The California Air Resources Board (“ARB”) has issued a second 15-day notice for modifications to the Regulation for the Reporting of Criteria Air Pollutants and Toxic Air Contaminants (“CTR”). The CTR will require annual reporting of criteria pollutant and toxic air contaminant emissions for sources meeting the regulation’s eligibility criteria. These regulations are intended to provide consistency in the types of (and how) criteria pollutants and toxic air contaminants are reported in California. The first year for CTR reporting is 2020, thereby covering 2019 emissions data. However, the phase-in schedule in the revised regulation is intended to only require “business as usual” data gathering for the first year, with changes to facilities’ emissions data gathering starting in subsequent years.
The new regulations would require changes to emissions data currently reported in the aggregate for certain large facilities. This could impact reporting and data gathering practices for facilities defined as onshore petroleum, natural gas, and geothermal electric generation.
While ARB is taking comments on the second modification of the CTR regulations by August 1, 2019, this second 15-day modification is likely to be the last due to the one-year deadline for ARB rulemakings. ARB staff does plan to return to the Board next year to ask for approval to further revise the regulations, including expanding the reporting eligibility provisions.
If you have any questions regarding the Regulation for the Reporting of Criteria Air Pollutants and Toxic Air Contaminants, or other regulatory issues with the ARB, please contact ESHD attorneys Brian Biering at bsb(at)eslawfirm.com or Chase Maxwell at CBK(at)eslawfirm.com.
