Connecticut Administrative Code › Title 22a - Environmental Protection › 174 - Abatement of Air Pollution › Section 22a-174-31 - Control of carbon dioxides emissions

Current through July 10, 2024
(a)
Definitions and Abbreviations.
Except as otherwise provided, for
			 the purposes of this section and section 22a-174-31 a of the Regulations of
			 Connecticut State Agencies:
(1) "Account
			 number" means the identification number given by the commissioner to each
			 CO2 Allowance Tracking System account.
(2) "Acid rain emissions limitation" means
			 "Acid Rain emissions limitation", as defined in
			 40 CFR
			 72.2, regarding emissions of sulfur dioxide
			 or nitrogen oxides under the Acid Rain Program.
(3) "Acid Rain Program" means a multi-state
			 sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides air pollution control and emissions
			 reduction program established by the Administrator under Title IV of the
			 federal Clean Air Act and 40 CFR 72 to 78, inclusive.
(4) "Administrator" means "Administrator" as
			 defined in section
			 22a-174-1 of the Regulations of
			 Connecticut State Agencies.
(5)
			 "Allocate" or "allocation" means the determination by the commissioner of the
			 number of CO2 allowances to be recorded in the
			 compliance account of a CO2 budget source, the
			 Connecticut Auction Account, an allocation set-aside account, the general
			 account of the sponsor of an approved CO2 emissions
			 offset project or an account established by any other person.
(6) "Allocation year" means a calendar year
			 for which the commissioner allocates CO allowances pursuant to subsection (f)
			 of this section. The allocation year of each CO2
			 allowance is reflected in the unique identification number given to the
			 allowance pursuant to subsection (g)(4)(E) of this section.
(7) "Allowance auction" or "auction" means:
(A) The open and transparent process by which
			 the commissioner, or a contractor or trustee selected by the commissioner,
			 offers for sale the CO2 allowances in the Connecticut
			 Auction Account not less than once per year; or
(B) To offer CO2
			 allowances in the Connecticut Auction Account for sale in an open transparent
			 process conducted by the commissioner or a contractor or trustee selected by
			 the commissioner.
(8)
			 "Attribute" means a characteristic associated with electricity generated using
			 a particular renewable fuel, such as its generation date, facility geographic
			 location, source vintage, emissions output, fuel, state program eligibility, or
			 other characteristic that can be identified, accounted for, and
			 tracked.
(9) "Automated data
			 acquisition and handling system" or "DAHS" means that component of the
			 continuous emissions monitoring system, or other emissions monitoring system
			 approved for use under subsection (i) of this section, designed to interpret
			 and convert individual output signals from pollutant concentration monitors,
			 flow monitors, diluent gas monitors, and other component parts of the
			 monitoring system to produce a continuous record of the measured parameters in
			 the measurement units required by subsection (i) of this section.
(10) "Award" means an allocation through
			 which the commissioner determines the number of CO2
			 offset allowances to be recorded in the general account of a project sponsor
			 pursuant to section 22a-174-31 a of the Regulations of Connecticut State
			 Agencies.
(11) "Billing meter"
			 means the measurement device used to measure electric or thermal output for
			 commercial billing under a contract where the facility selling the electric or
			 thermal output has different owners from the owners of the party purchasing the
			 electric or thermal output.
(12)
			 "Boiler" means a fossil or other fuel-fired device that produces steam or heats
			 water or any other heat transfer medium.
(13) "Btu" means British Thermal Unit, a
			 standard measurement used to quantify an amount of energy.
(14) "Class I renewable energy source" means
			 "Class I renewable energy source" as defined in section 16-1(a) of the
			 Connecticut General Statutes.
(15)
			 "Clean Energy Fund" or "CEF" means the fund created by section 16-245n of the
			 Connecticut General Statutes to address Connecticut's increasing energy needs
			 and any individual authorized to act on behalf of such fund.
(16) "CO2" means
			 carbon dioxide.
(17)
			 "CO2 allowance" means a limited authorization by the
			 commissioner or a participating state under the CO2
			 Budget Trading Program to emit up to one ton of CO2,
			 subject to all the applicable conditions contained in this section.
