[Senate Report 110-491]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                      Calendar No. 1067
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     110-491

======================================================================



 
              FEDERAL GREENHOUSE GAS REGISTRY ACT OF 2008

                                _______
                                

  September 24 (legislative day, September 17), 2008.--Ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

    Mrs. Boxer, from the Committee on Environment and Public Works, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1387]

                             together with

                             MINORITY VIEWS

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Environment and Public Works, having 
considered the bill (S. 1387) to amend the Emergency Planning 
and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 to provide for 
greenhouse gases, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon with an amendment and an amendment to the title and 
recommends that the bill as amended do pass.

                      PURPOSES OF THE LEGISLATION

    The Federal Greenhouse Gas Registry Act of 2008 (the Act), 
as amended would require the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a Federal greenhouse gas 
(GHG) registry that is complete, consistent, transparent, and 
accurate, will collect reliable and accurate data for use by 
public and private entities, and will provide high-quality data 
to be used for implementing GHG reduction policies.

                    GENERAL STATEMENT AND BACKGROUND

    Atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations have 
steadily been increasing since the industrial revolution. The 
accumulation of these GHGs traps more heat in the atmosphere 
and leads to increases in global average temperatures of air 
and water.
    According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 
(IPCC), ``the warming of the climate system is unequivocal.'' 
The IPCC also concluded with 90% certainty that humans are 
responsible for most of the recent warming.
    According to the IPCC, continued increases in GHG 
concentrations will cause continued warming of the water and 
air, increased risk of droughts, threats to water resources, 
food shortages, more frequent and intense heat waves, spread of 
disease, and the extinction of species.
    The 2008 Appropriations Act provided EPA $3.5 million to 
draft a rule for mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas 
emissions in all sectors of the U.S. economy. The Act requires 
EPA to publish a draft rule in September 2008 and a final rule 
in June 2009.
    S. 1387 builds upon the current EPA rulemaking, adding more 
detailed requirements relating to which facilities are covered, 
data collection and reporting, data verification and EPA 
enforcement.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 would provide that the Act may be cited as the 
``Federal Greenhouse Gas Registry Act of 2008.''

Section 2. Purpose

    The purpose of the act is to provide for 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.

Section 3. Definitions

    The term `affected facility' is defined in detail, and the 
Administrator is authorized in certain cases to include 
additional facilities that emit greenhouse gas.
    `Carbon content' means the quantity of carbon in carbon 
dioxide equivalent.
    `Carbon dioxide equivalent' means the quantity of 
greenhouse gas that makes the same contribution to global 
warming as 1 metric ton of carbon dioxide.
    `Climate registry' means the greenhouse gas emissions 
registry jointly established and managed by more than 40 states 
and Indian tribes.
    `Facility' means 1 or more buildings, structures, or 
installations of an entity on 1 or more contiguous or adjacent 
properties in the United States.
    The term `greenhouse gas' refers to carbon dioxide, 
methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, 
and sulfur hexafluoride, and other anthropogenically-emitted 
gas that EPA determines contribute to climate change.
    The `greenhouse gas emissions' include:
          Stationary combustion source emissions emitted as a 
        result of combustion of fuels, such as boilers, 
        furnaces, burners, turbines, heaters, incinerators, 
        engines, flares, and other similar sources;
          Process emissions from chemical or physical processes 
        other than combustion;
          Fugitive emissions consisting of intentional and 
        unintentional emissions from equipment leaks, piles, 
        pits, and cooling towers;
          Biogenic emissions from biological processes, such as 
        anaerobic composition, nitrification, and 
        denitrification.
    `Indian Tribe', `Local Distribution Company', `Registry', 
and `Source' are defined. `Reversal' means an intentional or 
unintentional release of a significant quantity of greenhouse 
gases to the atmosphere that was sequestered. `Sequestered' 
refers to the isolation of greenhouse gas without reversal in 
geological formations.

Section 4. Reporting requirements

    Section 4 would require affected facilities to submit 
reports to the Administrator describing the quantities and 
types of feedstocks, greenhouse gases, and electricity 
produced, generated, imported, exported, or sequestered. The 
report shall include a list of the sources of the greenhouse 
gas and quantify the amount in metric tons of source emissions, 
process emissions, and fugitive emissions. Additional detailed 
requirements for these reports are specified, and a provision 
authorizing the Administrator to provide de minimis exemptions 
from reporting is established. Reports must be verified by the 
Administrator.
    Beginning in 2010, and each subsequent year, each affected 
facility shall submit quarterly data no later than 90 days 
after the end of the applicable quarter.
    Nothing in this Act affects any requirements in effect 
relating to the reporting of fossil fuel production, refining, 
importation, exportation, or consumption, greenhouse gas 
emission data, or other relevant data.

