US President Barack Obama and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are gearing up to put the nation on a low-carbon diet starting from January 1, including steel and aluminum sectors, a press release by US law firm Plunkett Connelly said.
The counting begins with the news year when some 10,000 companies and other entities, including municipalities and even some universities, must start measuring their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While it is uncertain when mandatory cuts will be announced - and whether Congress or the EPA will act first - the law firm of Plunkett Coonelly said on Monday that polluters might want to start dieting sooner rather than later because their GHG emissions, down to the plant level, will become part of the public record after March 31, 2011.
According to the law firm, entities that annually generate or emit at least 25,000 mt of carbon dioxide equivalents, which includes gases such as methane, nitrous oxide or several fluorinated gases, must measure and report their emissions to the EPA or face fines of up to $37,500 per day for each violation.
The reporting threshold is equivalent to the annual GHG emissions from approximately 4,600 passenger vehicles. Entities covered under the new rules include fossil fuel-fired power plants, landfills, fuel production facilities, chemical plants, steel and aluminum works, cement factories and large livestock operations. Data collection for motor vehicle and engine manufacturers begins in 2011.