(18) "CO2 allowance
			 deduction" or "deduct CO2 allowances" means the
			 permanent withdrawal of CO2 allowances by the
			 commissioner from a CO2 Allowance Tracking System
			 compliance account.
(19)
			 "CO2 allowances held" or "hold
			 CO2 allowances" means the CO2
			 allowances recorded by the commissioner, or submitted to the commissioner, in
			 accordance with subsections (g) and (h) of this section, in a
			 CO2 Allowance Tracking System account.
(20) "CO2 Allowance
			 Tracking System" or "COATS" means the system by which the commissioner records
			 allocations, deductions, and transfers of CO2 allowances
			 under the CO2 Budget Trading Program under this section,
			 the system used to track CO2 offset allowance projects
			 under section 22a-174-31 a of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies,
			 and the system used to track emissions from affected sources.
(21) "CO2 Allowance
			 Tracking System account" means an account in the CO2
			 Allowance Tracking System established by the commissioner for purposes of
			 recording the allocating, holding, transferring, or deducting of
			 CO2 allowances.
(22) "CO2 allowance
			 transfer deadline" means midnight of March 1 occurring after the end of the
			 relevant control period and each relevant interim control period or, if that
			 March 1 is not a business day, midnight of the first business day
			 thereafter.
(23)
			 "CO2 authorized account representative" means the
			 individual who is authorized by the owners or operators of the source and all
			 CO2 budget sources at the source, in accordance with
			 subsection (c) of this section, to represent and legally bind each owner or
			 operator in matters pertaining to the CO2 Budget Trading
			 Program or, for a general account, the individual who is authorized, in
			 accordance with subsection (g) of this section, to transfer or otherwise
			 dispose of CO2 allowances held in the general
			 account.
(24)
			 "CO2 budget emissions limitation" means the tonnage
			 equivalent, in CO2 emissions in a control period or an
			 interim control period, of the CO2 allowances available
			 for compliance deduction for the CO2 budget source for a
			 control period or an interim control period.
(25) "CO2 budget
			 source" means a facility that includes one or more CO2
			 budget units.
(26)
			 "CO2 Budget Trading Program" means the multi-state
			 CO2 air pollution control and emissions reduction
			 program established pursuant to this section and corresponding regulations in
			 other states as a means of reducing emissions of CO2
			 from CO2 budget sources.
(27) "CO2 budget unit"
			 means an emissions unit that is subject to the CO2
			 Budget Trading Program requirements under subsection (b) of this
			 section.
(28)
			 "CO2 cost containment reserve allowance" or
			 "CO2 CCR allowance" means a CO2 
			 allowance that is offered for sale at auction in accordance with subsection
			 (f)(5)(D) of this section.
(29)
			 "CO2 equivalent" means a metric measure used to compare
			 the emissions from various greenhouse gases based upon their global warming
			 potential (GWP).
(30)
			 "CO2 offset allowance" means a
			 CO2 allowance that is awarded to the sponsor of a
			 CO2 emissions offset project pursuant to section
			 22a-174-31 a of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies and is subject to
			 the relevant compliance deduction limitations of this section.
(31) "Combined cycle system" means a system
			 comprised of one or more combustion turbines, heat recovery steam generators,
			 and steam turbines configured to improve overall efficiency of electricity
			 generation or steam production.
(32) "Combined Heat and Power" or "CHP" means
			 "Combined heat and power system" as defined in section
			 22a-174-22 c of the Regulations
			 of Connecticut State Agencies.
(33)
			 "Combined Heat and Power Useful Thermal Energy Set-aside Account" means a
			 general account established by the commissioner to hold
			 CO2 allowances that are allocated pursuant to subsection
			 (f)(4) of this section.
(34)
			 "Combustion turbine" means an enclosed fossil or other fuel-fired device that
			 is comprised of a compressor, if applicable, a combustor, and a turbine, and in
			 which the flue gas resulting from the combustion of fuel in the combustor
			 passes through the turbine, rotating the turbine.
(35) "Commissioner" means "commissioner" as
			 defined in section
			 22a-174-1 of the Regulations of
			 Connecticut State Agencies.
