Second report of the National Pollutant Release Inventory working group 2001 to 2002: annex B

Annex B: Overview of the Mandate and Process of the Subgroups

Each of the three following SGs was formed in September 2001. The membership of each includes both WG members and non-member stakeholders. Federal and provincial governments, industry, and environmental non-governmental organizations are represented. The SGs report directly to the WG.

The VOC & Other CAC Speciation Subgroup

The core task of the Speciation SG was to prepare a discussion paper on options for speciating VOCs and other CACs, as a basis for integrating the CAC Emissions Inventory with the NPRI. Harmonization and reporting burden were to be considered in assessing options. The specific goals for the Speciation SG are as follows:

Part I - Essential Elements

1. To develop options for speciating VOC and other CACs, that meet the requirements of regional air quality modelling in Canada and the U.S. The "level of speciation" was to be considered for all options developed by the SG;

2. To develop options that balance costs versus improvements in the overall accuracy and consistency of VOC and other CAC speciation;

3. To develop options that identify the mechanism that facilities would use to report VOC speciation initially, and then speciation information for other CACs to the NPRI.

Part II - If Time Permits

To explore the methodology for reporting out of VOC and other CAC information by EC.

The Speciation SG held 6 meetings and 5 teleconference calls from September 2001 to June 2002. An Interim Progress Report was completed in February 2002, and a 2^nd Progress Report in May 2002. This 2^nd Progress Report includes appendices with the following supporting information: VOC Speciation emissions inventory information provided by industry members, and EC’s Draft VOC Speciation Analysis. An additional report was completed following the SG’s June 26/27 meeting. This report summarizes the full set of SG recommendations and other outcomes. Additional written materials include the minutes from all meetings and teleconference calls, and written comments from individual SG members.

The Upstream Oil and Gas Industry Subgroup

The UOG SG was tasked with preparing a discussion paper identifying the options for more comprehensive NPRI reporting of CAC and NPRI-listed pollutant information from the UOG industry for the 2003 reporting year. More specifically, the discussion paper was to:

• Identify and define the UOG industry;
• Explore options for the collection of CAC information for both point and area sources from the UOG Industry; and
• Within the options, consider harmonization and reporting burdens as related to other federal and provincial environmental reporting requirements.

The UOG SG held 6 meetings and 3 conference calls between September 2001 and June 2002. To assist its work, the SG commissioned a report entitled A Summary of NPRI Emissions from the Upstream Oil and Gas Inventory, prepared by Clearstone Engineering. The SG completed an Interim Progress Report in February 2002, a 2^nd Progress Report in May 2002, and a summary of outcomes following its June 28^th meeting. Additional written materials include the minutes from all meetings and teleconference calls, and written comments from individual SG members.

The Greenhouse Gas Subgroup

The GHG SG was tasked with working through issues related to the possible addition of GHGs to the NPRI for the 2003 reporting year, and to provide balanced information, options and recommendations back to the full WG. More specifically the mandate of the SG was to:

• Assess, through analysis of the decision-factors, whether GHGs should be added to the NPRI; and
• Define the boundaries (substances, facilities and exemptions) and reporting parameters (thresholds) for reporting of GHGs to the NPRI.

Between September and May 2002, the GHG SG held 4 meetings and 3 teleconference calls. Two reports were commissioned to inform the SG deliberations:

• Phase 1 Report -- An Analysis of the Decision Factors for the Addition of GHGs to the NPRI, prepared by D. Cope Enterprises (most recent version dated March 2002)
• Phase 2 Report -- NPRI Reporting Parameters for GHGs, prepared by SGA Energy Limited (most recent version dated May, 2002)

The GHG SG submitted its final report to the WG on May 21, 2002. Additional written materials include the minutes from all meetings and teleconference calls, and written comments from individual SG members.