Section 5. Data quality and verification

    The Administrator shall establish by regulation 
comprehensive protocols and methods to ensure complete, 
accurate, consistent, and transparent data on greenhouse gas 
emissions that are to conform to best practices. EPA is to take 
into account the Climate Registry in issuing this rule. 
Specific protocols and methods are established in paragraphs 
(A) through (H), and best practices from other protocols and 
verification methods are required to be incorporated as 
specified.
    Each affected entity shall provide information for the 
Administrator to verify and ensure the submission or retention 
of data, information on control and assumptions, and 
uncertainty.
    The Administrator may waive reporting requirements for 
specific facilities if sufficient and equally or more reliable 
data are available under other provisions of law.
    If data for an affected facility satisfactory to the 
Administrator is not provided, the Administrator shall 
prescribe methods to estimate emissions for the missing data 
and take appropriate enforcement action.

Section 6. Federal greenhouse gas registry

    Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the 
Act, the Administrator is to promulgate regulations 
establishing a Federal greenhouse gas registry that builds upon 
the final rule promulgated under the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act of 2008, making necessary changes to achieve 
the purposes of this Act. Emissions reporting is to begin no 
later than January 1, 2011.
    The Administrator shall design and operate the Registry and 
establish an advisory body broadly representative of private 
enterprise, agriculture, environmental groups, and State, 
tribal, and local governments to guide the development and 
management of the Registry. Coordination and technical 
assistance, taking into account the states' Climate Registry, 
is required.
    The Administrator shall develop electronic reporting 
guidelines for affected entities, verify and audit reported 
data, calculate carbon content and greenhouse gas emissions 
using consistent methods, and immediately publish all Registry 
information on the internet, except information that is vital 
to national security, as determined by the President, or 
confidential business information that cannot be derived from 
information that is otherwise publicly available and that would 
cause competitive harm if published. Information relating to 
GHG emissions shall not be considered to be confidential 
business information.
    The Administrator may use third parties that do not have 
any conflicts of interest to verify reported data.
    The Administrator shall propose regulations no later than 
180 days after the enactment of this Act and promulgate final 
regulations no later than July 1, 2009.

Section 7. Enforcement

    The Administrator may bring a civil action against the 
owner or operator of an affected facility that fails to comply 
with any requirement of this Act. Any violation of this Act 
shall be subject to a $25,000 fine per day for each violation.
    The bill's title is amended to be ``A bill to direct the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
establish a Federal greenhouse gas registry.''.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senators Klobuchar and Snowe introduced S. 1387 on May 14, 
2008 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
Environment and Public Works. The Committee met on September 
17, 2008 and considered Senator Klobuchar's amendment in the 
nature of a substitute, which was adopted by voice vote without 
further amendment.

                             ROLLCALL VOTES

    There were no rollcall votes. The measure was approved, a 
quorum being present, by voice vote.

                      REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT

    In compliance with section 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee finds that the 
legislation does not impose substantial additional regulatory 
costs, and agrees with the Congressional Budget Office that 
``[b]ecause the rule EPA is drafting under current law would 
likely include many of the facilities covered by the bill, the 
incremental costs of the mandates would likely not be 
substantial. In addition, most electric utilities are already 
required to report similar data to EPA under the Clean Air 
Act.'' The Committee also agrees with CBO that costs of any 
mandates ``would fall below the annual thresholds established 
in UMRA ($68 million for intergovernmental mandates and $136 
million for private-sector mandates in 2008, adjusted annually 
for inflation).''

