Federal Greenhouse Gas Registry Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-1387
Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
Introduced: 2007-05-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Air pollution control
Carbon dioxide
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Data banks
Emergency Management
Energy
Environmental Protection Agency
Fluorocarbons
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Gasoline
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Imports
Law
Motor vehicle pollution control
Petroleum
Science, Technology, Communications
Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
action_date: 2007-05-14
text: 
National Greenhouse Gas Registry Act of 2007 - Amends the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) include greenhouse gases (GHG) on the list of extremely hazardous substances; and (2) establish a threshold planning quantity for GHGs of one metric ton for each GHG.

Authorizes the Administrator to determine the level of global warming pollution emissions from a source within an affected facility that shall be considered to be eligible for a de minimis exemption.

Provides that the establishment of a state emergency response commission, an emergency planning district, or an emergency planning committee shall not be required with respect to any GHG.

Requires affected facilities to submit to state emergency response commissions annual reports describing the GHG emissions and emission baselines.

Requires the Administrator to establish and maintain a national GHG emissions registry that includes: (1) reports received from state emergency response commissions; (2) an estimate of the quantity of emissions of the GHG by each category of source; (3) an analysis of trends in the quantity, composition, and sources of GHG; and (4) an estimate of mobile source emissions, direct stationary combustion source emissions, the quantity of petroleum products sold or imported by each affected facility and the quantity of GHG that would be emitted when those products are used for transportation, reductions in GHG created by offsets, the quantity of hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride that are sold or imported by affected facilities and that will be emitted in the United States, and other categories of emissions. 

Authorizes the Administrator to establish a new reporting system for GHGs after providing for a public hearing and opportunity to comment. Requires such a system, as compared with the registry, to incorporate and apply the same affected facilities, gases, sources, and economic sectors and to be equally comprehensive.

action_date: 2008-09-24
text: 
Federal Greenhouse Gas Registry Act of 2008 - (Sec. 2) States as the purpose of this Act the establishment of a federal greenhouse gas registry that: (1) is complete, consistent, transparent, and accurate; (2) will collect reliable and accurate data that can be used by public and private entities to design efficient and effective energy security initiatives and greenhouse gas emission reduction strategies; and (3) will provide appropriate high-quality data to be used for implementing greenhouse gas reduction policies. 

(Sec. 3) Defines &quot;affected facility&quot; for purposes of this Act to include any facility that: (1) uses more than 5,000 tons of coal per year; (2) is a natural gas processing plant or that produces natural gas in Alaska or imports natural gas; (3) produces or imports petroleum or coal-based liquid or gaseous fuel that will emit certain greenhouse gas; (4) produces or imports more than 10,000 carbon dioxide equivalents of chemicals that are greenhouse gas; (5) contains a fossil fuel-fired electricity generating unit that emits more than 10,000 carbon dioxide equivalents of greenhouse gas; (6) is an an industrial facility; and (7) is a site at which carbon dioxide is geologically sequestered on a commercial scale.

Defines &quot;greenhouse gas&quot; as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and other gases determined to contribute to climate change.

(Sec. 4) Requires an affected facility to submit to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for inclusion in the greenhouse gas registry, periodic reports, including annual and quarterly data beginning in 2010, that: (1) describe the quantity and type of feedstocks, greenhouse gas, and electricity generated, produced, imported, exported, or sequestered at such facility; (2) includes a list and description of sources of greenhouse gas emissions at the facility; and (3) quantify the amount of such gas in metric tons of source emissions, process emissions, and fugitive emissions. Authorizes the Administrator to exempt from reporting requirements certain sources at a facility deemed to be de minimis. 

(Sec. 5) Directs the Administrator to establish by regulation comprehensive protocols and methods to ensure the accuracy, completeness, consistency, and transparency of data on greenhouse gas emissions and feedstock production, refining, importation, exportation, and consumption submitted to the greenhouse gas registry. Authorizes the Administrator to waive reporting requirements for specific facilities if sufficient and equally or more reliable data are available under other provisions of law. 

(Sec. 6) Requires the Administrator to establish a federal greenhouse gas registry that: (1) builds upon the final rule promulgated under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008; (2) makes changes necessary to achieve the purposes of this Act; and (3) requires emission reporting to begin by not later than January 1, 2011. Sets forth the duties of the Administrator in establishing the registry, including designing and operating the registry, establishing an advisory body to guide the development and management of the registry, providing coordination and technical assistance, and developing an electronic format for reporting.

Requires the Administrator to promulgate final regulations for implementing a federal greenhouse gas registry not later than July 1, 2009. 

(Sec. 7) Authorizes the Administrator to bring a civil action against the owner or operator of an affected facility that fails to comply with the requirements of this Act. Imposes a civil penalty of not more than $25,000 per day for each violation of this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-24
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 1067.
action_date: 2008-09-24
text: Committee on Environment and Public Works. Reported by Senator Boxer with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and an amendment to the title. With written report No. 110-491. Minority views filed.
action_date: 2008-09-24
text: Committee on Environment and Public Works. Reported by Senator Boxer with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and an amendment to the title. With written report No. 110-491. Minority views filed.
action_date: 2008-09-17
text: Committee on Environment and Public Works. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2007-05-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2007-05-14
text: Introduced in Senate