EPA Moves to Repeal Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Rules, Citing Burdens on Industry

Administrator Lee Zeldin said ending the program will reduce costs for businesses, calling it ‘bureaucratic red tape’ that fails to improve air quality.

The Gibson Power Plant operates in Princeton, Ind., on April 10, 2025. Joshua A. Bickel/AP Photo

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Sept. 12 a proposal to end a greenhouse gas reporting program, citing ineffectiveness and high costs for American businesses.

The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) has “no material impact on improving human health and the environment,” the agency said in a statement, adding that ending the program will result in regulatory savings of up to $2.4 billion for businesses in the country.

“The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is nothing more than bureaucratic red tape that does nothing to improve air quality,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in the statement.

“Instead, it costs American businesses and manufacturing billions of dollars, driving up the cost of living, jeopardizing our nation’s prosperity and hurting American communities. With this proposal, we show once again that fulfilling EPA’s statutory obligations and Powering the Great American Comeback is not a binary choice.”

Introduced in 2009 during the administration of President Barack Obama, the GHGRP is part of the Clean Air Act (CAA). Under the GHGRP, sources that emit 25,000 metric tons or more of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent per year are mandated to report emissions data along with other relevant information.

The GHGRP requires greenhouse gas producers falling under 47 source categories, covering more than 8,000 facilities and suppliers in the country, to submit a greenhouse gas emissions data report on a yearly basis, the EPA stated.

The EPA’s announcement is part of efforts to implement Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order that called for unleashing domestic energy production, along with canceling “burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations” that impede the development of these resources.

Moreover, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act modified the CAA by postponing certain emissions data collection requirements under the act until 2034, the EPA stated.

In light of these policy changes, the EPA initiated a reconsideration of the GHGRP and has sought public opinion on the matter. If finalized, the proposal is expected to remove reporting obligations for most large facilities, all fuel and industrial gas suppliers, and CO2 injection sites, according to the statement.

Carbon Capture Coalition, a collaboration of environmental organizations and unions, has criticized the EPA’s stance on the GHGRP removal.

In a Sept. 12 statement, Jessie Stolark, executive director of the coalition, said, “Today’s announcement from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the repeal of certain subparts of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) will not advance carbon storage—something EPA Administrator Zeldin has publicly supported.

“By canceling subparts of the GHGRP that are inextricably linked to the election of the federal Section 45Q tax credit, this proposed rule endangers billions of dollars in investments from American businesses in these technologies.”

According to the Energy Department, carbon storage involves separating carbon dioxide emissions from industrial emissions and storing them in deep underground geologic formations. This prevents CO2 from getting released into the atmosphere.

Stolark said that carbon management project developers have already invested about $77.5 billion in existing and near-term projects, far higher than the $2.4 billion in savings cited by EPA.

According to Stolark, the long-term success of the carbon management industry rests on “the robust reporting mechanisms in place through the US EPA,” and he called for the EPA to rescind the proposed GHGRP removal.