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Greenhouse Gas Registration:
Affects to Healthcare Industry
March 2009
The
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
(MassDEP) has finalized its emergency regulation for
mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting [310 CMR 7.71].
The emergency regulation requires any person owning,
operating or controlling the following facilities to
register with the MassDEP by
April 15, 2009:
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Any facility that combusted
any combination of solid, liquid, and gaseous fossil
fuels that resulted in more than 5,000 tons of carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions during 2008.
-
A
facility that reported air emissions pursuant to 310 CMR
7.00 Appendix C (i.e., Title V operating permit
facilities) and combusted any quantity of fossil fuel
during 2008.
Note:
facilities that did not combust fossil fuels in 2008 are
not required to register.
How
does this affect hospitals and healthcare facilities?
Many
hospitals and health care facilities operate large
industrial boilers, cogeneration power facilities, or
other electrical power generation units that, depending on
their size and quantity of fuel combusted, could emit
5,000 pounds per year or more of CO2. Examples of fuel
usage that would emit approximately 5,000 tpy of CO2
include:
-
Combustion of 83,000,000 ft3 of natural gas
-
Combustion of 447,000 gallons of No. 2 fuel oil
-
Combustion of 384,400 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil
If your facility burned any individual
fuel, or combination of the above fuels that equal or
exceed the above limits, you may need to register. A PDF
copy of the GHG registration form and reporting
instructions can be found on the MassDEP website:
http://www.mass.gov/dep/air/approvals/ghgreg.pdf
For more information on this landmark
legislation please read the article "Greenhouse
Gas Registration Deadline (April 15, 2009) Approaching"
Questions
regarding the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulation can be directed to
David Cotter at Capaccio
Environmental Engineering, Inc. at (508) 970-0033 x133 or
by e-mail at
dcotter@capaccio.com.
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