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The Feds Are Not Alone in Tackling Greenhouse Gas Emissions
By: Eileen D. Millett
On March 10, 2009, the federal government ushered in newly proposed rules for reporting greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). The week didn't end with EPA's announcement. New York state followed suit the very next day (March 11, 2009) and announced a new initiative to include greenhouse gas emissions in the state's environmental review of large-scale projects.
New York state and the federal government are out front in heralding the first mandatory GHG compliance obligations in the country. Accurate reliable and transparent greenhouse gas reporting is the necessary foundation of emerging greenhouse gas trading systems, whether at the federal or state level.
EPA's New Rules
EPA announced federal mandatory greenhouse gas reporting rules. EPA's rules would require reporting of emissions from engines produced by automobile, truck, and engine manufacturers. EPA believes that the rules would cover 85 to 90 percent of all such emissions. Small businesses with facilities emitting less than 25,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases per year would be exempt from the reporting requirement. If adopted, EPA's regulations would apply to a wide variety of sources, such as power plants, pulp and paper mills, municipal landfills, and manure management systems, coal producers, petroleum products and produces, importers and exporters of greenhouse gases. Facilities emitting 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide or carbon dioxide equivalents would be required to begin collecting emissions data on January 1, 2010 and submit annual reports starting in 2011. Written comments may be submitted within 60 days following publication in the federal register at http://www.regulations.gov.
New York State Requires Project Reviews to Include GHGs
Whenever a project is subject to an environmental impact statement (EIS), where the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) is the lead agency and there is a requirement for an environmental review of large scale projects under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR), the newly announced policy will be triggered. The policy will be subject to a 30-day comment period ending April 10, 2009. The proposed policy is available at http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/52508.html or http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/52557.html. SEQR requires that the "lead agency" designated to review a project, identify and assess the actions for their potential adverse impacts. In addition, when energy use or GHG emissions have been identified as significant in a positive declaration, or as a result of scoping, these issues are required to be discussed in an EIS and mitigation strategies must be developed. NYSDEC has issued guidance on mitigation measures such as energy-efficient construction, integration of renewable energy technologies, waste reduction and promotion of alternative transportation modes. The policy does not create any new SEQR obligation. The Office of Climate Change will have primary responsibility for providing technical support, if an air permit is not required.
As federal, state and local governments strive to meet climate change obligations, they will identify proposed projects that have potentially significant environmental impacts due, in part, to energy use and GHG emissions. The climate change regulation embodied in these GHG reporting rules and policy represents new challenges and a new realm in mandatory environmental compliance obligations.
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