                          MANDATES ASSESSMENT

    In compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(Public Law 104-4), the Committee notes that the Congressional 
Budget Office has found that ``S. 1387 would impose an 
intergovernmental and private-sector mandate as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) by requiring facilities, as 
defined in the bill, to submit data on greenhouse gas emissions 
to the registry established in the bill. Because the rule EPA 
is drafting under current law would likely include many of the 
facilities covered by the bill, the incremental costs of the 
mandates would likely not be substantial. In addition, most 
electric utilities are already required to report similar data 
to EPA under the Clean Air Act. Consequently, CBO estimates 
that the costs of the mandate would fall below the annual 
thresholds established in UMRA ($68 million for 
intergovernmental mandates and $136 million for private-sector 
mandates in 2008, adjusted annually for inflation).''

                  CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE

                                                September 24, 2008.
Hon. Barbara Boxer,
Chairman, Committee on Environment and Public Works,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Madam Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1387, the Federal 
Greenhouse Gas Registry Act of 2008.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Susanne S. 
Mehlman.
            Sincerely,
                                                   Peter R. Orszag.
    Enclosure.

S. 1387--Federal Greenhouse Gas Registry Act of 2008

    S. 1387 would require the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA), not later than two years after enactment, to establish a 
greenhouse gas registry that contains data from electricity-
generating facilities and other types of facilities about 
greenhouse gas emissions. The bill also would require EPA to 
establish rules related to data collection, reporting, and data 
verification.
    According to EPA, the agency is currently working on a 
draft rule that requires mandatory reporting of greenhouse 
gases for the largest emissions sources in the United States. 
Based on information from EPA, CBO estimates that implementing 
this legislation would cost less than $500,000 a year, subject 
to the availability of appropriated funds.
    Enacting this legislation also would establish civil 
penalties (which are recorded in the budget as revenues) for 
the owners and operators of affected facilities that fail to 
comply with the requirements under this legislation. CBO 
estimates that any increase in revenues resulting from those 
civil penalties would not be significant. Enacting this bill 
would not affect direct spending.
    S. 1387 would impose an intergovernmental and private-
sector mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
(UMRA) by requiring facilities, as defined in the bill, to 
submit data on greenhouse gas emissions to the registry 
established in the bill. Because the rule EPA is drafting under 
current law would likely include many of the facilities covered 
by the bill, the incremental costs of the mandates would likely 
not be substantial. In addition, most electric utilities are 
already required to report similar data to EPA under the Clean 
Air Act. Consequently, CBO estimates that the costs of the 
mandate would fall below the annual thresholds established in 
UMRA ($68 million for intergovernmental mandates and $136 
million for private-sector mandates in 2008, adjusted annually 
for inflation).
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Susanne S. 
Mehlman (for federal costs), Burke Doherty (for the state and 
local impact), and Amy Petz (for the private-sector impact). 
This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                             MINORITY VIEWS

    S. 1387, the Federal Greenhouse Gas Registry Act of 2008, a 
bill that requires the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a Federal greenhouse gas 
(GHG) registry, should be opposed and returned to the 
Environment and Public Works Committee by the full Senate. The 
legislation is unnecessary, duplicative, and may lead to legal 
confusion by amending two different Acts.
    The FY 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act provided $3.5 
million to EPA to develop and publish a draft Mandatory 
Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule that is set to go final sometime 
next year. That Rule is nearly on track and is in the final 
stage of internal review and set to go to OMB in the next few 
weeks. While the draft Rule is not yet final, there has already 
been extensive stakeholder outreach and hours dedicated to its 
development. S. 1387 and its Substitute represent the authors' 
intentions to rewrite that Rule before they have even seen a 
preliminary draft. The language authorizing the Rule, while I 
did not support it, was actually drafted by the Majority last 
year. This language used familiar existing reporting 
requirement language from the Clean Air Act, and set an already 
ambitious timetable.
    In addition, this legislation intends to amend the 
Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act of 1986, 
which may lead to more confusion upon implementation because it 
also seeks to build off the Appropriations language from the FY 
2008 Act which directed the Administrator to act under the 
Clean Air Act. I am concerned that this bill will also 
complicate that Rule's development by using threshold reporting 
requirements and definitions from the Lieberman Warner bill, 
which the Senate rejected earlier this year. It also includes 
extensive penalties for noncompliance and introduces new terms 
into the Act. It is my hope that we reject this legislation and 
focus on oversight of what the Agency is already in the process 
of producing, and avoid this duplicative mandate that is no 
longer necessary.
                                                   James M. Inhofe.
                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    Section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate 
requires the committee to publish changes in existing law made 
by the bill as reported. Passage of this bill will make no 
changes to existing law.

                                  
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