Fundamentals of successful monitoring, reporting, and verification under a cap-and-trade program

Journal Article · Wed Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2006 · Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/10473289.2006.10464565· OSTI ID:20838194

Schakenbach, John; Vollaro, Robert; Forte, Reynaldo ^[1]

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1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Atmospheric Programs, Washington, DC (United States)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed and implemented the Acid Rain Program (ARP), and NOx Budget Trading Programs (NBTP) using several fundamental monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) elements: (1) compliance assurance through incentives and automatic penalties; (2) strong quality assurance (QA); (3) collaborative approach with a petition process; (4) standardized electronic reporting; (5) compliance flexibility for low-emitting sources; (6) complete emissions data record required; (7) centralized administration; (8) level playing field; (9) publicly available data; (10) performance-based approach; and (11) reducing conflicts of interest. Each of these elements is discussed in the context of the authors' experience under two U.S. cap-and-trade programs and their potential application to other cap and-trade programs. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget found that the Acid Rain Program has accounted for the largest quantified human health benefits of any federal regulatory program implemented in the last 10 yr, with annual benefits exceeding costs by {gt} 40 to 1. The authors believe that the elements described in this paper greatly contributed to this success. EPA has used the ARP fundamental elements as a model for other cap-and-trade programs, including the NBTP, which went into effect in 2003, and the recently published Clean Air Interstate Rule and Clean Air Mercury Rule. The authors believe that using these fundamental elements to develop and implement the MRV portion of their cap-and-trade programs has resulted in public confidence in the programs, highly accurate and complete emissions data, and a high compliance rate. 2 refs.

• OSTI ID: 20838194
• Journal Information: Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association, Vol. 56, Issue 11; Other Information: [e-mail]; ISSN 1047-3289
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
USA
EMISSIONS TRADING
MONITORING
VERIFICATION
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
ACID RAIN
NITROGEN OXIDES
US EPA
COMPLIANCE
QUALITY ASSURANCE
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
IMPLEMENTATION
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
PUBLIC HEALTH
COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
CLEAN AIR ACTS
POLLUTION REGULATIONS
SULFUR DIOXIDE