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"Point in Time" Regulation Content

Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act

Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting Regulation

B.C. Reg. 249/2015

NOTE: Links below go to regulation content as it was prior to the changes made on the effective date. (PIT covers changes made from September 19, 2009 to "current to" date of the regulation.)
SECTIONEFFECTIVE DATE
Section 1 November 7, 2019
December 21, 2020
December 13, 2021
Section 2 December 21, 2020
Section 5 February 22, 2022
Section 8 November 7, 2019
Section 11.1 February 22, 2022
Section 13 April 1, 2020
December 21, 2020
Section 14 February 22, 2022
Section 15 February 22, 2022
Section 19 April 1, 2020
December 21, 2020
Section 21 February 5, 2021
February 10, 2023
Section 25 December 21, 2020
March 30, 2022
Section 26 December 13, 2021
Section 28 December 21, 2020
Section 30 April 1, 2020
December 21, 2020
December 13, 2021
Section 31 December 21, 2020
December 13, 2021
Section 33 December 21, 2020
Section 44 December 21, 2020
Section 44.1 November 7, 2019
Schedule A December 13, 2021
Schedule A Table 1 December 13, 2021
Schedule A Table 2 December 13, 2021
Schedule A Table 3 February 22, 2022
Schedule A Table 4 December 13, 2021
February 22, 2022
Schedule B Table December 13, 2021
Schedule D February 22, 2022
Schedule E February 22, 2022

 Section 1 (1) definition of "liquefied natural gas operation" BEFORE amended by BC Reg 231/2019, effective November 7, 2019.

"liquefied natural gas operation" means an industrial operation that

(a) is designed for producing liquefied natural gas on a commercial scale, and

(b) produces liquefied natural gas;

 Section 1 (2) definition of "authorization date" was added by BC Reg 231/2019, effective November 7, 2019.

 Section 1 (2) definition of "IAF MD4" was added by BC Reg 294/2020, effective December 21, 2020.

 Section 1 (2) definition of "reporting-only emissions" BEFORE amended by BC Reg 323/2021, effective December 13, 2021.

"reporting-only emissions" means carbon dioxide from biomass listed in Schedule C and emissions from source types listed in items 2 and 25 of Table 1 of Schedule A;

 Section 2 BEFORE amended by BC Reg 294/2020, effective December 21, 2020.

Effect of amendments

2   Unless otherwise indicated in this regulation, amendments to ISO standards, WCI standards or Canadian Standards Association standards that are incorporated by reference in this regulation apply to the reporting period and compliance period immediately following the reporting period or compliance period in which the amendment is made.

 Section 5 (1) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 42/2022, effective February 22, 2022.

(1) Emissions are not attributable to public sector organizations, as defined in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act.

 Section 8 (1) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 231/2019, effective November 7, 2019.

(1) An industrial operation that is a single facility operation or a linear facilities operation is a reporting operation for a reporting period if, during the reporting period, the industrial operation has a total amount of attributable emissions that is greater than or equal to 10 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, not including carbon dioxide produced from biomass listed in Schedule C.

 Section 8 (1.1) was added by BC Reg 231/2019, effective November 7, 2019.

 Section 11.1 was enacted by BC Reg 42/2022, effective February 22, 2022.

 Section 13 BEFORE renumbered and (2) was added by BC Reg 74/2020, effective April 1, 2020.

Timing and form of emission reports

13   An emission report under section 3 (1) of the Act must be submitted

(a) to the director on or before May 31 of the calendar year immediately following the reporting period, and

(b) in the electronic or other form, if any, specified by the director.

 Section 13 (1) (a) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 294/2020, effective December 21, 2020.

(a) to the director on or before May 31 of the calendar year immediately following the reporting period, and

 Section 13 (2) (part) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 294/2020, effective December 21, 2020.

(2) Despite subsection (1) (a) and sections 14, 28 (1) and (3) [requirement for verification of emission reports], 29 (1) and (3) [requirement for verification of supplementary emission reports], 35 (1) [requirement for verification of reports] and 36 (1) [requirement for verification of supplementary reports], in relation to an emission report for the reporting period ending December 31, 2019 and an emission report to which section 28 (3) applies,

 Section 13 (3) was added by BC Reg 294/2020, effective December 21, 2020.

 Section 14 (5) (b) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 42/2022, effective February 22, 2022.

(b) the information referred to in section 4 of Schedule D.

 Section 15 (3) (a) and (b) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 42/2022, effective February 22, 2022.

