The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week posted a notice in the Federal Register saying it had agreed to certain revisions to the Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) rule that went into effect Dec. 29, 2009. EPA said the changes were in response to lawsuits filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by several trade groups, including The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) and the American Chemistry Council.
EPA said in the notice that under the terms of a proposed settlement agreement, the petitioners would dismiss their claims if EPA makes the specified rule changes. The rule was finalized on Sept. 22, 2009, and requires reporting of GHG emissions from large sources and suppliers in the U.S.
Under the rule, suppliers of fossil fuels or industrial GHGs, manufacturers of vehicles and engines, and facilities that emit 25,000 metric tons or more per year of GHG emissions are required to submit annual reports to EPA. The rule represents the first comprehensive reporting program for GHGs under the Clean Air Act, EPA said, and is intended to collect accurate and timely emissions data to inform future policy decisions.
According to TFI, its concerns were not with the reporting of GHGs, but rather with how the rule was written. “Specifically, we strongly believe that any efforts by EPA to track such releases should track true emissions and eliminate any double counting of emissions, address CO2 that is generated but not emitted, and ensure that a level playing field exists for manufactured and imported products,” TFI told Green Markets.
With regard to the original rule, TFI faulted EPA for requiring the reporting of the nitrogen content of produced fertilizers, but not requiring the reporting of fertilizer imports, exports, or other significant sources of nutrients such as manure and biosolids; for not considering the blending of produced fertilizer that would cause double counting under the rule; for not considering how best management practices impact the release of GHGs in the application of fertilizer; and for requiring reporting of the uses of urea produced in ammonia manufacturing facilities, but not considering non-agricultural uses of fertilizer chemicals.
TFI also faulted EPA’s decision in the original rule to include the counting of GHGs that are not “emissions” in the classic sense ?Çô as in releases to ambient air – since they are not emitted directly from the nitrogen manufacturing facilities. TFI said EPA’s rule also required the reporting of the waste recycle stream associated with purge gas at ammonia plants, which TFI said resulted in the double counting of GHG emissions.
In addition, TFI said the rule required the installation of certain types of monitoring devices, which TFI said “may necessitate costly and risky plant shutdowns” that are not part of the facilities’ normal shutdown cycles. And finally, TFI faulted the rule for requiring reporting of the mass of carbon dioxide captured, extracted, imported, or exported based on calculations prior to any subsequent purification, processing, or compressing of that mass.
In response to those concerns, TFI said EPA agreed to delete the requirements to report the nitrogen content in fertilizers and to report urea uses; to include a statement to the effect that “CO2 process emission estimates may include CO2 that is later consumed onsite for urea production and, as such, are not released to the ambient air;” and to remove the requirements to monitor and report carbon dioxide in the waste recycle stream at ammonia manufacturing facilities.
TFI said EPA also agreed to remove the requirement to measure carbon dioxide prior to any subsequent purification, processing, or compressing, and to instead require the reporting after the point of segregation when only a portion of the carbon dioxide is captured for commercial application or for injection.
A 30-day public comment period on the proposed changes is now in effect. Comments must be received by Aug. 19, 2010, and can be submitted online at http://www.regulations.gov; by e-mail to oei.docket@epa.gov; or by mail to EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20460-0001.