Senate Bill No. 141
(By Senators Tomblin (Mr. President) and Sprouse
By Request of the Executive)
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[Introduced January 14, 2004; referred to the Committee on
Energy, Industry and Mining; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §22-5-19, relating to
establishing a program to report emissions of greenhouse
gases; creating a voluntary registry for the reporting of
voluntary reductions of greenhouse gas emissions if the
reductions are made before they are required by law;
establishing a banking and trading program for greenhouse gas
emission reductions; providing public recognition of voluntary
reduction or avoidance of greenhouse gases; and providing
consideration of such reductions under future mandatory
federal or state greenhouse gas emission reduction programs.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §22-5-19, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. AIR POLLUTION CONTROL.
§22-5-19. Greenhouse gas reporting and early emission reduction
credits.
(a) The secretary is authorized to propose legislative rules
for promulgation in accordance with article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code, establishing a greenhouse gas emissions
registration program for all stationary sources that emit more than
a de minimis amount of greenhouse gases on an annual basis.
(b) The secretary is authorized to propose legislative rules
for promulgation in accordance with article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code, establishing a voluntary program under
which the department registers voluntary reductions in emissions of
greenhouse gases and creates a mechanism for banking and trading of
greenhouse gas emissions for reductions made before required by
law. The voluntary program shall include, but not be limited to,
criteria for establishing baseline emissions, quantifying emission
reductions, providing public recognition, and establishing a
mechanism for banking and trading of emission reductions. The
department shall consider the information recorded in the voluntary
emission reduction registry when determining baselines and
reduction requirements under future emission reduction programs
implemented under federal or state law.
(c) Greenhouse gas emission reductions under this section are voluntary.
(d) In establishing the greenhouse gas emission registration
system and the voluntary emission reduction program the department
shall make the system and program as consistent as possible with
other state and federal programs designed to monitor, quantify,
bank and trade reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases.
(e) As used in this section, "greenhouse gas" means carbon
dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons,
perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride or any other gas that traps
heat in the atmosphere.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the "greenhouse
gas reporting and early emission reduction credit program," which
establishes a greenhouse gas emission registry and a voluntary
program for encouraging voluntary reductions of greenhouse gas
emissions. The program, administered by the Department of
Environmental Protection, requires facilities emitting more than a
de minimis amount of greenhouse gases to register such emissions
with the department and authorizes the Department to establish a
voluntary registry for voluntary reductions of greenhouse gas
emissions and establish a mechanism for banking and trading of
greenhouse gas emission reductions. The Department of
Environmental Protection is to propose legislative rules
establishing the program.
This section is new; therefore strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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