At the end of March, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released draft regulations for a proposed Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. If adopted, the regulations would require annual emissions reporting by facilities, fuel suppliers, waste haulers and transporters, electric power entities and agricultural lime and fertilizer suppliers, in some cases subject to specified thresholds and other criteria. If adopted, subject entities would be required to report for calendar year 2026, with their first reports due in 2027. The proposed regulations are discussed in more detail in this post.
The regulations are in furtherance of New York State’s ongoing efforts to gather information regarding sources of air pollutant emissions and to support the reduction of emissions to meet the statutory mandates of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Among other things, this July 2019 law aims to reduce emissions at least 85% below 1990 levels by 2050.
DEC’s proposed regulations are separate from the bills reintroduced in the New York State Senate this term calling for greenhouse gas emissions and climate risk disclosures. Those bills are discussed in this Ropes & Gray post.
Reporting Entities
The regulations would apply for the first reporting year to the entities below, to the extent their activities were in scope in any year from 2023 through 2025. If a reporting entity’s emissions drop below the applicable threshold, emissions would be required to remain below that threshold for three consecutive years in order for the entity to be exempt from reporting. If an entity’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rise above the threshold at any time during a calendar year, the entity would be required to report for that year.
The following entities would be required to report:
- Owners and operators of facilities in New York emitting 10,000 metric tons (MT) or more of CO2e per year. Examples of subject facilities would include those involved in electricity generation, stationary combustion, landfills, waste-to-energy, natural gas compressor stations and other infrastructure.
- Fuel suppliers, including suppliers to an end user in New York of natural gas, liquid fuels, petroleum products, liquefied natural gas, compressed natural gas and coal, that generates any amount of GHG emissions per emissions year.
- Waste haulers and transporters exporting solid waste to landfills or combustion facilities outside of New York with emissions estimated to exceed 10,000 MT CO2e per emissions year.
- Electric power entities that emit any amount of GHG emissions or import megawatt hours into New York State.
- Suppliers of agricultural lime and fertilizer that supply a quantity of agriculture lime and fertilizer necessary to generate any GHG emissions per emission year.
- Facilities engaged in anaerobic digestion and liquid storage of waste, such as wastewater treatment plants and concentrated animal feeding operations, where waste imported to the facility or generated at the facilities meets or exceeds 10,000 MT of CO2e per year.
The program is focused on information gathering and would not impose any requirements relating to emissions reduction or emissions allowances.
Disclosure Requirements
Entities meeting the applicability thresholds would be required to submit to DEC annual emissions data reports reflecting the previous calendar year’s emissions, with the first report due by June 1, 2027. Reports would be required to cover all source categories and greenhouse gases and be compiled using specified calculation methodologies for each type of emissions.
Subject facilities would additionally be required to develop and submit a GHG monitoring plan by December 31, 2026 detailing data collection processes and quality assurance procedures.
Third-Party Verification
“Large emission sources” also would be required to have their GHG emissions data reports verified, using a DEC-accredited third-party verification service, no later than August 10 of each emission year, with the first verification due August 10, 2027. Large emissions sources would include entities and facilities that meet the following thresholds on an annual basis:
- Owners and operators of facilities: 25,000 MT or more of CO2e.
- Suppliers of natural gas: 15,000,000 cubic feet or more of natural gas.
- Suppliers of liquid fuels and petroleum products: 100,000 gallons or more of affected liquid fuels.
- Suppliers of liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas: 15,000,000 cubic feet or more.
- Suppliers of coal: 500 U.S. short tons of coal.
- Waste haulers and transporters: 25,000 MT CO2e or more (applies to the sum of emissions reported for out-of-state landfill facilities and out-of-state combustion facilities for all of the waste exported out of New York by a waste transporter or a person operating multiple waste transporters).
DEC has created a GHG estimator tool to help fuel suppliers determine whether their emission sources meet or exceed the defined thresholds. However, the tool would not be considered a final or legally binding determination of an entity’s obligation to report under the program.
Enforcement
Penalties for non-compliance are outlined under Article 71 of the Environmental Conservation Law. Penalties, including injunctions and/or fines, could be assessed for late or inaccurate reporting, unreported emissions or failure to collect or maintain records in compliance with the regulations. For purposes of enforcement:
- Report violations: Each day a required report remains unsubmitted, is submitted late or contains incomplete or inaccurate information would constitute a separate violation.
- Emissions violations: Each metric ton of CO2e emitted but not reported as required would constitute a separate violation.
- Assigned emissions level: The DEC could assign an emissions level to entities failing to submit or verify emissions data, based on the best available information.
In connection with investigating compliance with reporting requirements, DEC would be permitted to access a reporting entity’s premises upon presentation of credentials or other documents as may be required by law.
Next Steps
The draft regulations are open for public comments on the DEC’s website until July 1, 2025. The text of the proposed regulations are available here.
The DEC will also be holding a series of webinars and public hearings on the proposed regulations. Information on these webinars and hearings and the public comment process can be found on the DEC’s website here.
Following the public comment period, the DEC will review feedback received and is expected to issue a final draft of the regulations by the end of 2025.
