Of current interest...

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June 1, 2010

EPA Reporting Rule - PROPOSED UPDATE

On May 27, 2010, U. S. EPA announced technical updates to the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule that was adopted in fall, 2009 (see below). "In general, the proposed updates would not change the overall requirements of the rule but would improve clarity and ensure consistency across the calculation, monitoring and data reporting requirements." See this EPA webpage for details.

June 1, 2010

Prevention of Significant Deterioration and Title V Greenhouse Gas - The "Tailoring Rule" - FINAL

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0517-0018]

NEBRA Summary: U. S. EPA is working on applying the Clean Air Act to GHG emissions with the so-called “tailoring rule,” which will “trigger PSD [Prevention of Significant Degradation] and Title V applicability requirements for GHG emissions.” If current PSD and Title V thresholds and standards were applied to GHGs across-the-board today, state environmental agencies would be overrun by compliance applications from thousands of companies and facilities seeking permits. Thus, the tailoring rule, which was finalized in May, 2010, will phase in the PSD and Title V standards, beginning with a 6-year period during which compliance would be required by facilities that directly emit >75,000 or >100,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) GHG emissions, depending on whether the emissions are from a new facility or from a change to an existing facility.

At this time, wastewater treatment and biosolids management are not affected by this proposed rule (except very large producers of biogas may be required to comply; not sure on this as of June 1, 2010). However, over the next decade, as additional facilities are drawn into this proposed regulation, wastewater treatment facilities could be required to comply with this rule. See NEBRA news article on this topic.

September 30, 2009

U. S. EPA Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule Is Finalized

Rule subpart regarding centralized domestic wastewater treatment plants is not final, but they will likely continue to remain exempt.

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0508; FRL-]RIN 2060-A079
Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Final Rule.

SUMMARY: EPA is promulgating a regulation to require reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors of the economy. The final rule applies to fossil fuel suppliers and industrial gas suppliers, direct greenhouse gas emitters and manufacturers of heavy-duty and off-road vehicles and engines. The rule does not require control of greenhouse gases, rather it requires only that sources above certain threshold levels monitor and report emissions.

The rule will come into effect 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register.

Wastewater Treatment: At this time, EPA is not going final with the wastewater treatment subpart (40 CFR part 98, subpart II). As EPA considers next steps, we will be reviewing the public comments and other relevant information. Please note, as originally proposed for this rule, centralized domestic wastewater treatment plants continue to be excluded.

The Agency received a number of comments regarding the applicability of this subpart as well as clarification of the definition of anaerobic wastewater treatment processes. In addition, commenters requested that EPA consider a de minimus exemption for emissions from wastewater treatment. The Agency also received a number of comments requesting redefinition of the monitoring requirements for this subpart.

Based on careful review of comments received on the preamble, rule and TSDs under proposed 40 CFR part 98, Subpart II, EPA will consider alternatives to data collection procedures and methodologies and examine additional study results that have been released since the proposal was issued. Specifically, EPA will consider requirements for the location of meters for taking flow measurements, the frequency of flow and chemical oxygen demand (COD)measurements taken, as well as the potential use of alternate parameters, such as BOD. EPA will also consider the inclusion of indirect or non-methane volatile organic compound emissions. Lastly, EPA will consider the acceptable methods for estimating missing data. EPA will consider optimal methods of data collection in order to maximize data accuracy, while considering industry burden.

More on the Final Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions & Biosolids Management

This page provides resources on greenhouse gas emissions from biosolids management and related activities. NEBRA is working with stakeholders across the continent on advancing understanding of how biooslids management contributes to climate change and how biosolids managers can optimize operations to reduce their "carbon footprint." Ultimately, biosolids can be a resource for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by providing renewable energy, reducing use of fossil fuels, and capturing carbon for sequestration in soils.

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NEBRA's involvement in this topic has included:

presenting the first stand-alone workshops on greenhouse gas emissions accounting for wastewater and biosolids management (see details and presentations, below);
helping create the Biosolids Emissions Assessment Model (BEAM) for the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, in cooperation with Sylvis Environmental (BC), Northern Tilth (ME), and Univ. of Washington (WA); the spreadsheet calculator, literature review, and full report are available for free download here;
serving as a reviewer on the Water Environment Federation Technical Practice Update "Protocols for Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Municipal Wastewater Sources" (October 2009; available here);
assisting with estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from the biosolids management programs at DC-WASA (Washington, DC) and Lewiston-Auburn, ME; and
A Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis of Biosolids Management Options for Merrimack, NH (2008), which compares composting and landfill disposal using local data, resulting in estimates of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions for each option;

Presentations (click to download):

November 2009 presentation to the NH Joint Water and Watershed Conference, Concord, NH
Workshop presentations are available, below.

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Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accounting

for

Wastewater Treatment & Biosolids Management

A NEBRA Workshop

originally presented Thursday, October 1, 2009, Lawrence, MA

U.S. EPA seal

Co-sponsored by U. S. EPA Region 1

This workshop provided wastewater treatment facilities, biosolids management programs, engineers, and regulatory agency staff the background and basics of GHG emissions accounting, using both standard protocols and more detailed, site-specific analysis. Topics included a brief history of GHG accounting, current leading protocols and registries (e.g. The Climate Registry and its Local Government Operations Protocol), and key accounting concepts such as scopes, tiers, and verification. Presentations will be followed by analyses of typical northeast wastewater treatment and biosolids management programs.

