The Ministry of the Environment is seeking comments until November 6 on a draft Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Reporting regulation and guideline. The draft is very similar to the US GHG reporting regulation which was adopted last month.
The regulation proposes:

• Mandatory GHG reporting

• Mandatory reporting for all regulated sources that are emitting 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) or more per year;
• Reporting of 2010 emissions in the year 2011, and annually thereafter;

• GHG Quantification and Verification

• Flexible quantification methods can be used for 2010 emissions, to be reported in 2011;
• Standardized quantification methods must be used in all subsequent years, starting for the reporting of 2011 emissions in 2012;
• Third party verification will be mandatory, starting for the 2011 emissions, to be verified in 2012 and every year thereafter;
• Emission reports must be submitted on June 1 of each year starting in 2011; and
• Verification must be completed by September 1 of each year, starting in 2012.

Facility owners will be obliged to ensure that all reports are accurate and comply with the regulation.

GHG Reporting Guideline

The regulation is fairly short, but is accompanied by a 111 page Guideline. The Guideline begins with definitions and references, followed by detailed rules for 26 specific sectors, from adipic acid manufacturing to zinc production. These rules set out standardized mandatory methods to be used to quantify emissions and the alternative methods that may be used during the first year of reporting. Appendix 10, General Stationary Combustion, will apply to the largest number of facilities.

Third party verification will be phased in starting with 2011 emissions, with the first verification to be submitted in 2012. This phased in approach allows time to build capacity in Ontario for third party verification in accordance with the ISO 14064 and 14065. The Ministry encourages all regulated sources to voluntarily undertake third party verification in the first year to provide further assurance of their emissions data.

The province says:

Voluntary GHG reporting

Smaller emitters (facilities emitting between 10,000 and 25,000 tonnes) are not required to report under the current proposed regulation. The Ministry will develop an outreach program to encourage voluntary reporting for these smaller emitters.

The Western Climate Initiative (WCI) proposes requiring, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA)  will require, fuel suppliers to report emissions attributable to the combustion of their products in transportation, residential, commercial and other industrial sectors (see links). Ontario’s proposed regulation and guideline does not cover fuel suppliers.  As WCI finalizes methods for fuel suppliers, Ontario will consider incorporation of fuel suppliers into the regulation, taking into account a full review of both the WCI methods and the U.S. EPA requirements.  Opportunity will be provided for stakeholder review and comment of any new methods proposed to be added.

Harmonization

Ontario will maintain flexibility and continue to work with the federal government and other provinces to harmonize GHG reporting requirements and methods where feasible.  Ontario will also continue to work with its WCI Partners to harmonize with the new final U.S. EPA reporting requirements where feasible.  Ontario seeks stakeholder comments and feedback on further aligning with U.S. EPA reporting requirements and on the application in Ontario of U.S. EPA methods incorporated by reference.