Waste Industry Wants Exemption from California's Cap & Trade Program

Date: February 20, 2009

Source: News Room

Wastewater and solid waste industry representatives are pressing California's Air Resources Board (ARB) not to include their activities in the state's greenhouse gas (GHG) cap-and-trade program. They argue that GHG emissions from these facilities are already sufficiently regulated under existing regimes and that including them in the cap-and-trade program would have adverse economic and other implications. They are concerned that California's program that was created under the 2006 state law AB 32 will ultimately serve as a model for much of the rest of the country, specifically the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), a regional cap-and-trade program, that covers seven states and four Canadian provinces. Of concern is how ARB will define biomass and to what extent facilities that burn biomass will be required to report their emissions, including whether some of these facilities should fall under potentially different cap-and-trade reporting requirements. ARB may further explore facilities that burn biomass and waste-derived fuels when activities or emissions exceed the cap-and-trade threshold. These apparently could include facilities that combust industrial and municipal wastes.

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