The first phase of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) new permitting requirements under the Clean Air Act for industrial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from major new and modified facilities took effect on January 2, 2011. This first phase of the EPA's tailoring rule applies to new sources of GHG emissions that must obtain a permit anyway based on their emission of other pollutants and will emit at least 75,000 tons per year of GHG emissions. The second phase of these EPA GHG regulations will take effect on July 1, 2011 and will require new facilities that emit at least 100,000 tons per year of GHG emissions or major modifications to existing facilities that emit more than 75,000 tons of GHGs per year to obtain a GHG emissions permit.
Recently, the EPA took a second important step forward , introducing plans to regulate GHG emissions from all new and existing power plants and refineries. The move to establish standards for two separate source categories demonstrates that the EPA is moving forward carefully on GHGs, rather than proposing a broad cap-and-trade regime
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