"EPA Issues Emissions Reporting Rules for Oil and Gas Industry"

"U.S. EPA announced the release today of final rules that will require oil and gas facilities and certain electronics manufacturing plants to begin keeping tabs on their greenhouse gas emissions next year.

The new regulations will add those industries to EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, which kicked off at the beginning of this year. Companies are not required to achieve any emissions reductions through the program, but they must produce annual emissions reports that are intended to inform the public and guide policymakers in the quest to address global warming.

The addition of the oil and gas industry is notable because it was the last high-profile sector that was not addressed when EPA issued a set of reporting requirements last year. Sources responsible for about 85 percent of the nation's industrial greenhouse gas inventory were required to begin maintaining emissions data this past January, and on Jan. 1, 2011, that figure will nudge up a little higher."

Gabriel Nelson reports for Greenwire November 9, 2010.