II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1387 

To amend the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 

1986 to provide for greenhouse gases. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 14, 2007 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Ms. SNOWE) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend the Emergency Planning and Community Rightto-Know Act of 1986 to provide for greenhouse gases. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Greenhouse 

5 Gas Registry Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) global climate change poses a significant 

9 threat to national security, the United States econVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:22 May 15, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1387.IS S1387

jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
2 

•S 1387 IS

1 omy, public health and welfare, and the global envi2 ronment; 

3 (2) high-quality data will be an important fac4 tor in successfully implementing a green house gas 

5 regulatory framework; and 

6 (3) to begin to manage climate change risks, 

7 public and private entities will need a comprehen8 sive, accurate inventory, registry, and information 

9 system of the sources and quantities of United 

10 States greenhouse gas emissions. 

11 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab12 lish a mandatory greenhouse gas inventory, registry, and 

13 information system that— 

14 (1) is complete, consistent, transparent, and ac15 curate; 

16 (2) will provide accurate data that can be used 

17 by public and private entities to design efficient and 

18 effective greenhouse gas emission reduction strate19 gies; and 

20 (3) will provide the appropriate high-quality 

21 data to be used in any future greenhouse gas regu22 latory framework. 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
3 

•S 1387 IS

1 SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF GREENHOUSE GASES IN EMER2 GENCY PLANNING AND COMMUNITY RIGHT3 TO-KNOW ACT OF 1986. 

4 (a) INCLUSION ON LIST OF GREENHOUSE GASES.— 

5 Section 302 of the Emergency Planning and Community 

6 Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11002) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

11 ‘‘Within’’ and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than’’; 

13 (ii) in the second sentence, by striking 

14 ‘‘The list’’ and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

17 (ii), the list’’; and 

18 (iii) by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSION OF GREENHOUSE

21 GASES.—Notwithstanding clause (i), the 

22 Administrator shall include greenhouse 

23 gases on the list under this paragraph.’’; 

24 and 

25 (B) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end 

26 the following: 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
4 

•S 1387 IS

1 ‘‘(D) GREENHOUSE GASES.—Notwith2 standing any other provision of this section, the 

3 Administrator— 

4 ‘‘(i) shall establish a threshold plan5 ning quantity for greenhouse gases under 

6 subparagraph (A) of 1 metric ton for each 

7 greenhouse gas; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) shall not be required to comply 

9 with subparagraph (A) for purposes of es10 tablishing the threshold planning quantity 

11 for greenhouse gases under clause (i).’’; 

12 and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(e) GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF AFFECTED FACILITY.—In 

16 this subsection: 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘affected fa18 cility’ means— 

19 ‘‘(i) a major emitting facility (as de20 fined in section 169 of the Clean Air Act 

21 (42 U.S.C. 7479)); 

22 ‘‘(ii) a major stationary source (as de23 fined in section 169A(g) of that Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 7491(g))); 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
5 

•S 1387 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) an electricity generator or elec2 tric utility that emits a greenhouse gas; 

3 ‘‘(iv) a facility that manufactures or 

4 imports a greenhouse gas; 

5 ‘‘(v) a facility that emits nitrous ox6 ides associated with the manufacture of 

7 adipic or nitric acid; 

8 ‘‘(vi) an aluminum smelter that emits 

9 a greenhouse gas; 

10 ‘‘(vii) an underground coal mine that 

11 emitted more than 35,000,000 cubic feet 

12 of methane during calendar year 2004 or 

13 thereafter; 

14 ‘‘(viii) a facility that emits 

15 hydrofluorocarbon-23 as a byproduct of 

16 hydrochlorofluorocarbon-22; and 

17 ‘‘(ix) any other facility of appropriate 

18 size, as determined by the Administrator, 

19 that emits a greenhouse gas. 

20 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘affected fa21 cility’ does not include any small business (as 

22 described in part 121 of title 13, Code of Fed23 eral Regulations (or a successor regulation)) 

24 that generates fewer than 10,000 metric tons of 

25 greenhouse gas emissions during a calendar 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
6 

•S 1387 IS

1 year unless the small business elects to be con2 sidered for a de minimis exemption under this 

3 subsection, or elects to voluntarily participate in 

4 the reporting and registry under section 314, as 

5 an affected facility. 

