EPA begins greenhouse gas permit program

A fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute detailing the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) implementation of greenhouse gas (GHG) permitting standards under the Clean Air Act, focusing on new and modified large power plants and refineries.

• Starting January 2, 2011, the EPA implemented new GHG standards under the Clean Air Act (CAA) for newly-constructed or modified facilities that already require air permits for non-GHG pollutants. These standards apply to facilities adding more than 75,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) or an equivalent GHG mix. From July 2011, the requirement extends to all new facilities emitting over 100,000 tons of CO2 or equivalent per year, as well as existing facilities undergoing major modifications increasing emissions by more than 75,000 tons.
• The GHG analysis process, known as Best Available Control Technology (BACT), consists of five steps: identifying available technologies (such as carbon capture and sequestration or energy efficiency improvements), assessing technical feasibility, ranking options by effectiveness, analyzing economic, energy, and environmental impacts, and selecting the top-ranked option. The economic assessment must be based on the cost of the pollutant removed rather than just the affordability of the technology.
• While the EPA oversees compliance with the Clean Air Act, individual states typically issue the air permits. However, the EPA took over permit issuance in Arizona and Texas because those states did not adapt their programs to comply with the CAA's GHG standards.
• The EPA's regulatory timeline includes a May 2007 Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA and a December 2009 'Endangerment Finding'. Future milestones include proposing GHG New Source Performance Standard (NSPS) standards for existing oil refineries in December 2011, issuing final GHG standards for existing power plants in May 2012, and final standards for existing oil refineries in November 2012. A five-year study on GHG permitting for smaller emission sources is scheduled for completion in 2015.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2011). EPA begins greenhouse gas permit program. https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/epa-begins-greenhouse-gas-permit-program

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. EPA begins greenhouse gas permit program. 2011. https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/epa-begins-greenhouse-gas-permit-program.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=EPA begins greenhouse gas permit program |date=18 January 2011 |url=https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/epa-begins-greenhouse-gas-permit-program |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitute2011epa, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{EPA begins greenhouse gas permit program}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2011}, month = jan, url = {https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/epa-begins-greenhouse-gas-permit-program}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }