[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 36 (Tuesday, February 24, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 9718]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03729]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ- OAR-15-000-5154; FRL-9923-52-OAR]


Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2013

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of document availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Draft Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and 
Sinks: 1990-2013 is available for public review.

DATES: To ensure your comments are considered for the final version of 
the document, please submit your comments by March 26, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit your comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Mail: Leif Hockstad, Climate Change Division, Office of 
Atmospheric Programs (MC-6207S), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: (202) 566-2203.
    The draft report can be obtained by visiting the U.S. EPA's Climate 
Change Site.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Leif Hockstad, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Office of Air and Radiation, Office of Atmospheric 
Programs, Climate Change Division; telephone number: (202) 343-9432; 
email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    The Draft Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 
1990-2013 is being made available for a thirty day public review and 
comment period. Annual U.S. emissions for the period of time from 1990 
through 2013 are summarized and presented by source category and 
sector. The inventory contains estimates of carbon dioxide 
(CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide 
(N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC), 
sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and nitrogen trifluoride 
(NF3) emissions. The inventory also includes estimates of 
carbon fluxes in U.S. agricultural and forest lands. The technical 
approach used in this report to estimate emissions and sinks for 
greenhouse gases is consistent with the methodologies recommended by 
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and reported in a 
format consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on 
Climate Change (UNFCCC) reporting guidelines. The Inventory of U.S. 
Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2013 is the latest in a series 
of annual U.S. submissions to the Secretariat of the UNFCCC. EPA 
requests recommendations for improving the overall quality of the 
inventory report to be finalized in April 2015, as well as subsequent 
inventory reports.
    As in previous years and as encouraged by stakeholders in public 
comments received on the inventory, this inventory report incorporates 
data reported to the EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP). 
For certain sectors, the inventory uses values calculated by 
aggregating GHGRP data that are confidential business information 
(CBI). Once aggregated, these values no longer disclose facility-level 
data. In order to determine that an aggregation protects underlying 
CBI, the EPA uses criteria established through a recent Federal 
Register notice (79 FR 32948, June 9, 2014) and posted on the GHGRP Web 
site, http://www.epa.gov/ghgreporting/. The EPA intends to continue to 
use GHGRP data, including aggregated CBI values, to develop the annual 
inventory. Some aggregations are calculated from data reported by many 
separate companies that the aggregations far exceed the criteria 
established by the EPA. For aggregations that do not far exceed the 
aggregation criteria, the EPA plans to notify facilities prior to 
publishing the aggregated data as noted in the FR notice.

    Dated: February 17, 2015.
Sarah Dunham,
Director, Office of Atmospheric Programs.
[FR Doc. 2015-03729 Filed 2-23-15; 8:45 am]
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