Greenhouse Gas Report

In 2010, the EPA finalized the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Rule which requires certain industries to track their Greenhouse Gas Emissions and report to EPA each year.

Initially the primary industries affected included facilities that produce/manufacture adipic acid, aluminum, ammonia, cement, electricity, HCFC-22, HFC-23 destruction processes, lime, manure, nitric acid, petrochemicals, petroleum refineries, phosphoric acid, silicon carbide, soda ash, titanium dioxide and municipal solid waste landfills. All facilities within the applicable SIC codes are required to report GHGs annually starting in 2011 (for reporting year 2010).

In addition, any facilities not in the above SIC codes, but included in the production of ferroalloy, glass, hydrogen, iron and steel, lead, pulp and paper or zinc must determine if they emit 25,000 metric tons or more of CO2e in combined emissions.

CO2e is a quick way that EPA has established to determine the CO2 (carbon dioxide) equivalents.

 

While most of us do not have the proper lab equipment to directly measure CO2, EPA has given us a mathematical tool to calculate our estimated CO2 equivalent. Try using EPA’s CO2e calculator tool (see www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/GHG-calculator/index.html).

Many ECS clients have expressed concern with understanding how the GHG rules currently affect you and how they are likely to affect you in the next year or two. Our current clients in the aluminum industry are already affected by the GHG rules. The aluminum industry must have a GHG program established and annual reporting for 2010 submitted on the EPA GHG reporting site by March 2011.

The next groups who need to consider the possible impact of GHG are those with industrial wastewater treatment on-site (those associated with pulp or paper manufacturing, food processing, ethanol production or petroleum refining). In 2012 (for 2011) these groups will be required to run the calculations for CO2e and determine if the 25,000 metric ton threshold is tripped.

Read More