6 ‘‘(2) DE MINIMIS EXEMPTIONS.—As soon as 

7 practicable after the date of enactment of this sub8 section, the Administrator may determine the level 

9 of global warming pollution emissions from a source 

10 within an affected facility that shall be considered to 

11 be eligible for a de minimis exemption from a re12 quirement under this section. 

13 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—In making a determina14 tion pursuant to paragraph (2), the Administrator 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) take into consideration the avail17 ability and suitability of simplified techniques 

18 and tools; 

19 ‘‘(B) establish criteria under which, begin20 ning in calendar year 2010, a third-party entity 

21 may be qualified by the Administrator to certify 

22 reported greenhouse gas emissions and emission 

23 baselines of affected facilities; and 

24 ‘‘(C) to the maximum extent practicable, 

25 integrate into any applicable reporting and cerVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:22 May 15, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1387.IS S1387

jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
7 

•S 1387 IS

1 tification procedure each State administering a 

2 mandatory carbon registry system, as deter3 mined by the Administrator.’’. 

4 (b) COMMISSIONS, DISTRICTS, AND COMMITTEES.— 

5 Section 301 of the Emergency Planning and Community 

6 Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11001) is amended 

7 by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(e) GREENHOUSE GASES.—Notwithstanding any 

9 other provision of this Act, the establishment of a State 

10 emergency response commission, an emergency planning 

11 district, or an emergency planning committee under this 

12 section shall not be required with respect to any green13 house gas.’’. 

14 (c) GREENHOUSE GAS RECORDS.—Subtitle B of the 

15 Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act 

16 of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11021 et seq.) is amended by adding 

17 at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 314. GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTS AND REGISTRY. 

19 ‘‘(a) REPORTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 301(e), 

21 each affected facility (as defined in section 

22 302(e)(1)) shall submit to the appropriate State 

23 emergency response commission under section 301 

24 an annual report describing the greenhouse gas 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
8 

•S 1387 IS

1 emissions and applicable emission baselines of the 

2 affected facility during the preceding calendar year. 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—Each report submitted 

4 under paragraph (1) shall express the greenhouse 

5 gas emissions of an affected facility— 

6 ‘‘(A) in metric tons of each greenhouse gas 

7 emitted by the affected facility; and 

8 ‘‘(B) in metric tons of the carbon dioxide 

9 equivalent of each greenhouse gas so emitted. 

10 ‘‘(b) ACTION BY COMMISSION.—Each State emer11 gency response commission that receives a report under 

12 subsection (a) shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) ensure that the report is certified in ac14 cordance with regulations of the Administrator; 

15 ‘‘(2) for calendar year 2010 and each calendar 

16 year thereafter, ensure that the report is certified by 

17 a third-party entity as described in section 

18 302(e)(3)(B); 

19 ‘‘(3) submit to the Administrator a copy of each 

20 report for inclusion in the greenhouse gas registry 

21 under subsection (d); and 

22 ‘‘(4) establish and maintain in the office of the 

23 commission a record of each report submitted to the 

24 commission under subsection (a) for each calendar 

25 year. 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
9 

•S 1387 IS

1 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC ACCESS.—A State emergency response 

2 commission shall ensure public access to the records main3 tained under subsection (b)(3), except to the extent that 

4 information contained in such a record is otherwise pro5 tected from public access under this Act. 

6 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS REGISTRY.— 

7 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator, in 

8 consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the 

9 Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, 

10 States, the private sector, and nongovernmental or11 ganizations concerned with establishing standards 

12 for the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions, shall 

13 establish and maintain a national greenhouse gas 

14 emissions registry (referred to in this subsection as 

15 the ‘registry’). 

16 ‘‘(2) INCLUSIONS.—The Administrator shall in17 clude in the registry— 

18 ‘‘(A) each report received from a State 

19 emergency response commission under sub20 section (b)(3); 

21 ‘‘(B) for each greenhouse gas emitted, ac22 cording to the reports, an estimate of the quan23 tity of emissions of the greenhouse gas by each 

24 category of source; 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
10 

•S 1387 IS

1 ‘‘(C) a detailed analysis of trends in the 

2 quantity, composition, and sources of green3 house gas emissions in the Unites States; and 

4 ‘‘(D) an estimate of— 

5 ‘‘(i) mobile source emissions of the 

6 greenhouse gas emitted as a result of com7 bustion of fuels in transportation equip8 ment, such as automobiles, trucks, trains, 