Workshop Agenda (164 KB)

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This workshop was repeated on...

March 4, 2010, at Eatontown, NJ

for the Mid-Atlantic Biosolids Association (MABA)

NJ Water Environment Association (NJWEA)

Workshop Agenda (212 KB)

Workshop Presentations:

Beecher - Introductory Information (2.5 MB)

Carpenter (1) - Accounting for Carbon Credits & Debits (2.6 MB)

Willis (1) - Example Using the Local Government Operations Protocol at DCWASA (4 MB)

Carpenter (2) - Applying the BEAModel & Making Comparisons (1 MB)

Willis (2) - Why Are We Doing This? What Are Limitations? Where Will It Lead? (900 KB)

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Resources & Links

Some of the information on this webpage and presented at the workshop was obtained from U. S. EPA and other sources. The following references and links provide assistance in locating key documents, in their original context.

Protocols
• The Climate Registry (TCR) Local Government Operations Protocol (2009)

• The Climate Registry General Reporting Protocol (v. 1.1, May 2008)

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Vol. 5, Waste (2006)

• U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990 – 2007

Other
• Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, Biosolids Task Group: This is where the new report and calculation tools for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from biosolids management programs (“BEAM”) are posted; see here.

• Water Environment Federation: See WEF for the 2009 Technical Practice Update Protocols for Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Municipal Wastewater Sources

• Water Environment Federation Bioenergy Technology Subcommittee

• Water Environment Research Foundation climate change work

• Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) methodologies

• Chicago Climate Exchange

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Workshop Instructors:

Ned Beecher, NEBRA, Tamworth, NH

Ned Beecher is the Executive Director of NEBRA. In 2008, he completed a bottom-up GHG emissions analysis for the town of Merrimack, NH biosolids management program (leading to Spring, 2009 articles in Water Environment & Technology and BioCycle). In 2008-2009, he worked with Sylvis Environmental of BC, Dr. Sally Brown of the Univ. of WA, and Andrew Carpenter (below) developing a model and spreadsheet calculator for estimating GHG emissions from a variety of biosolids management options employed in Canada. This project was by contract with the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). He
was part of The Climate Registry’s wastewater treatment technical expert group for the Local Government Operations Protocol wastewater section and has presented at several regional and national conferences on GHG emissions from biosolids management.

Andrew Carpenter, Northern Tilth, Belfast, ME

Andrew Carpenter is a soil scientist and owner of the consulting firm Northern Tilth. He was a lead developer of the GHG accounting model and spreadsheet calculator for the CCME project described above. He has nearly 20 years of experience in the field of biosolids management and is a certified crop advisor and nutrient management planner. He currently serves on NEBRA’s Board of Directors and Research
Committee.

Jason Turgeon, USEPA Region 1, Boston, MA

Jason Turgeon is an Environmental Protection Specialist in the Energy and Climate Unit at EPA Region 1 in Boston, MA. He specializes in the intersection of water and energy and works mostly with municipal drinking water and wastewater systems to help them be more energy efficient and produce their own renewable energy on-site. His interests focus on applying modern technology to develop a 21st century sustainable water infrastructure that integrates the management and reuse of the water, nutrient, and energy resources found in what we now consider “wastewater.” Jason has a B.S. in Environmental Geology from Northeastern University. He is also a US Coast Guard licensed boat captain.

John Willis, Brown & Caldwell, Atlanta, GA

John Willis is a Vice President and Southeastern Wastewater Practice Leader with Brown and Caldwell and a self-admitted “sludge head”. He proudly counts himself among the lumpiest of the “lumpy water guys”. He has almost 20 years’ of experience in innovative and sustainable biosolids-producing project experience including:
1. Designing the country’s first Class-A thermophilic anaerobic digestion process in Chapel Hill, NC;
2. Involvement in DCWASA’s egg-shaped digestion design and current Cambi Biosolids Program; and
3. Principal investigator for development of Columbus Georgia’s CBFT3 Class-A digestion and CHP facilities.
He has conducted greenhouse gas emissions analyses for several treatment facilities, including Orange Water & Sewer Authority in Chapel Hill, NC and the DC Washington and Sewer Authority. He is a part of WEF's Carbon Task Force.

June 1, 2010

Greenhouse Gas Emissions & Biosolids Management

NEBRA's involvement in this topic has included:

Presentations (click to download):

November 2009 presentation to the NH Joint Water and Watershed Conference, Concord, NH

Wastewater Treatment & Biosolids Management

A NEBRA Workshop

Co-sponsored by U. S. EPA Region 1

March 4, 2010, at Eatontown, NJ

for the Mid-Atlantic Biosolids Association (MABA)

NJ Water Environment Association (NJWEA)

Workshop Presentations:

Resources & Links

Workshop Instructors:

Andrew Carpenter, Northern Tilth, Belfast, ME

Jason Turgeon, USEPA Region 1, Boston, MA

John Willis, Brown & Caldwell, Atlanta, GA