Last week, the EPA announced an extension of the public comment period for “Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program: Proposed Amendments and Confidentiality Determinations for Subpart I.” The initial deadline for comment was December 17, 2012 and has been extended to January 16, 2013. In their announcement, the EPA stated that the reason for the extended comment period is the inclusion of two additional pieces of information. First, the summarization of a conference call the EPA held with the Semiconductor Industry Association in late October. The second is the EPA response to questions raised during that call about the calculation of Tier 2A emissions factors.
In brief, the amendment proposes changes to some of the calculation methods being utilized, provides some clarification of terms/definitions and adjusts the requirements for reporting. The amendments affect all manufacturers of electronics including semiconductors, LEDs, MEMS, LCDs and photovoltaic cells. The full proposal can be viewed here, and you can add your comments to the public record.
The EPA also has a fact sheet, which summarizes the proposal and can be viewed on the EPA site.
