Annual Emissions Reporting (AER) Overview

PLEASE NOTE - Staff is receiving a high volume of questions from the AER hotline and email and will respond back in the order that inquiries are received.

Introduction

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) Annual Emissions Reporting (AER) program was developed to track emissions of air contaminants from permitted facilities.  Fees for emissions of air contaminants are assessed based on the reported data. These fees help to cover the costs of evaluating, planning, inspecting, and monitoring air quality efforts.  Under this program, those who emit more, pay more toward air pollution control efforts – and at the same time are given an incentive to reduce emissions.

The data collected by AER is used to update the comprehensive emissions inventory for the South Coast AQMD, which includes Orange County, the non-desert portions of Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, and the Riverside County areas west of the Palo Verde Valley.

This annual emissions inventory of pollutants and source categories is essential to effectively design and evaluate clean air strategies to comply with state and federal public health standards.  The compiled inventory is published in each update of the Air Quality Management Plan.

The South Coast AQMD requires the filing of an Annual Emissions Report and payment of annual fees based on a facility's emission of air contaminants, as specified in Rule 301, subdivision (e).  Facilities required to file an annual emissions report include the following:

• Every facility that has estimated annual emissions of four (4) or more tons of either sulfur oxides (SOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx), specific organics (SPOG), particulate matter (PM), or emissions of 100 tons per year or more of carbon monoxide (CO).

• Every facility subject to the AB 2588 Program for reporting quadrennial updates to its toxics emissions inventory (per Health and Safety Code Section 44344).

• Every facility subject to CARB's Criteria and Toxics Emission Reporting (CTR) Regulation (CTR requirements are being phased in for various facility types over several years).

Furthermore, facilities are required to report their emissions (both criteria and toxics) for the calendar year and pay applicable emission fees using the current fee rate specified in Tables III and IV of Rule 301(e).  

Data Year (DY) 2022 Annual Emissions Reporting Program

• DY 2022 What's New (PDF, 213 kB)

• Reports and any associated fees are due by 5:00 p.m. on May 1, 2023.

• The AER submitted for this upcoming reporting period applies to calendar year 2022 (January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2022).

• AB 2588 Report: For DY 2022 AER, facilities in Phase 3 are required to file their Quadrennial Report.

• Sample DY2022 AER/CTR Notification Letter Dated October 20, 2022

• List of Facilities Required to Report for DY2022 December 9, 2022 (Excel, 796 kB)

DY 2022 AER Workshops

• AER November 2022 Workshop - November 16, 2022 (PDF, 149 kB)

• Presentation - (PDF, 3 MB)
• Recording of November 16 Webinar 

• DY 2022 AER Program Workshop - January 18, 2023 (PDF, 123 kB)

• Presentation - (PDF, 1.9 MB)

• Recording of January 18th Webinar

AER Reporting Tool Resources

AER Reporting Tool

South Coast AQMD has developed a web-based emissions reporting tool to assist facilities enter operational data, calculate emissions and fees, and submit the annual emissions report.  Users can become familiar with the tool and the AER program by accessing the resources below which include tutorial videos, help & support documents, technical guidance documents, and other useful information.  The web-based reporting tool can be accessed at the link below.  Users must register to use the AER Reporting Tool.  

• Access to AER Reporting Tool (click)

Tutorial Videos on AER Reporting Tool Functionality

General (Applicable to All AERs)

• Registering as a New User Logging into the Tool

• Submitting Emission Fee Payments Electronically

Standard Emissions Reporting

• Importing Data from Previous Years, Facility Information, and Status Pages

• Combustion Fuels, Emission Sources, Processes, and Data Validation

• Fee and Emissions Summary Pages

• AER Certification and Submission

Abbreviated Reporting (for Qualifying CTR Facilities)

• Importing Data from Previous Years, Abbreviated Reporting, Facility Information, and Status Pages

• Combustion Fuels

• Emission Sources, Processes, and Data Validation

• Fee and Emissions Summary Pages

• AER Certification and Submission 

         New Reporting Functions (for Core CTR Facilities)