(36)
			 "Compliance account" means a CO2 Allowance Tracking
			 System account, established by the commissioner for a
			 CO2 budget source under subsection (g) of this section,
			 in which the CO2  allowance allocations for the source
			 are initially recorded and in which are held CO2
			 allowances available for use by the source for a control period and each
			 interim control period for the purpose of meeting the requirements of
			 subsection (b)(3) of this section.
(37) "Connecticut Auction Account" means a
			 general account established by the commissioner to hold
			 CO2 allowances that are allocated pursuant to subsection
			 (f) of this section.
(38)
			 "Connecticut CO2 Allowance Retirement Account" means a
			 general account established by the commissioner to hold
			 CO2 allowances that have been permanently
			 retired.
(39) "Connecticut
			 CO2 Budget Trading Program Adjusted Budget" means the
			 adjusted budget of CO2 tons available in Connecticut for
			 allocation for each allocation year as determined in accordance with subsection
			 (f) of this section. CO2 offset allowances allocated to
			 project sponsors and CO2 CCR allowances offered for sale
			 at an auction are separate from and additional to CO2 
			 allowances allocated for the budget trading Connecticut
			 CO2 Budget Trading Program Adjusted Budget.
(40) "Connecticut CO2
			 Budget Trading Program Base Budget" means the annual amount of
			 CO2 tons available in Connecticut for allocation in a
			 given allocation year, in accordance with the CO2 Budget
			 Trading Program. CO2 CCR allowances and
			 CO2 offset allowances allocated to project sponsors are
			 separate from and additional to CO2 allowances allocated
			 from the Connecticut CO2 Budget Trading Program Base
			 Budget.
(41) "Connecticut Green
			 Bank" means the authority created by section 16-245n of the Connecticut General
			 Statutes to administer the Clean Energy Fund.
(42) "Connecticut Emissions Containment
			 Reserve Account" or "Connecticut ECR Account" means a
			 CO2 Allowance Tracking System account established by the
			 commissioner to hold CO2 allowances that were offered
			 for sale and transferred in accordance with subsection (f)(5)(I) to (K) of this
			 section.
(43) "Continuous emissions
			 monitoring system" or "CEMS" means the equipment required under subsection (i)
			 of this section to sample, analyze, measure, and provide, by means of readings
			 recorded at least once every fifteen (15) minutes, using an automated data
			 acquisition and handling system, a permanent record of stack gas volumetric
			 flow rate, stack gas moisture content, and oxygen or carbon dioxide
			 concentration as applicable, in a manner consistent with 40 CFR 75 and
			 subsection (i) of this section.
(44) "Control period" means a
			 three-calendar-year time period. The first control period is from January 1,
			 2009 to December 31, 2011, inclusive. Each subsequent sequential
			 three-calendar-year period is a separate control period. The first two calendar
			 years of each control period are each defined as an interim control period,
			 beginning in January 1, 2015.
(45)
			 "Cost containment reserve trigger price" or "CCR trigger price" means the
			 minimum price at which CO2 CCR allowances are offered
			 for sale at auction.
(46)
			 "Customer-side distributed resources" or "CDR" means "customer-side distributed
			 resources" as defined in Section 16-1(a) of the Connecticut General
			 Statutes.
(47) "Customer-side
			 Distributed Resources (CDR) Set-aside Account" means a general account
			 established by the commissioner to hold CO2 allowances
			 that are allocated pursuant to subsection (f)(4) of this section.
(48) "Eligible biomass" means sustainably
			 harvested, as determined by the commissioner, woody and herbaceous fuel sources
			 that are available on a renewable or recurring basis, excluding old-growth
			 timber, but including dedicated energy crops and trees, agricultural food and
			 feed crop residues, aquatic plants, unadulterated wood and wood residues,
			 animal wastes, other clean organic wastes not mixed with other solid wastes and
			 biogas. Eligible biomass does not include liquid biofuels.
(49) "Emission containment reserve trigger
			 price" or "ECR trigger price" means the price below which
			 CO2 allowances offered for sale at an auction shall be
			 transferred into the Connecticut ECR Account.
(50) "Energy Efficiency Board" or "EEB" means
			 the group convened by the commissioner pursuant to section 16-245m of the
			 Connecticut General Statutes for the purpose of advising and assisting electric
			 distribution companies in the development and implementation of cost-effective
			 energy conservation programs and market transformation initiatives.
