Washington, 23 March 2010

Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA) proposed amendments to its Mandatory Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reporting rule to include additional GHG emissions sources in its mandatory reporting program. These sources include the oil and natural gas sector, industries that emit fluorinated gases, and facilities that inject and store carbon dioxide (CO2) underground for the purposes of geologic sequestration or enhanced oil and gas recovery. These sources supplement the 31 industry sectors identified in the EPA's Mandatory Reporting Rule (MRR), which was finalized in October 2009. The MRR specified that sources emitting over 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent would have to report their emissions to the EPA on an annual basis, starting in March 2011. Under the proposed amendments released today, newly covered sources would begin collecting emissions data on January 1, 2011 with the first annual reports submitted to EPA on March 31, 2012.

EPA indicates that the data from the additional sectors will "provide a better understanding of where GHGs are coming from and will help EPA and businesses develop effective policies and programs to reduce emissions" (EPA media release, March 23, 2010).

The proposed amendments to the rule would specifically require:

• Mandatory reporting of vented and fugitive methane (CH4) and CO2 emissions from petroleum and natural gas industry facilities emitting 25,000 metric tons or more of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.

• Mandatory reporting of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) from facilities that emit 25,000 metric tons or more of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. The gases covered include hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). This proposal would require reporting of fluorinated GHG from the following source categories:

• Electronics manufacturing (including manufacture of semiconductors, photovoltaic, liquid crystal display, and micro-electro-mechanical systems)

• Fluorinated gas production

• Use of electric transmission and distribution equipment

• Imports and exports of equipment pre-charged with fluorinated GHGs or containing fluorinated GHGs in closed-cell foams

• Manufacture of electric transmission and distribution equipment

Mandatory reporting of GHGs from facilities that inject CO2 underground for the purposes of geologic sequestration or enhanced oil and gas recovery. Geologic sequestration (GS) is the long-term containment of CO2 in subsurface geologic formations.

The proposed amendments would also require all facilities reporting under the ruleto report their corporate parent companies, the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code that applies to the facility and whether or not emissions reported include emissions from a cogeneration unit. Unlike the other proposed amendments, these specific reporting requirements would be included in the first annual GHG emissions reports submitted to EPA on March 31, 2011 and in all future years.

The proposed amendments are open for public comment for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. The EPA will also hold public hearings on these proposals on April 19, 2010 in Arlington, Va. and April 20, 2010 in Washington, D.C.

Ends --