On December 17, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued three concurrent actions related to certain data elements that must be reported under the Green House Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP). This rule represented the final step toward the EPA's initialization of the Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule (74 FR 5620), which requires reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) data and other relevant information from large sources and suppliers in the United States.

The regulation requires facilities that emit 25,000 metric tons or more per year of GHGs, as calculated in standardized CO2e from the six-well mixed greenhouse gases being tracked, to submit annual reports to the EPA that account for the facilities emissions. In order to comply, Reporter registration was a necessary first step in meeting GHG reporting obligations. All Reporters were required to register no later than January 30, 2011. The e-GGRT registration module is available on EPA's website, http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ghgrulemaking.html.

The deadline for facilities under the scope of 40 CFR Part 98 (Part 98) to report their greenhouse gas emissions is March 31, 2011. Part 98's scope includes: suppliers of certain products that would result in GHG emissions if released, combusted or oxidized; direct emitting source categories; and facilities that inject CO2 underground for geologic sequestration or any purpose other than geologic sequestration.

For facilities under the scope of subparts C through JJ1 and subparts RR, SS, and TT, including any subparts that EPA finalizes in future actions, reporting of 2010, 2011, and/or 2012, GHG emission data is required by March 31, 2014. The deferral of reporting data elements does not eliminate facilities requirements to maintain and store data under the EPA GHG rules in a format that is "suitable for expeditious inspection and review."

This means that any companies under the scope of the rules should have an Enterprise Carbon and Energy Management (ECEM) system in place that will permit review and audit of facility GHG emissions and the related fuel sources, which they are comfortable can survive a regulatory audit by the EPA.

These data collection and management requirements are significant and necessitate a diligent proactive approach to managing corporate GHG emissions. If you would like to know more, feel free to contact Foresite Systems' environmental compliance team's manager Travis Miller, travis.miller@foresitesystems.com or (408) 377-7400.