Landfill
The California Climate Action Registry is pleased to post the Landfill Project Reporting Protocol and Landfill Project Verification Protocol which have been adopted by the California Registry Board of Directors. These protocols provide guidance to account for, report, and verify GHG emissions reductions associated with installing a landfill gas collection and combustion system at landfill operations. The Landfill Project Protocols are now available for public use and are applicable both in California and nationwide. Project developers that install landfill gas control technologies will use this protocol to register GHG reductions with the CA Registry.
Public Comments on the California Climate Action Registry’s Landfill Project Protocols The California Climate Action Registry received numerous constructive public comments during the formal public comment period that ended November 13, 2007. The California Registry greatly appreciates the questions, comments, and suggestions put forth during the comment period. The California Registry has addressed and incorporated the comments into the final version of the protocols. To retain complete transparency, all public comments are made accessible below.
The following document is a summary of all public comments received: Summary of Public Comments
Public Comment Letters:
Overview of Protocol Development Process
In order to promote positive greenhouse gas reductions in the solid waste sector, the CA Registry is developing protocols that provide guidance to report and verify GHG reductions at landfill operations. These protocols focus on projects that capture and destroy methane emissions from landfill operations through the installation of a landfill gas collection and control system. Our objective in producing a landfill gas project protocol is twofold: (1) facilitate activities that reduce GHG emissions by U.S. landfill operations; and (2) allow landfill owners to take advantage of opportunities in the emerging GHG, or carbon-offset, market.
Project protocols provide guidance to assess the impact of an emission reduction activity and provide steps to credibly, transparently, and practically account for, report, and verify the resulting GHG reductions. Ultimately, project protocols enable project developers and GHG programs to demonstrate that the effects of the emission reduction activity are real, surplus, and verifiable.
Key Milestones
This following article describes the CA Registry's landfill project protocol and its development process:Landfill Protocol Development
Literature Review:
The following documents were included in the CA Registry's protocol development literature review:
| General Reporting Protocol Version 2.2, March 2007 |
California Climate Action Registry |
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California Air Resources Board | |
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Landfill Gas Methodology, Version 1.0 (July 2007) |
GE AES Greenhouse Gas Services |
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Good Practice Guidance and Uncertainty Management in National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (2001) |
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |
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IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Chapter 10: Emissions from Livestock and Landfill (2006) |
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |
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ISO 14064 Greenhouses Gasses Part 2, “Specification with Guidance at the Project Level for Quantification, Monitoring and Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions or Removal Enhancements”,First Edition 2006-03-01 |
International Organization for Standardization |
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ISO 14064 Greenhouses Gasses Part 3, “Specification With Guidance for the Validation and Verification of Greenhouse Gas Assertions”,First Edition 2006-03-01 |
International Organization for Standardization |
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Preliminary Assessment for Landfill Methane Partnership Opportunities. 2007 Methane To Markets Partnership Expo> |
Methane to Markets Partnership |
| Harnessing Farms and Forests in the Low-Carbon Economy How to Create, Measure, and Verify Greenhouse Gas Offsets,Duke University Press, Durham & London, 2007 | Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions |
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Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Draft Model Rule (January 2007) |
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative |
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Revisions to the Approved Consolidated Baseline and Monitoring Methodology ACM0001, “Consolidated baseline methodology for landfill gas project activities,” Clean Development Mechanism, Version 06, Sectoral Scope 13 (July 2007) |
UNFCCC |
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Revisions to the Approved Consolidated Baseline and Monitoring Methodology ACM0001, “Consolidated baseline methodology for landfill gas project activities,” Clean Development Mechanism, Version 07, Sectoral Scope 13 (November 2007) |
UNFCCC |
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Approved Baseline and Monitoring Methodology AM0053, “Biogenic methane injection to a natural gas distribution grid” Clean Development Mechanism, Version 01, Sectoral Scopes 01 and 05 (2007) |
UNFCCC |
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U.S.Department of Energy 1605(b) Technical Guidelines for Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Program |
US DOE |
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U.S.Environmental Protection Agency, Inventory of U.S.Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2005, EPA-430-R-07-002 (April 2007) |
US EPA |
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Climate Leaders, Draft Offset Protocol – Landfill Methane Collection and Combustion, (October 2006) |
US EPA |
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The GHG Protocol for Project Accounting (November 2005) |
WRI & WBCSD |
Workgroup Participants
| Derek Markolf | California Climate Action Registry | |
| Syd Partridge | California Climate Action Registry | |
| Johnnie Raymond | CARB - Air pollution Specialist | |
| Scott Walker | CIWMB | |
| Carol Allen | BAAQMD | |
| Scott Smithline | Californians Against Waste | |
| Karl Knapp | City of Palo Alto | |
| Jeffrey Hahn | Covanta Energy | |
| Evan Edgar |
CRRC/Edgar & Associates, Inc | |
| Adam Penque | EcoSecurities | |
| Tim O'Conner |
Environmental Defense | |
| Mike McCormick | ERM | |
| Frank Caponi | LACSD | |
| Rachel Oster | NorCal Waste | |
| Chris Berendt | Pace Global | |
| Larry Sweetser | RC - ESJPA | |
| Tim Israel | Sacramento County | |
| Patrick Sullivan | SCS Engineers | |
| Melissa Weitz | U.S. EPA (DC) | |
| Gary Crawford | Veolia | |
| Tom Reilly | Waste Connections, Inc. | |
| Chuck White | Waste Management |
Please contact Derek Markolf with questions or comments This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .