway
State, tribal and local agencies can, of course, select more than one pathway for their
jurisdiction's different EE/RE policies and programs. With respect to the emerging/voluntary
measures pathway, the quantity of potential SIP/TIP credit is presumptively limited to 6 percent
of the reductions needed for reasonable further progress (RFP), attainment, or maintenance of
a NAAQS. The limitations and conditions under which emerging and or voluntary measures can
receive credit are determined at the beginning of the SIP/TIP process, and provisional pollutant
reduction credit is provided under the assumption that the EE/RE measures will achieve the
quantity of the initially estimated emission reductions. The actual amount of credit to be
awarded and the rationale for approving voluntary/emerging measures will be established
through notice and comment rulemaking during the SIP/TIP approval process.
Circumstances the Pathway is Best Suited For
This pathway is best suited for voluntary measures, emerging measures and measures that are
both emerging and voluntary. For voluntary measures, this pathway is well suited for
jurisdictions that have a voluntary EE/RE policy or program that is not enforceable against an
emissions source or implementing party, but for which state, tribal or local agency wants
SIP/TIP credit. For emerging measures, this pathway is well suited for EE/RE policies and
programs for which it is difficult to quantify the emission impacts but for which the state, tribal
or local agency wants SIP/TIP credit.
SECTION G.2: FOUR CRITERIA FOR SIP/TIP EMERGING/VOLUNTARY MEASURES
In order to adopt and implement emission reduction strategies to meet SIP/TIP CAA
requirements, such as RFP, attainment demonstrations, general conformity and maintenance,
the reductions from emerging/voluntary measures need to be:
• Quantifiable
• Enforceable
• Surplus
• Permanent
Quantifiable
Emissions and emission reductions attributed to the measure are quantifiable if someone can
reliably measure or determine their magnitude in a manner that can be replicated. Any
uncertainty in the quantification should be addressed by following the guidance contained in
the Economic Incentives Program (EIP)3 in section 5.2 (b). Voluntary measures should meet this
provision unless the measure is also an emerging measure.
As noted in Appendix C, for emerging and/or voluntary stationary measures the presumptive
limit is 6 percent of the total amount of emission reductions required for the RFP, attainment,
or maintenance demonstration purposes. The limit applies to the total quantity of emission
reductions that can be claimed from any combination of emerging and/or voluntary measures.
3 EPA (2001).
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The limit is presumptive in that EPA believes it may approve measures into a SIP/TIP above the
presumptive 6 percent where a clear and convincing justification is made by the state, tribal or
local agency as to why a higher limit should apply in their case. The EPA will review any request
for a higher limit on a case-by-case basis through SIP/TIP approval rulemaking.
For emerging measures, EPA's Emerging and Voluntary Measures Policy specifically allows
flexibility for the quantification criteria. The policy allows jurisdictions that want to try new
types of emission control or pollution reduction strategies the leeway to do so. The EPA's
policy provides a mechanism that allows the state, tribal or local agency to receive provisional
emission reduction credit in their SIP/TIP for EE/RE pollutant reduction strategies that have the
potential to generate additional emission reductions or air quality benefits. In these
circumstances, the state, tribal or local agency should quantify the emission reduction based on
the best knowledge currently available for the measure being considered. The state, tribal or
local agency should develop a protocol based on a carefully considered determination of the
activities that it commits to undertake and the projected impact on emissions of those
activities. The estimates may be based on modeling, on extrapolated experience for similar
types of projects or on another approach that is likely to yield a reasonable estimate of
emission reduction. Refer to Appendix I for available emission quantification approaches of
EE/RE policies and programs.
The EPA recommends that state, tribal and local agencies consider the capacity factor approach
presented in Appendix I as a starting point for quantification, recognizing that for
emerging/voluntary programs more detailed methods are probably not warranted. Agencies
will need to try to complete two tasks, recognizing that they may be challenging for
emerging/voluntary measures:
1) Estimate the energy savings that an EE policy will produce, or, for a RE policy, the
amount of energy generation that will occur.
2) Quantify displaced ECU emissions from energy impacts of an EE policy or RE policy.
The state, tribal or local agency should then have in place a protocol for tracking progress
toward meeting that estimate of emission reduction, which may mean monitoring a surrogate
measure of implementation. For example, suppose a local government in a nonattainment
area implements a municipal energy conservation program for its buildings or a program to
provide incentives for changeover to more energy efficient air conditioners. To quantify the
emission benefits, the first step would be to select metrics to indicate participation levels so
that the area can determine if the conservation plan or incentive program was fully
implemented. The local government should make sufficient information available to verify that
the EE/RE policy or program was implemented as proposed.
After determining participation levels, the next step would be to determine project energy
savings based on participation. The state, tribal or local agency can perform a calculation of
energy savings based on the EE measures implemented or on the number of more efficient air
conditioners installed. That energy savings estimate can then be used to generate an emission
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reduction number using the suggested capacity factor technique (see Appendix I). A final step
would be to evaluate whether the predicted emission reductions occurred. For example, where
appropriate, the validation process could include review of the total electricity used or
generated before and after a measure is implemented, or tracking of implementation
surrogates. In certain cases, monitoring and record keeping may be necessary to quantify the
actual amount of SIP/TIP credit generated. This information will vary according to the nature of
the project and initiative. Such things as the method used to determine the credit, as well as
the magnitude and location of the credit generated and the tools available to track and monitor
discrete results will affect the actual level of detail and information necessary. For example
evaluation and verification protocols, refer to the Department of Energy's National Action
Plan.4
As noted below, the area would most likely want to "bundle" this program with other emerging
and/or voluntary EE/RE efforts to help ensure a bigger impact and to obtain more credit.
Surplus
Emission reductions used to meet the requirements of the emerging/voluntary measures
pathway are surplus as long as they are not relied upon in any of the other three pathways
included in a jurisdiction's SIP/TIP. Jurisdictions may rely on emission reductions associated
with the EE/RE policies and programs to satisfy the SIP RACT and RFP requirements, as well as
CAA requirements for emission standards. The state, tribal or local agency needs to indicate in
writing that the emission reductions being claimed for credit under the emerging/voluntary
measures policy are not also reflected in the baseline emission projection, traditional control
strategy or a WOE demonstration SIP/TIP pathways.
Enforceable
As described in Appendix C, EPA's Emerging and Voluntary Measures policy provides some
flexibility on the enforceability criterion for voluntary measures by providing that the state,
tribal or local agency assure that the emission reductions credited in the SIP/TIP occur. The
state, tribal or local agency would make an enforceable commitment in writing to monitor,
assess and report on the emission reductions resulting from the voluntary measures and take
responsibility, in a timely manner, for making up any shortfalls in emission reductions for
emerging/voluntary measures.
For emerging measures, emission reductions and other mandatory state or local actions are
enforceable against the source, if for each source:
• They are independently verifiable;
• Program violations are defined;
• Those responsible for the violations can be identified;
• They are enforceable in accordance with EPA guidance on practicable enforceability5;
4 EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy (2006).
5 EPA (1989) and EPA (1992).
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• The state maintains, for emerging measures, the ability to apply penalties and secure
appropriate corrective action where applicable; and
• The state maintains the ability, for voluntary measures, to secure appropriate corrective
action with respect to portions of the program that are directly enforceable against the
source
Permanent
The emission reductions expected from the state, tribal or local agency's EE/RE programs
should be fully implemented during the term for which the credit is granted unless, at the time
of approval of the plan, the agency makes clear that another measure will replace it, or the
agency demonstrates through a SIP/TIP revision that the measure is no longer necessary to
meet any applicable SIP/TIP criteria.
How a State or Tribe Can Get SIP/TIP Approval for Emerging/Voluntary
Measures
A state or tribe would submit a SIP/TIP to EPA which:
• Identifies and describes the measure;
• Contains projections of emission reductions attributable to the program, along with
relevant technical support documentation, including, for emerging measures, a full
discussion of the relevant best available science supporting the measure;
• Enforceably commits the state, tribal or local agency to implement those parts of the
measure for which the government is responsible;
• Enforceably commits the agency to monitor, evaluate, and report at least every three
years to the public and EPA on the resulting emissions effect of the emission or
pollutant reduction measure;
• Enforceably commits the agency to remedy any SIP/TIP credit shortfall in a timely
manner, if the program does not achieve projected emission reductions;
• Meets all other requirements for SIP/TIP revisions under sections 110 and 172 and any
applicable sections of the CAA; and
• Undergoes public notice and comment as any other SIP/TIP revision.
SECTION G.3: BUNDLING OF EMERGING/VOLUNTARY MEASURES
State, tribal and local agencies can bundle individual emerging and voluntary measures in a
single SIP/TIP submission. Air agencies would need to quantify the emissions reductions for
each measure in the bundle and sum the total reductions in the SIP/TIP submission. After
SIP/TIP approval, each individual measure would be implemented according to its schedule in
the SIP/TIP. It is the performance of the entire bundle (the sum of the emission reductions
from all the measures in the bundle) that is considered for SIP/TIP evaluation purposes, not the
effectiveness of any individual measure. Refer to Appendix K for examples of states that have
included bundled voluntary measures in their SIP/TIP.
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REFERENCES
EPA (1989). Guidance on Limiting Potential to Emit in New Source Permitting. June 13, 1989. Available
online at
EPA (1992). Use of Long Term Rolling Averages to Limit Potential to Emit. February 24, 1992. Available
online at
EPA (2001). Improving Air Quality with Economic Incentive Programs. January 2001. Available online at
EPA (2004). Incorporating Emerging and Voluntary Measures in a State Implementation Plan (SIP).
September 2004. Available online at
EPA and U.S. Department of Energy (2006). National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency. July 2006.
Available online at
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United States Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards Publication No. EPA-456/D-12-001h
Environmental Protection Outreach and Information Division July 2012
Agency Research Triangle Park, NC
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