The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has posted information on its website related to verification of submitted greenhouse gas (GHG) reports. Facilities that are required to submit GHG reports to the MassDEP GHG Registry, a subset of the Climate Registry’s Information System (CRIS), must verify their submitted reports once every three years.
The first GHG reports were filed in June of 2010 for reporting of calendar year (CY) 2009 emissions, and were only required of facilities that had carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from combustion of fossil fuels equal to or greater than 5,000 tons. The second reports filed this last April, required reporting of all GHG emissions from facilities with carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions equal to or greater than 5,000 tons.
To implement the verification process, the MassDEP has set up a staggered verification schedule based on the first year a facility reported and the level of GHG emissions reported. The flowchart below summarizes the schedule by which verification reports must be submitted to the MassDEP:
Click the image above for a full view of the flowchart.
Facilities are required to hire a third party verifier that is approved by the MassDEP. A listing of approved verifiers can be found on the MassDEP website at the following link:
http://www.mass.gov/dep/air/climate/verifiers.htm
The MassDEP has created a checklist for facilities to use which describes the steps to be completed for conducting and filing the verification report. Below is a link to the checklist.
http://www.mass.gov/dep/air/climate/reporting.htm
To assist facilities on how to complete their verifications, the MassDEP will be conducting a verification training webinar on Tuesday, September 13, 2011. You can sign up to attend the webinar at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/891659067
If you have any questions about whether your facility is required to report GHG emissions, need assistance with compiling or reporting your data, or have questions on the verification process, please contact David Cotter at 508.970.0033 ext. 133 or dcotter@capaccio.com.
Posted by karynt 