(a) from specified sources, as defined in section 1 of Schedule D, in accordance with section 2 of that Schedule, and

(b) from unspecified sources, as defined in section 1 of Schedule D, in accordance with section 3 of that Schedule.

 Section 19 BEFORE renumbered and (2) was added by BC Reg 74/2020, effective April 1, 2020.

Timing and form of compliance reports

19   A compliance report must be submitted

(a) to the director on or before May 31 of the calendar year immediately following the calendar year of the compliance period, and

(b) in the electronic or other form, if any, specified by the director.

 Section 19 (1) (a) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 294/2020, effective December 21, 2020.

(a) to the director on or before May 31 of the calendar year immediately following the calendar year of the compliance period, and

 Section 19 (2) (part) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 294/2020, effective December 21, 2020.

(2) Despite subsection (1) (a) and sections 23 [content of compliance reports], 35 (1) [requirement for verification of reports] and 36 (1) [verification of supplementary reports], in relation to a compliance report for the compliance period ending December 31, 2019,

 Section 19 (3) was added by BC Reg 294/2020, effective December 21, 2020.

 Section 21 (1) definitions of "professional engineer" and "professional geoscientist" BEFORE amended by BC Reg 11/2021, effective February 11, 2021.

"professional engineer" has the same meaning as in the Engineers and Geoscientists Act;

"professional geoscientist" has the same meaning as in the Engineers and Geoscientists Act.

 Section 21 (1) definitions of "professional engineer" and "professional geoscientist" BEFORE amended by BC Reg 32/2023, effective February 10, 2023.

"professional engineer" means a person who is registered under the Professional Governance Act as a professional engineer or professional engineering licensee;

"professional geoscientist" means a person who is registered under the Professional Governance Act as a professional geoscientst or professional geoscience licensee.

 Section 25 definition of "threat to independence", paragraph (a) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 294/2020, effective December 21, 2020.

(a) payment for verification is linked to whether the verification statement includes the opinions referred to in section 31 (1) (a) and (b) and (2) [requirements of verification statement] both as those provisions apply under section 31 to reporting operations and under section 38 [requirements of verification statement] to regulated operations;

 Section 25 definition of "threat to independence" (part) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 76/2022, effective March 30, 2022.

"threat to independence" means a factor that may reasonably be expected to potentially reduce the ability of a verifier, verification body, lead verifier or independent peer reviewer to fulfill his or her role in the verification in an ethical, objective and independent manner, and, without limitation, includes the following:

 Section 26 (1.1) was added by BC Reg 323/2021, effective December 13, 2021.

 Section 28 (3) (part) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 294/2020, effective December 21, 2020.

(3) An operator may provide verification statements in respect of emission reports of a reporting operation to which this Division applies for 2 consecutive reporting periods on the date the emission report for the second reporting period is due if

 Section 30 (2) (d) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 74/2020, effective April 1, 2020.

(d) one or more site visits, as described in subsection (3), carried out by the verification body;

 Section 30 (3) (part) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 74/2020, effective April 1, 2020.

(3) Site visits required under subsection (2) (d) must be as follows:

 Section 30 (4) was added by BC Reg 74/2020, effective April 1, 2020.

 Section 30 (0.1), (5) and (6) were added by BC Reg 294/2020, effective December 21, 2020.

 Section 30 (2) (d) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 294/2020, effective December 21, 2020.

(d) one or more site visits, as described in subsections (3) and (4), as applicable, carried out by the verification body;

 Section 30 (1), (3) and (4) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 294/2020, effective December 21, 2020.

(1) The verification process used to prepare a verification statement for an emission report of a reporting operation to which this Division applies must comply with the requirements of subsection (2) and ISO 14064-3.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), site visits required under subsection (2) (d) must be as follows:

(a) for a single facility operation, a site visit must be made to the facility;

(b) for a linear facilities operation, at least one site visit must be made to each individual facility within a reporting operation where emissions are greater than or equal to 25 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent;

(c) for single facility operations and linear facilities operations, at least one site visit must be made to the head office, regional office or other location of central data management, if different from the facilities visited under paragraph (a) or (b);

(d) for a linear facilities operation, additional site visits must be made to sources within the operation if necessary to provide a reasonable level of assurance that the emission report is materially correct.

(4) In relation to the reporting period and compliance period ending December 31, 2019 and an emission report to which section 28 (3) [requirement for verification of emission reports] applies, the director may authorize a site visit required under subsection (2) (d) to be conducted virtually and in accordance with the directions of the director.

 Section 30 (1.1) was added by BC Reg 323/2021, effective December 13, 2021.

 Section 30 (2) (c) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 323/2021, effective December 13, 2021.

(c) preparation of a verification plan by the verification body, including a sampling plan;

 Section 31 (1), (4) and (5) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 294/2020, effective December 21, 2020.

(1) Subject to sections 28 (2) [requirement for verification of emission reports] and 29 (3) and (4) [requirement for verification of supplementary emission reports], a verification statement under this Division must include a statement, based on the process and procedures used by the verification body, that it is the opinion of the verification body that

(a) the assertions in the emission report are materially correct and are a fair and accurate representation of the reporting operation's total attributable emissions for the reporting period, and

(b) the emission report was prepared and the emissions reported in it quantified in accordance with this regulation.

(4) A verification statement must be submitted in the electronic or other form, if any, specified by the director, and contain the information required by section 33 [contents of verification statement].

(5) For certainty, nothing in this regulation requires a verification body to express the opinion referred to in subsection (1) (a) and (b) or to exclude appropriate qualifications in a verification statement.

 Section 31 (2) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 323/2021, effective December 13, 2021.

(2) A verification body must not provide a verification statement under this Division unless it is the opinion of the verification body that the verification statement contains as few qualifications as possible.

 Section 31 (3) (a) and (c) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 323/2021, effective December 13, 2021.

(a) exercise due diligence, including due diligence in respect of the matters referred to in section 42 [processes, documents and records], in order to minimize the potential for qualifications,

(c) if necessary and consistent with this regulation, make such revisions to emission reports as are needed to minimize or eliminate qualifications.

 Section 33 (2) (d.1) and (j.1) were added by BC Reg 294/2020, effective December 21, 2020.

 Section 44 (2) (e) (iii) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 294/2020, effective December 21, 2020.

(iii) whether the verification statement includes the opinions referred to in section 31 (1) and (2) [requirements of verification statement];

 Section 44 (3) (e) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 294/2020, effective December 21, 2020.

(e) whether the verification statement includes the statements referred to in section 31 (1) and (2) [requirements of verification statement] as those subsections apply under section 38 [requirements of verification statement];

 Section 44.1 was enacted by BC Reg 231/2019, effective November 7, 2019.

 Schedule A, section 2 was enacted by BC Reg 323/2021, effective December 13, 2021.

 Schedule A, table 1, items 1 (part), 8 and 25 BEFORE amended by BC Reg 323/2021, effective December 13, 2021.

1General stationary combustion excluding general stationary combustion referred to in column 2 of item 1 of Table 2(a) General stationary combustion of fuel or waste with production of useful energyCarbon dioxide from non-biomass
Carbon dioxide from biomass listed in Schedule C
Methane
Nitrous oxide
WCI.0201
8Copper or nickel smelting or refiningRemoval of impurities using carbonate flux reagents, the use of reducing agents, the use of material (e.g. coke) for slag cleaning, and the consumption of graphite or carbon electrodes during copper or nickel smelting or refiningCarbon dioxide from non-biomassWCI.260
25Open pit coal miningCoal when broken or exposed to the atmosphere during miningMethaneIn accordance with best industry practices

 Schedule A, table 2, items 1, 2 (part), 4 (part) and 5 (part) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 323/2021, effective December 13, 2021.

1General stationary combustion at an operation or facility that carries out an activity listed in this column(a) General stationary combustion of fuel or waste at a linear facilities operation resulting in the production of useful energyCarbon dioxide from non-biomass
Carbon dioxide from biomass not listed in Schedule C
Methane
Nitrous Oxide
WCI.0202
(b) General stationary combustion of fuel or waste at a linear facilities operation not resulting in the production of useful energyCarbon dioxide from biomass not
    listed in Schedule C
Carbon dioxide from non-biomass
Methane
Nitrous Oxide
(c) Field gas or process vent gas combustion at a linear facilities operationCarbon dioxide from non-biomass
Methane
Nitrous oxide
WCI.360
(d) General stationary combustion of fuel or waste at a linear facilities operation resulting in the production of useful energyCarbon dioxide from biomass listed in Schedule CWCI.0202
(e) General stationary combustion of fuel or waste at a linear facilities operation not resulting in the production of useful energyCarbon dioxide from biomass listed in Schedule C
2Oil and gas extraction and gas processing activities, carbon dioxide transportation and oil transmission(a) Natural gas pneumatic high bleed device ventingCarbon dioxide from non-biomass
Methane
WCI.360
4Natural gas transmission, natural gas distribution or natural gas storage(a) Natural gas pneumatic high bleed device ventingCarbon dioxide from non-biomass
Methane
WCI.350
5LNG activities(a) Natural gas pneumatic high bleed device ventingCarbon dioxide from non-biomass
Methane
WCI.350

 Schedule A, table 3, items 1 and 2 BEFORE amended by BC Reg 42/2022, effective February 22, 2022.

Column 1Column 2Column 3
ItemActivityRelevant Requirements
1Use of electricity by LNG operation that is not produced by the LNG operation or by an operation referred to in relation to the LNG operation in section 4 (1) (c) or (d) of this regulationSchedule E
2Use of electricity by a facility referred to in section 4 (1) (c) or (d) of this regulation that is not produced by the LNG operation that the reference is in relation to or by the facility referred to in section 4 (1) (c) or (d) of this regulationSchedule E

 Schedule A, table 4 was enacted by BC Reg 323/2021, effective December 13, 2021.

 Schedule A, table 4, heading BEFORE amended by BC Reg 42/2022, effective February 22, 2022.

Table 4

Column 1Column 2Column 3Column 4Column 5Column 6
ItemDeviceLevel study (m3/h)Bleed study (m3/h)Low emission retrofitted devices only (m3/h)Equivalent devices

 Schedule B, table, items 1, 2, 3, 8 and 10 BEFORE amended by BC Reg 323/2021, effective December 13, 2021.

1Emissions from combustion of biomass listed in Schedule CCarbon dioxide from biomass listed in
    Schedule C from
Table 1, item 1 (a) and (b)
Table 1, item 2
Table 1, item 9 (a)
Table 1, item 22
Table 2, item 1 (d) and (e)
2Emissions from combustion of biomass not listed in Schedule CCarbon dioxide from biomass not listed in
    Schedule C from
Table 1, item 1 (b)
Table 1, item 2
Table 1, item 9 (a)
Table 2, item 1 (b)
3Emissions from combustion of non-biomassCarbon dioxide from non-biomass from
Table 1, item 1 (a) and (b)
Table 1, item 2
Table 1, item 3 (a)
Table 1, item 4
Table 1, item 5
Table 1, item 6
Table 1, item 8
Table 1, item 9 (a), (b) and (d)
Table 1, item 11
Table 1, item 12
Table 1, item 13
Table 1, item 15
Table 1, item 16
Table 1, item 17 (a) and (b)
Table 1, item 19 (a), (b), (d), and (e)
Table 1, item 20 (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (j) and (m)
Table 1, item 22
Table 1, item 23
Table 1, item 24
Table 1, item 27
Table 2, item 1 (a), (b), (d) and (e)
Table 2, item 2 (a) to (x)
Table 2, item 4 (a) to (n)
8Stationary fuel combustion emissionsTable 1, item 1 (a) and (c)
Table 1, item 9 (a) and (f)
Table 1, item 23
Table 2, item 1 (a), (c) and (d)
10Emissions from wasteTable 1, item 1 (b) and (d)
Table 2, item 1 (b) and (e)

 Schedule D BEFORE re-enacted by BC Reg 42/2022, effective February 22, 2022.

Schedule D

Electricity Import Operation Methodologies, Additional Information And Instrumentation

Definitions

1   In this Schedule:

"Canadian entitlement power" means imported electricity that is a downstream power benefit to which Canada is entitled as described in Articles V (1) and VII of the Columbia River Treaty and determined in accordance with that treaty;

"Columbia River Treaty" means the treaty between Canada and the United States of America relating to the Cooperative Development of the Water Resources of the Columbia River Basin, including its Annexes A and B, signed at Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America on the 17th day of January, 1961, and the Protocol brought into force by the exchange of instruments of ratification and an exchange of notes on September 16, 1964;

"default emissions factor" means

(a) for an unspecified source that is located in a jurisdiction listed in Western Climate Initiative's most recently published Default Emissions Factor Calculator, DEF Calculator Page, the figure in the Grand Total column of that page in the sum of emission factor rows for that jurisdiction, or

(b) if paragraph (a) does not apply, an emissions factor approved by the director;

"electricity transaction" means the purchase, sale, import, export or exchange of electric power;

"electricity wheeled through British Columbia" means electricity that is imported into British Columbia but simultaneously the same amount of electricity is exported out of British Columbia;

"plant information summary" means the plant information table included in the Final Default Emissions Factor Calculator most recently published by the Western Climate Initiative;

"specified power" means imported electricity that the electricity import operation can identify as being generated at an electricity generating facility or sub-facility because

(a) the operation is controlled by the owner of the facility or sub-facility, or

(b) the facility or sub-facility is identified in the power contract under which the electricity was imported,

but does not include Canadian entitlement power;

"specified source", in relation to a transaction respecting specified power, means

(a) the sub-facility identified as the source of the specified power, if

(i) the transaction identifies a sub-facility, or unit within a sub-facility, as the source of the specified power, and

(ii) the plant information summary identifies emissions and net generation for that sub-facility, and

(b) if paragraph (a) does not apply, the facility identified in the transaction as the source of the specified power;

"sub-facility" means any electrical generating unit or group of electrical generating units within a facility;

"unspecified power" means imported electricity, other than Canadian entitlement power, that is not specified power;

"unspecified source" means the pool, balancing authority or other source of unspecified power that is identified in the NERC E-tag as a source other than a specified source.

Calculation of emissions from specified sources

2   The emissions reported under section 4 (a) (vi) of this Schedule must be calculated in accordance with the following equation:

CO2 = MWhimp × Applicable Factor
where
CO2=the amount reported under section 4 (a) (v) of this Schedule measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent;
MWhimp=megawatt-hours of electricity imported from the specified source as measured at the first point of delivery in British Columbia;
Applicable Factor=in relation to
(a) a specified source listed in the plant information summary, the amount derived by dividing emissions in the tonnes column of the plant information summary by net generation for the unit or facility as specified in the net generation column of the plant information summary, and
(b) a specified source not listed in the plant information summary, one of the following:
    (i) if the specified source is a wind, solar, hydro or nuclear facility, zero;
    (ii) if subparagraph (i) does not apply, 0.435 Mt CO2e per MWh or such other amount approved by the director.

Calculation of emissions from unspecified sources

3   The emissions reported under section 4 (b) (iii) of this Schedule must be calculated by multiplying the reported quantities of imported electricity from each balancing authority area, by the appropriate default emission factor calculated in accordance with the following equation:

CO2 = MWh × DEF
where
CO2=annual CO2 mass emissions for imported electricity from the unspecified source, in tonnes;
MWh=megawatt-hours of electricity imported from the balancing authority area;
DEF=the default emission factor corresponding to the balancing authority area in which the unspecified source is located

Reporting requirements

4   For the purpose of section 14 (5) (b) of this regulation, the emission report of an electricity import operation must include the following:

(a) for each specified source of electricity imported by the electricity import operation during the reporting period,

(i) if the specified source is a facility, the name of that facility,

(ii) if the specified source is a sub-facility, the name of the facility that includes the specified source,

(iii) the identification provided in the plant information summary for the facility referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii), if any,

(iv) if the specified source is a sub-facility, the sub-facility ID identified for that sub-facility in the plant information summary,

(v) for imported electricity generated by the specified source and imported by the reporting operation during the reporting period, amounts of such electricity as measured at the first point of delivery in British Columbia, and

(vi) the amount of emissions attributable to the electricity importing operation associated with the production of electricity referred to in subparagraph (v);

(b) for each unspecified source of electricity imported by the electricity import operation during the reporting period,

(i) the name of the unspecified source,

(ii) the amount of electricity imported as measured at the first point of delivery, measured in megawatt-hours, and

(iii) the amount of emissions attributable to the electricity importing operation associated with the production of electricity referred to in subparagraph (ii);

(c) electricity wheeled through British Columbia in the reporting period, that is owned by the electricity import operation at the first point of delivery in British Columbia, in megawatt-hours.

 Schedule E BEFORE repealed by BC Reg 42/2022, effective February 22, 2022.

Schedule E

Emissions Attributable for Compliance Purposes to Electricity Usage

Definition

1   In this Schedule, "emission intensity factor" means the number published by the director, for the compliance period, that represents the carbon dioxide equivalent tonnes per MWh averaged for the 3 calendar years preceding the compliance period, calculated in accordance with the following formula for each of the 3 calendar years:

GHGgeneration + GHGimported
MWhgeneration + MWhimported
where
GHGgeneration=the emissions, attributable to electricity generation of electricity supplied to the British Columbia electrical transmission grid from facilities located in British Columbia, that are quantified and reported under this regulation in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent;
GHGimported=the emissions, attributable to electricity generation of electricity imported into British Columbia, that are quantified and reported under this regulation in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent;
MWhgeneration=the amount of electricity, in MWh, supplied to the British Columbia electrical transmission grid from facilities located in British Columbia;
MWhimported=the amount of electricity, in MWh, imported into British Columbia and supplied to the British Columbia electrical transmission grid.