What’s it going to cost, and which companies are going to pay, now that EPA’s regulating greenhouse gases (GHGs)?

EPA says about 10,000 companies are covered by a new GHG reporting rule. This rule targets companies that release more than 25,000 metric tons a year of any mix of:

• carbon dioxide
• methane
• nitrous oxide
• hydrofluorocarbons
• perflyorocarbons, and
• fluorinated gases — sulfur hexafuloride, nitrogen trifluoride and hydrofluorinated ethers.

The actual cost is debatable. They’ll spend about $115 million in the first year. In subsequent years, EPA says it will cost $72 million a year in Clean Air Act compliance costs.

Industry reaction is mixed. Some say EPA understates the cost. However, one industrial operator tells GreenerWorking.com that the per-facility costs is minor. He’s treating this rule as “just an accounting exercise.” Other GHG rules will be much more worrisome, he says.

Who to believe? History shows that EPA’s estimates are closer to the mark. But until the rule’s been in place for a couple of years, the debate over costs will continue.

But what is clear is which companies will be hit by EPA’s GHG regulations.

The facilities that will have to report these releases are mostly fossil fuel suppliers and industrial gas suppliers, manufactures of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, power plants, and facilities that burn fossil fuels. And yes, livestock operations have to report if they release more than the 25,000 metric ton GHG threshold. Since most animal farms don’t, EPA downplays this impact.

To see if your company is regulated, EPA has an on-line tool to assess an operation based on its on-site fuel combustion.

There are several industrial categories that are NOT covered by this reporting rule:

• electronics manufacturers
• ethanol producers
• fluorinated gas producers
• food processors
• magnesium producers
• oil and natural gas systems
• sulfur hexafluoride released from electrical equipment
• underground coal mines
• industrial landfills
• wastewater treatment, and
• coal suppliers.

Companies covered by the GHG reporting rule must start tracking and keeping records of their GHG emissions January 1, 2010. First reports to EPA are due in 2011, and EPA will make these reports public.

But this is just the start. An even more extensive GHG regulation will be released by EPA soon. This one will regulate actual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants and large industrial facilities. Facilities that release more than 25,000 metric tons of CO2 a year will have to control these releases through an EPA permitting process that regulates new and modified facilities.

Tags: climate change, EPA, GHG reporting, global warming