Senate Bill No. 756
(By Senators McCabe, Oliverio, Hunter, Barnes, Foster, Bailey and
Yoder)
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[Introduced February 20, 2006; referred to the Committee
on Energy, Industry and Mining; and then to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §22-5-19, relating to
establishing a program to inventory all emissions, reductions
and carbon sequestrations of greenhouse gases; creating a
voluntary registry for the reporting of voluntary reductions
of greenhouse gas emissions if the reductions are made before
they are required by law; providing public recognition of
voluntary reduction or avoidance of greenhouse gases; and
providing consideration of the reductions under future federal
greenhouse gas emission reduction programs.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §22-5-19, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. AIR POLLUTION CONTROL.
§22-5-19. Net Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
(a) The secretary is authorized to propose legislative rules
for promulgation in accordance with article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code, establishing a net greenhouse gas
inventory to determine whether West Virginia is a net sink or
emitter of greenhouse gas and whether greenhouse gas can be
developed as an asset for economic development by establishing an
accurate inventory of current and future greenhouse gas emissions.
The inventory shall include all significant emissions, reductions,
capture and sequestration of greenhouse gases from stationary
sources, such as power plants, waste combustors, natural gas/oil
systems, landfills, and waste water treatment facilities, mobile
(highway and nonroad) sources, agricultural sources, and shall
consider direct (geologic) and indirect (terrestrial) carbon
sequestration. The inventory will establish a reasonable de
minimis standard so as to not cause undue administrative burden on
reporting entities.
(b) To inventory greenhouse gas emissions, the secretary shall
establish a program for the reporting and/or, where information
already exists or is reported to the department or other state or
federal agency, the collection of greenhouse gas emissions
information from all sources, or the collection of small sources cumulatively taken, that emit a significant amount of greenhouse
gases on an annual basis. The reporting entities will be permitted
to provide, existing and ongoing documented inventories, such as
those provided to EPA's Climate Leaders Program, Chicago Climate
Exchange Registry, or other widely recognized and verified
greenhouse gas inventory programs, to completely fulfill their
program reporting requirements.
(c) The secretary shall establish a voluntary program under
which the department registers voluntary reductions in emissions of
greenhouse gases for reductions made before mandated by law. The
voluntary program shall include, but not be limited to, criteria
for establishing baseline emissions, quantifying emission
reductions, and providing public recognition. The department shall
consider the information recorded in the voluntary emission
reduction registry when determining baselines and reduction
requirements under future emission reduction programs implemented
under federal law.
(d) To inventory greenhouse gas reductions, the secretary
shall consult and coordinate with other state agencies and higher
education institutions, the citizenry, and other entities such as
industry trade groups that have knowledge or information relating
to greenhouse gas emissions, measurement protocols, greenhouse gas
reductions and sequestration including, but not limited to, the
Department of Agriculture, the Division of Forestry, Marshall University, West Virginia University, and the Department of
Transportation. These entities shall enter into interagency
agreements with the secretary and shall cooperate by: (i)
Providing information relating to greenhouse gas emissions,
reductions and sequestration; and (ii) providing any necessary
assistance to the secretary in effectuating the purposes of this
article. The secretary shall determine the form and format of the
information submitted by these entities.
(e) In establishing the net greenhouse gas inventory program,
the department shall make the program as consistent as possible
with other state and federal programs designed to monitor,
quantify, and register reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases
as referenced in section (b).
(f) As used in this section, "greenhouse gas" means carbon
dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons,
perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a net greenhouse
gas inventory. The program, administered by the Department of
Environmental Protection, requires the department to determine
whether West Virginia is a net sink or emitter of greenhouse gases.
Facilities emitting a significant amount of greenhouse gases must
provide such emissions information to the department and the
department is authorized to establish a voluntary registry for
voluntary reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. The program will
enable the department to analyze the extent to which gross carbon
emissions are offset by the rate of carbon sequestration by West
Virginia's forests. The Department of Environmental Protection is
to propose legislative rules establishing the program.
This section is new; therefore strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.