by Jbs100809 d3 — October 12, 2009—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a rule that would limit future greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations under the Clean Air Act to large industrial facilities emitting the equivalent of 25,000 tons or more of carbon dioxide annually. The rule will also require a permit when major emitters of GHGs make modifications that increase their GHG emissions.
That permit requirement will be triggered with emission increases equivalent to somewhere between 10,000 and 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide. The EPA is seeking comments on where exactly to set this “significance level” for modifications. The proposed rule will limit GHG regulations to facilities such as power plants, refineries, and factories, which produce nearly 70% of U.S. GHGs.
The proposed “tailoring” rule addresses six greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. With the proposed industrial emissions thresholds, EPA estimates that 14,000 large sources would need to obtain operating permits that include GHG emissions because they exceed the 25,000-ton threshold. Most of these sources are already subject to clean air permitting requirements because they emit other pollutants.
In addition, 400 new sources or modified sources would be subject to review each year for GHG emissions. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA will ensure that these new or modified sources are using the best available control technologies and energy efficiency systems to minimize GHG emissions. The EPA plans to develop sector- and source-specific guidance for evaluating each type of facility. The thresholds will be reviewed after five years to see if they can be lowered.
Under the proposed rule, the EPA estimates that about 3,000 GHG emitters will be newly subject to Clean Air Act permit requirements, and most of those will be municipal landfills. Landfills account for about 23 percent of human-caused methane emissions in the U.S., so EPA says the new regulations are likely to encourage the capture of landfill methane emissions and their use as a renewable energy source.
The proposed rule, announced by the EPA on September 30, will be open for public comment for 60 days once it has been published in the Federal Register.
