Earth Equity News

White House Clears Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule. By Robin Bravender, Greenwire, September 17, 2009. "U.S. EPA is poised to establish a national registry for heat-trapping emissions after the White House yesterday completed its review of the agency's final greenhouse gas reporting rule. The rule, which would set up an economywide program to monitor greenhouse gas emissions, is widely viewed as a major step toward informing future policy decisions on carbon dioxide regulations. The White House Office of Management and Budget finalized its review of the final rule yesterday, according to the office's Web site. EPA's draft proposal [PDF, 818 pp] released in March would cover about 13,000 facilities from all sectors of the economy that account for 85 to 90 percent of U.S. emissions. The proposal would require reporting from facilities with direct emissions equivalent to 25,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions per year or more -- a level EPA said would spare the 'vast majority' of small businesses. Industry data collection under the draft rule would begin in January 2010, with the first reports due to EPA in March 2011."