(51) "Excess emissions" means any tonnage of
			 CO2 emitted by a CO2 budget
			 source during a control period that exceeds the CO2
			 budget emissions limitation for such source.
(52) "Excess interim emissions" means any
			 tonnage of CO2 emitted by a CO2
			 budget source during an interim control period, multiplied by 0.50, that
			 exceeds the CO2 budget emissions limitation for such
			 source.
(53) "First control period
			 interim adjustment for banked allowances" means an adjustment applied to the
			 Connecticut CO2 Budget Trading Program Base Budget
			 pursuant to subsection (f) of this section for Connecticut's proportional share
			 of the regional surplus CO2 allowances from allocation
			 years 2009 to 2011, inclusive.
(54)
			 "Fossil fuel" means natural gas, petroleum, coal, or any form of solid, liquid,
			 or gaseous fuel derived from such material, except that fossil fuel does not
			 include tire-derived fuel.
(55)
			 "Fossil fuel-fired" means, with regard to an emissions unit that commenced
			 operation prior to January 1, 2005, the combustion of fossil fuel, alone or in
			 combination with any other fuel, where the fossil fuel combusted comprises, or
			 is projected to comprise, more than fifty percent of the annual heat input on a
			 Btu basis during any year, or, with respect to an emissions unit that commences
			 operation on or after January 1, 2005, the combustion of fossil fuel, alone or
			 in combination with any other fuel, where the fossil fuel combusted comprises,
			 or is projected to comprise, more than five percent of the annual heat input on
			 a Btu basis during any year.
(56)
			 "General account" means a CO2 Allowance Tracking System
			 account, established under subsection (g) of this section, which is not a
			 compliance account.
(57) "Global
			 warming potential" or "GWP" means a measure consistent with the values used in
			 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Fifth Assessment Report
			 of the radiative efficiency or heat-absorbing ability, of a particular gas
			 relative to that of CO2 after taking into account the
			 decay rate of each gas, the amount removed from the atmosphere over a given
			 number of years, relative to that of CO2.
(58) "Interim control period" means a
			 one-calendar-year time period, during each of the first and second calendar
			 years of each three-year control period. The first interim control period is
			 from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015, inclusive. The second interim
			 control period is from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016, inclusive. Each
			 successive three-year control period will have two interim control periods,
			 comprised of each of the first two calendar years of that control
			 period.
(59)
			 "H2O" means water.
(60) "Heat input" means the gross calorific
			 value of all fuels combusted by a CO2 budget
			 unit.
(61) "Lb" means
			 pound.
(62) "Maximum potential
			 hourly heat input" means an hourly heat input used for reporting purposes when
			 a unit lacks certified monitors to report heat input calculated in accordance
			 with 40 CFR 75.
(63) "Monitoring
			 system" means any monitoring system that meets the requirements of subsection
			 (i) of this section, including a continuous emissions monitoring system, an
			 excepted monitoring system, or an alternative monitoring system.
(64) "MMBtu" means million Btu of heat
			 input.
(65) "MWe" means megawatt
			 electrical.
(66) "MWh" means
			 megawatt-hour.
(67) "Nameplate
			 capacity" means the maximum electrical output in MWe that an electric
			 generating unit can sustain over a specified period of time when not restricted
			 by seasonal or other deratings as measured in accordance with the United States
			 Department of Energy Standards.
(68) "Non-CO2 budget
			 unit" means a unit that does not meet the applicability criteria of subsection
			 (b) of this section.
(69) "NOx"
			 means oxides of nitrogen.
(70)
			 "O2" mean oxygen.
(71) "Operator" means any person who
			 operates, controls, or supervises a CO2 budget unit or a
			 CO2 budget source and shall include, but not be limited
			 to, any holding company, utility system, or plant manager of such a unit or
			 source.
(72) "Owner" means any of
			 the following persons:
(A) Any holder of any
			 portion of the legal or equitable title in a CO2 budget
			 unit;
(B) Any holder of a leasehold
			 interest in a CO2 budget unit, other than a passive
			 lessor, or a person who has an equitable interest through such lessor, whose
			 rental payments are not based, either directly or indirectly, upon the revenues
			 or income from the CO2 budget unit;
(C) Any purchaser of power from a
			 CO2 budget unit under an agreement in which the
			 purchaser controls the dispatch of the unit; or
(D) With respect to any general account, any
			 person who has an ownership interest in the CO2
			 allowances held in the general account and who is subject to the binding
			 agreement for the CO2 authorized account representative
			 to represent that person's ownership interest with respect to the
			 CO2 allowances.
