Tag: ARB

California ARB Fines Nine Companies for Late or Inadequate GHG Reporting

Nine companies have been fined by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) for violations of the state’s Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule (the Reporting Rule) which requires facilities, including those covered by California’s cap-and-trade regulation, to report their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually. Adopted by ARB in 2007, the Reporting Rule requires facilities that emit more than 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually to report their emissions. About 600 facilities have been reporting their greenhouse gas emissions to ARB since 2008.  

Industrial facilities are required to report each April and utilities are required to do so each June. These reports are then checked for accuracy and verified by independent third parties with oversight by ARB staff.  The reporting compliance rate for 2012 was 97%. Nine companies have been fined for failure to supply complete information by the appropriate deadlines for either the reporting or verification stages. In addition to paying these fines, the violators must provide ARB with plans for complete and accurate data collection and reporting in the future. The companies fined include:

·        ExxonMobil Oil Corporation: $120,000

·        DG Fairhaven Power: $55,000

·        Vintage Production California: $35,000

·        Pacific Gas & Electric: $20,000

·        Veneco: $20,000

·        Cemex Construction Materials: $15,000

·        Lehigh Southwest Cement: $10,000

·        Lhoist North America of Arizona: $10,000

·        Tidelands Production: $10,000

With respect to GHG reporting, ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols said that: “Accurate reporting of greenhouse gas emissions is the foundation of our efforts to reduce carbon pollution from the state’s energy and industrial sectors.  We will continue to vigorously enforce the mandatory reporting rule to ensure that every company follows all its requirements.”

Emissions reported by facility under the Reporting Rule can be viewed online

 

Court gives California Green Light to Proceed with Cap-and-Trade

 
On September 28, 2011, a California Supreme Court judge ruled that the state’s Air Resources Board (ARB) can proceed with implementation of the California’s cap-and-trade program. The ruling was issued in the case of California Air Resources Board vs. Association of Irritated Residents, in which anti-poverty environmental justice organizations have argued a market-based approach exposes poor and minority communities to higher levels of pollution.
The implementation of the cap-and-trade program, which is scheduled to begin in California in 2012, has been held up because of a March 2011 court ruling that required the ARB to further consider alternatives to cap-and-trade that might provide more effective ways of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. ARB says that it has adequately considered alternatives such as a carbon tax, and is appealing the March 2011 decision in Superior Court. The September 28th ruling allows the ARB to move forward on cap-and-trade before the Superior Court rules.
California’s proposed cap-and-trade program is a major component of AB32, the state’s 2006 landmark climate change legislation. Under the law, California must reduce its GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. In addition, the legislation sets an overall limit on emissions from sources responsible for 85% of California’s GHG emissions. The cap-and-trade program is designed to work in collaboration with other complementary policies that expand energy efficiency programs, reduce vehicle emissions, and encourage innovation.
More information on the status of California’s cap-and-trade program is available on the ARB web site.