WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Tuesday it wants the oil and natural gas sector as well as other new sectors to track and report emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
Taking another step toward regulating pollutants that spur climate change, the EPA said it wants the industries to start collecting the data in January 2011 and reporting to the EPA in March 2012.
"Gathering this information is the first step toward reducing greenhouse emissions and fostering innovative technologies," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statement.
It is particularly important to track methane produced by oil and natural gas systems, Jackson said, noting the gas traps 20 times more heat than carbon, which speeds climate change.
The Obama administration has pushed Congress to craft legislation to control emissions of gases blamed for warming the planet. But with a bill stalled in the Senate because of opposition from lawmakers in energy-rich states, the EPA has moved to regulate the gases, which it has already declared a threat to human health.
The EPA finalized its greenhouse gas reporting system in October, which requires 31 sectors covering 85 percent of total U.S. emissions to participate.
The new proposal will also apply to industries that emit fluorinated gases, and to facilities that inject and store carbon dioxide underground, either for sequestration or for oil and gas recovery, the EPA said.
The plan will be open for comments for 60 days, including during two public hearings in April.
The EPA said it is also proposing that all facilities in its reporting system provide information on corporate ownership.
(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