• Adding Release Locations Link

• Reporting the Use of CTR Additional Toxic Substances Link

• Reporting Emissions from Portable Equipment and CARB's Portable Equipment Registration Program (PERP) Link 

General Help and Support Documents

• Exemptions from Annual Emissions Reporting - January 2023 (PDF, 910 kB)

• Help and Support - January 2023 (PDF, 11 MB)

• Guidelines for Abbreviated Reporting - December 2022 (PDF, 4 MB)

• Guidelines on Core CTR Facility Reporting - December 2022 (PDF, 2 MB)

• Guidelines on Additional Toxic Substances Production and Usage - February 2023 (PDF, 253 kB)

• AB 2588 Quadrennial Air Toxics Emissions Reporting Procedures - June 2020 (PDF, 598 kB)

• FAQ 2021 (PDF, 1 MB) - Update Coming in March 2023

• Guidelines for Importing Previous Year’s Data - December 2022 (PDF, 692 kB)

• How to Amend an Annual Emission Report - December 2022 (PDF, 864 kB)

• Storage TANK Emissions Batch Upload File - December 2020 (XLS, 305 kB)

• Toxic Air Contaminant (TAC) List - December 2022 (XLS, 36 kB)

• Molecular Weight Corrections - January 2023 (XLSX, 12B kB)

Guideline Documents for Calculating and Reporting Emissions Associated with Facility Specific Operations

• Use of Material Containing Organic Compounds - December 2016 (PDF, 781 kB)

• Importing Storage Tank Data into AER Reporting Tool - December 2020 (PDF, 1 MB)

• Supplemental Instructions for Liquid Organic Storage Tanks - December 2022 (PDF, 326 kB)

• Portable Equipment - Coming in March 2023

• Internal Combustion Engines - Coming in March 2023

• Cooling Towers - December 2022 (PDF, 1 MB)

• Dairy, Swine, and Poultry Farm Operations - December 2022 (PDF, 2 MB)

• Guidelines for Calculating Emissions from Crematory Operations - Coming in March 2023

• Lithographic Printing Operations - December 2019 (PDF, 1.3 MB)

• Paint, Resin, and Ink Manufacturing Operations - December 2014 (PDF, 166 kB)

• Polyester Resin Operations - December 2016 (PDF, 372 kB)

• VOC Emissions from Component Leaks - February 2015 (PDF, 1.6 MB)

• PM Emission Factors for Processes and Equipment at Asphalt Cement Concrete and Aggregate Product Plants - December 2021 (PDF, 287 kB)

• Fuel Dispensing Operations - December 2022 (PDF, 1 MB)

• Green Waste Composting and Co-Composting Operations - February 2023 (PDF, 2.7 MB)

• Bulk Loading Operations - November 2017 (PDF, 1.3 MB)

• Multiple Identical Equipment - December 2014 (PDF, 926 kB)

• Miscellaneous Processes at Oil Gas Production Plants - December 2014 (PDF, 416 kB)

• Refinery Flare Emissions - December 2022 (PDF, 1 MB)

• Miscellaneous Refinery Operations - December 2014 (PDF, 181 kB)

• Asbestos Abatement (Demolition) Operations - December 2020 (PDF, 77 kB)

• Default Combustion Emission Factors - January 2022 (PDF, 215 kB)

• VOC Default Emission Factors for Organic Containing Material - December 2014 (PDF, 445 kB)

• Abrasive Blasting Operations - December 2014 (PDF, 194 kB)

• Plating and Process Tanks - February 2022 (PDF, 180 kB)

• Non-Combustion RECLAIM Sources - December 2021 (PDF, 882 kB)

South Coast AQMD Rule 301 - South Coast AQMD Fee Rule

Guidance on CARB's Criteria and Toxics Reporting (CTR) Regulation

List of CTR Phase 1 Sectors and Their Applicability Criteria from CTR Regulation Table A-3 - (PDF 126 kB)

Emissions Data Inquiry System - Annual totals of both criteria and toxic pollutants for each reporting facility, and each reporting year since fiscal year 2000-2001, are available to the public through an online search application. 

EPA, AP-42, Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors - The primary compilation of EPA's emission factor information which contains emission factors and process information for more than 200 air pollution source categories.