9 airplanes, and vessels; 

10 ‘‘(ii) direct stationary combustion 

11 source emissions; 

12 ‘‘(iii) the total quantity of direct 

13 greenhouse gas emissions from stationary 

14 sources, expressed in units of carbon diox15 ide equivalent; 

16 ‘‘(iv) the quantity of petroleum prod17 ucts sold or imported by each affected fa18 cility, and the quantity of greenhouse 

19 gases, expressed in units of carbon dioxide 

20 equivalent, that would be emitted when 

21 those products are used for transportation 

22 in the United States, as determined by the 

23 Administrator; 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
11 

•S 1387 IS

1 ‘‘(v) the total quantity of reductions 

2 in greenhouse gas emissions created by 

3 greenhouse gas offsets; 

4 ‘‘(vi) the quantity of 

5 hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and 

6 sulfur hexafluoride (expressed in units of 

7 carbon dioxide equivalent) that— 

8 ‘‘(I) are sold or imported by each 

9 affected facility; and 

10 ‘‘(II) will ultimately be emitted in 

11 the United States, as determined by 

12 the Administrator; and 

13 ‘‘(vii) such other categories of emis14 sions as the Administrator determines may 

15 be practicable and useful for the purposes 

16 of this Act, such as— 

17 ‘‘(I) indirect emissions from im18 ported electricity, heat, and steam; 

19 ‘‘(II) process and fugitive emis20 sions; and 

21 ‘‘(III) production or importation 

22 of greenhouse gases. 

23 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Adminis24 trator shall publish on the website of the Environ25 mental Protection Agency all information contained 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
12 

•S 1387 IS

1 in the registry, except in any case in which pub2 lishing the information would result in a disclosure 

3 of information vital to national security, as deter4 mined by the Administrator. 

5 ‘‘(4) INTEGRATION.—The Administrator shall 

6 integrate, to the maximum extent practicable, infor7 mation contained in the registry with any other envi8 ronmental information system maintained by the 

9 Administrator. 

10 ‘‘(e) NEW REPORTING SYSTEM.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On or after the date that 

12 is 3 years after the date of enactment of this sec13 tion, the Administrator, in consultation with each 

14 party described in subsection (d)(1), may, on the 

15 record, after providing for a public hearing and op16 portunity to comment, and accordance with this Act 

17 or the authority of the Administrator under any 

18 other law administered by the Administrator, estab19 lish a new reporting system for greenhouse gases. 

20 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A new reporting system 

21 established under this subsection shall, as compared 

22 with the registry established under subsection (d)— 

23 ‘‘(A) incorporate and apply to the same af24 fected facilities, gases, sources, and economic 

25 sectors; and 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
13 

•S 1387 IS

1 ‘‘(B) at a minimum, be equally as com2 prehensive. 

3 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—Regulations promulgated under 

4 this section may be enforced pursuant to section 113 of 

5 the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7413) with respect to any 

6 person that— 

7 ‘‘(1) fails to submit a report under this section; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(2) otherwise fails to comply with those regu10 lations.’’. 

11 (d) DEFINITION OF GREENHOUSE GAS.—Section 

12 329 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right13 to-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11049) is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through 

15 (10) as paragraphs (6) through (11), respectively; 

16 and 

17 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(5) GREENHOUSE GAS.—The term ‘greenhouse 

20 gas’ means any of— 

21 ‘‘(A) carbon dioxide; 

22 ‘‘(B) mercury; 

23 ‘‘(C) methane; 

24 ‘‘(D) nitrous oxides; 

25 ‘‘(E) hydrofluorocarbons; 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
14 

•S 1387 IS

1 ‘‘(F) perfluorocarbons; 

2 ‘‘(G) sulfur hexafluoride; and 

3 ‘‘(H) any other anthropogenically-emitted 

4 gas that the Administrator, after notice and 

5 comment, determines to contribute to global 

6 warming.’’. 

7 (e) EFFECT OF SECTION.—Nothing in this section or 

8 an amendment made by this section requires the labeling 

9 of a greenhouse gas (as defined in paragraph (5) of section 

10 329 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right11 to-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11049) (as amended by 

12 subsection (d))) as a toxic substance for purposes of any 

13 other Federal law (including regulations). 

Æ 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS