NSWMA, SWANA issue comment on EPA reporting

In a joint letter to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) and the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) chose to comment on the agency’s draft mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting and its potential impact on municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. As the EPA proceeds with requirements identifying reporting sectors in this rulemaking process, NSWMA and SWANA requested the following points be considered:

• The solid waste sector has been successful in substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• A new protocol for estimating fugitive landfill emissions should be established.
• Carbon sequestration should be accounted for in estimating greenhouse gas emissions of individual landfills.
• Strong enforcement authorities make third-party verification unnecessary.
• Biogenic greenhouse gas emissions should not be a mandatory reporting element of a federal program.

The EPA greenhouse gas reporting would mandate the reporting of greenhouse gas emmisions among all industries, including municipal solid waste, above the EPA’s predetermined threshold. The EPA is still in the process of developing the rule’s guidelines, and may or may not respond to the comment.