On September 16, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) announced that it was proposing to amend the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) by removing program obligations for most source categories, including the natural gas distribution segment of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems source category (Subpart W - Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems), and suspending program obligations for the remaining Subpart W segments until reporting year 2034. 90 Fed. Reg. 44591 (titled "Reconsideration of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program"). This proposed rule aligns with EPA's proposed reconsideration of the 2009 Endangerment Finding and reflects the Agency's broader deregulatory agenda as a whole.
The GHGRP currently "applies to certain industrial facilities that emit GHGs (primarily facilities emitting at least 25,000 MTCO2e), upstream suppliers of fossil fuels and industrial GHGs, and industries that capture and sequester CO2 as a means of reducing CO2 emissions," with approximately 8,200 facilities, suppliers, and CO2 injection sites submitting GHG emissions data each year. However, EPA proposes to conclude that, except for the Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems segments in Subpart W, it lacks the authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to collect GHGRP data "because the reporting requirements do not serve an underlying statutory purpose."
EPA notes that the supposed statutory support for the GHGRP "authorizes the collection of information on a one-time, periodic or continuous basis," but that "the statute is best read to require a closer nexus between continuous reporting obligations and an underlying statutory purpose, particularly given the Agency's obligation to take the cost of information collection and reporting into account when taking action." For most sources subject to the GHGRP, "EPA has provided no clear intention to use the information collected for that industry under the CAA." In contrast, the CAA's Methane Emissions Reduction Program specifically requires EPA to impose and collect a waste emissions charge from facilities in all segments of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems sector under Subpart W, except from the natural gas distribution segment. Based on an amendment to the CAA in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, however, the Subpart W segments for which EPA states there is statutory support would not be subject to reporting requirements until 2034.
EPA's alternative basis for rescinding most of the GHGRP requirements is that its authority is discretionary, "and the Administrator no longer believes the information is necessary to carry out the provisions of the CAA, including relevant rulemaking and enforcement functions." As part of its alternative rationale, EPA cites the absence of regulatory action on GHG emission rules for most sources.
In addition to criticism from environmentalists who have raised doubts regarding the rationales for the proposed rule, the reconsideration of the GHGRP raises questions for the Carbon Capture and Sequestration industry. This includes how the GHGRP's reconsideration will impact reporting on industrial emissions that helps inform eligibility for tax incentives such as the 45Q tax credit, which offers a credit for each metric ton of qualified carbon oxide that is captured and sequestered or utilized in accordance with the regulatory framework. EPA mentions in the proposed rule that it "considers the use of GHGRP data for such purposes an additional benefit for these entities that is not required to carry out the Agency's functions under the CAA," and that the Agency "believes that information could be provided in different, more efficient, ways."
EPA is seeking comment on this and other aspects of the proposed rule, and the deadline to submit comments is November 3, 2025.
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