(73) "Participating state" means a state that
			 has established a regulation implementing a CO2 Budget
			 Trading Program consistent with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative model
			 rule.
(74) "Public Utilities
			 Regulatory Authority" means the authority pursuant to section 16-2 of the
			 Connecticut General Statutes.
(75)
			 "Receive" or "receipt of" means, when referring to the commissioner, to come
			 into possession of a document, information, or correspondence, as indicated in
			 an official correspondence log, or by a notation made on the document,
			 information, or correspondence, by the commissioner in the regular course of
			 business.
(76) "Recordation",
			 "record" or "recorded" means, with regard to CO2
			 allowances, the movement of CO2 allowances by the
			 commissioner from one CO2 Allowance Tracking System
			 account to another, for purposes of allocation, transfer or
			 deduction.
(77) "Regional
			 Independent System Operator" or "Regional ISO" means "regional independent
			 system operator" as defined in section 16-1 of the Connecticut General
			 Statutes.
(78) "Renewable energy"
			 means "Class I renewable energy source" as defined in section 16-1(a) of the
			 Connecticut General Statutes.
(79)
			 "Renewable Energy Certificate" or "REC" means a certificate that represents the
			 attributes related to one megawatt-hour of electricity generation.
(80) "Second control period interim
			 adjustment for banked allowances" means an adjustment applied to the
			 Connecticut CO2 Budget Trading Program Base Budget
			 pursuant to subsection (f) of this section for Connecticut's proportional share
			 of regional surplus CO2 allowances from allocation years
			 2012 and 2013.
(81) "Serial number"
			 means, when referring to CO2 allowances, the unique
			 identification number assigned to each CO2 allowance by
			 the commissioner.
(82)
			 "SO2" means sulfur dioxide.
(83) "Source" means "source" as defined in
			 section 22a-174-1 of the Regulations of
			 Connecticut State Agencies, provided that a source with multiple units, is a
			 single facility.
(84) "State"
			 means, notwithstanding the definition set forth in section
			 22a-174-1 of the Regulations of
			 Connecticut State Agencies, any state of the United States of America, the
			 District of Columbia, and the following territories of the United States: the
			 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the
			 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
(85) "Submit" means to send or transmit a
			 document, information, or correspondence to the person specified in accordance
			 with the applicable regulation either in person, by United States Postal
			 Service, or by other means of dispatch or transmission and delivery.
(86) "Third adjustment for banked allowances"
			 means an adjustment applied to the Connecticut CO2
			 Budget Trading Program Base Budget pursuant to subsection (f) of this section
			 for Connecticut's proportional share of regional surplus
			 CO2 allowances from allocation years prior to
			 2021.
(87) "Ton" or "short ton"
			 means a measure of weight equal to two thousand pounds or 0.9072 metric
			 tons.
(88) "Undistributed
			 CO2 allowances" means CO2
			 allowances originally allocated to a set-aside account pursuant to subsection
			 (f) of this section that were not utilized for the purpose of such set aside
			 account.
(89) "Unit" means a fossil
			 fuel-fired stationary boiler, combustion turbine or combined cycle
			 system.
(90) "Unsold
			 CO2 allowances" means CO2
			 allowances that have been made available for sale in an auction but not
			 sold.
(91) "Useful net thermal
			 energy" means the energy output of thermal energy used for heating, cooling,
			 industrial processes or other beneficial uses.
(92) "Voluntary clean energy purchase" means
			 electricity from renewable energy generation or renewable energy attribute
			 credits representing such renewable energy generation, purchased by a retail
			 electricity customer on a voluntary basis, provided that purchases used to meet
			 any regulatory mandate, such as a renewable portfolio standard, shall not be a
			 voluntary renewable energy purchase.
(93) "Voluntary Clean Energy Purchase
			 Set-aside Account" means a general account established by the commissioner to
			 hold CO2 allowances that are allocated pursuant to
			 subsection (f)(4) of this section.