The Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) has announced proposed amendments to the Emissions Performance Standards program (EPS) under the Environmental Protection Act (read our earlier bulletin on the EPS here). The proposed amendments announced yesterday do not include changes to the EPS to allow for the use of carbon offsets for the purposes of compliance. This bulletin briefly summarizes the proposed amendments, which are in three key areas: Supporting a partial year coverage of emissions. MECP is proposing the following amendments in support of partial year coverage, including calculations that facilities are to use for determining the following prorated amounts: -Verification amount (emissions); -Production parameters; -Emissions limits. In addition, these amounts will be used to determine the: -facility’s compliance obligation (equal to the amount that emissions are higher than the facility’s emissions limit), or -number of emissions performance units (EPUs) to be distributed to the facility’s account (equal to the amount that emissions are lower than the facility’s emissions limit). Treatment of new facilities. MECP is proposing to align the EPS with federal policy for the registration of new facilities. To be eligible, new facilities must: -be engaged in an industrial activity identified in Schedule 2 of the EPS regulation (which sets out various activities that are covered by the regulation); and -provide estimates that demonstrate the facility is projected to emit at least 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) or more per year in any of the three calendar years from the date of first production. Other administrative, technical and clarifying amendments. MECP is proposing the following amendments to support compliance, enforcement and administration of the EPS and support the transition from the federal Output-Based Pricing System (read our earlier bulletin on the transition announcement here), including: -clarifying rules for transferring compliance instruments; -aligning the performance standard…
