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Annual Emissions Reporting

Annual Emissions Reporting (AER) Overview
Introduction
DY2022 Annual Emissions Reporting Program
DY2022 AER Virtual Workshop

AER Reporting Tool Resources
AER Reporting Tool
Tutorial, Help & Support
Guideline Documents
Other Useful Information

AER Support Hotline:
PH: (909) 396-3660
Email: aer@aqmd.gov


 

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) and paragraph (l)(10).  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), or California Air Resources Board's Criteria and Toxics Reporting Regulation.

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).  The AER report for Data Year (DY) 2022 and any associated fees are due by May 1, 2023 at 5:00 pm to avoid being late.

DY 2022 Annual Emissions Reporting Program

Notes:  

  1. All the facilities listed in this spreadsheet are required to report their DY 2022 emissions pursuant to South Coast AQMD Rule 301 (e) or the Regulation for the Reporting of Criteria Air Pollutants and Toxic Air Contaminants (CTR) developed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

    Staff shared a facility list previously that included facilities with South Coast AQMD Rule 222 registration filings only. This current list now excludes these facilities.

  2. South Coast AQMD staff is not able to accurately identify all facilities that may be subject to CTR. In some cases, CTR applicability is based on either NAICS, SIC, activity or emissions data that staff has not collected (e.g., facilities may never have been subject to reporting, previously). Therefore, this list is not comprehensive. A facility that is not listed is not immediately exempt from reporting for DY 2022. Any unlisted facility with an active permit in South Coast AQMD jurisdiction shall perform their own applicability analysis pursuant to South Coast AQMD Rule 301 (e) and CTR and report their emissions if they are required to report. The links to these Rule 301 and CTR are provided below:

    CARB CTR:  https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/Unofficial%20CTR_Jan2022_0.pdf
    South Coast AQMD Rule 301: http://www.aqmd.gov/docs/default-source/rule-book/reg-iii/rule-301.pdf

  3. The Core CTR facilities are:

    1. Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reporter Applicability (GHG Facility)
      A facility that is required to report to the state board the facility’s greenhouse gas emissions for the data year, pursuant to Health & Safety Code section 38530. Per CTR, this includes any onshore petroleum and natural gas production facility [see California Code of Regulations section 93401(a)(1)].

    2. Criteria Emissions Greater Than 250 Tons per Year (tpy) Applicability (Criteria Facility)
      A facility that is located in an air district for which any portion of the air district has been designated as nonattainment with respect to either the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) or the California Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS), and that is authorized by one or more permit(s) issued by an air district to emit 250 or more tpy of any applicable nonattainment pollutant or its precursors during the data year.

    3. Elevated Prioritization Toxics Applicability (Elevated Toxics Facility)
      A facility that is categorized by the local air district as high priority for toxic air contaminant emissions at the beginning of the data year, based on cancer or noncancer health impacts pursuant to AB 2588 (see Health and Safety section 44360). A local air district may recategorize a facility’s priority based on an assessment of human health risk or other information, pursuant to the district’s prioritization policies.

  4. AB 2588 facilities are subject to CARB’s AB 2588 Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Emission Inventory Criteria and Guidelines Regulation and subject to Annual Emissions Reporting program on an annual basis.

  5. CTR Phase 1 Applicability Criteria is explained in Table A-3 of CTR. These applicability categories are also summarized on South Coast AQMD Annual Emissions Reporting webpage at:
    http://www.aqmd.gov/docs/default-source/planning/annual-emission-reporting/ctr-phase-i-facilities-grouped-by-activity-level-requirements-final.pdf

DY 2022 AER Upcoming Workshops

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.  

Tutorial Videos on AER Reporting Tool Functionality

    General (applicable to all AERs)

New Reporting Functions (for CTR Core Facilities)

Help and Support Documents

Guideline Documents

Other Useful Information

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 126kb)

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.

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