06-096-167 Me. Code R. § 1

Current through 2024-51, December 18, 2024

Section 096-167-1 - Definitions

The following terms, as used in this Chapter, have the following meanings:

A. Anthropogenic. "Anthropogenic" means resulting from human activity.

B.Biogenic emissions. "Biogenic emissions" means emissions resulting from the combustion, harvest, digestion, fermentation, decomposition or processing of biologically based materials (e.g., emissions from municipal solid waste, landfills, and biomass and biofuels, such as wood, and ethanol). Biogenic emissions also include emissions from the natural carbon cycle.

C.Blue carbon. "Blue carbon" means carbon that is removed from the atmosphere through plant growth, including seaweed, and burial of organic carbon in soil in coastal ecosystems such as salt marshes and seagrass beds.

D.Carbon budget. "Carbon budget" means the compilation of the major pools and fluxes of carbon in Maine.

E.Carbon neutrality. "Carbon neutrality" means the state of net zero carbon emissions. Carbon neutrality is achieved by balancing anthropogenic emissions of carbon with sequestration of carbon.

F.CO₂ equivalent emissions (CO₂e). "CO₂equivalent emissions" means the amount of GHGs emitted in terms of carbon dioxide equivalents. Each type of GHG traps heat in the atmosphere differently, with some being far more potent than others. Emissions from GHGs other than carbon dioxide are converted to carbon dioxide equivalent emissions using GWP values from the "Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change" [Core Writing Team, R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer (eds.)], as published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (Geneva, Switzerland) in 2015. The GWP values from this report are incorporated by reference herein.

NOTE: The report can be accessed at www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/, and copies of the incorporated material are also available from the Department by calling (207) 287-2235.

The mass amount of emissions (e.g., metric tons per year) for each individual GHG is multiplied by the compound-specific GWP, and the individual compound amounts in CO₂e are summed to give total GHG emissions in units of CO₂e.

G.Commercial sector. "Commercial sector" means an energy-consuming sector that consists of service-providing facilities and equipment including businesses; federal, state, and local governments; and other private and public organizations, such as religious, social, or fraternal groups. The commercial sector also includes institutional living quarters; sewage treatment facilities; and generators that produce electricity and/or useful thermal output primarily to support the activities of the above-mentioned commercial establishments. Common uses of energy associated with this sector include space heating, water heating, air conditioning, lighting, refrigeration, cooking, and running a wide variety of other equipment.

H.EIA. "EIA" means the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

I.Electric power sector. "Electric power sector" means an energy-consuming sector that consists of electricity-only and combined-heat-and-power plants within the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 22 category whose primary business is to sell electricity, or electricity and heat, to the public. This sector includes electric utilities and independent power producers.

J.Emissions inventory. "Emissions inventory" means a comprehensive statewide estimate of pollutants released into the atmosphere.

K.Fossil fuel. "Fossil fuel" means natural gas, petroleum, coal, or any form of solid, liquid, or gaseous fuel derived from the fossilized remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago.

L.Global warming potential (GWP). "Global warming potential" or "GWP" is a measure of the radiative forcing (heat-absorbing ability) of a particular gas relative to that of CO₂for a base time period after taking into account the decay rate of the gas (the amount removed from the atmosphere over a given number of years) relative to that of CO₂. Global warming potentials used in this rule are consistent with the values used in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Report.

M.Greenhouse gas (GHG). "Greenhouse gas" or "GHG" means any gas that is emitted into the air and that the Department determines by rule may reasonably be anticipated to cause or contribute to climate change. Greenhouse gas includes, but is not limited to, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, nitrogen trifluoride, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.

N.Gross greenhouse gas emissions. "Gross greenhouse gas emissions" means the sum of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions released to the atmosphere by all sources within the State each year, regardless of how much carbon is sequestered in the environment.

O.Heating season. "Heating season" means the time period from October 1 - April 30 each year.

P.Industrial sector. "Industrial sector" means an energy-consuming sector that consists of all facilities and equipment used for producing, processing, or assembling goods. The industrial sector encompasses the following types of activity: manufacturing (NAICS codes 31-33); agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (NAICS code 11); mining, including oil and gas extraction (NAICS code 21); and construction (NAICS code 23). Overall energy use in this sector is largely for process heat and cooling and powering machinery, with lesser amounts used for facility heating, air conditioning, and lighting. Fossil fuels are also used as raw material inputs to manufactured products. This sector includes generators that produce electricity and/or useful thermal output primarily to support the above-mentioned industrial activities.

Q. MAIRIS. "MAIRIS" means the Maine Air Inventory Reporting Information System, the system point source facilities use to submit their annual emissions inventories.

R.Metric ton. "Metric ton" is a metric unit of mass equivalent to 1,000 kilograms. A metric ton is not the same as a short ton.

S.NAICS. "NAICS" means the North American Industry Classification System, the system used to categorize point-source facilities into sectors (e.g., industrial, electric power, and commercial).

T.Net greenhouse gas emissions. "Net annual greenhouse gas emissions" means gross annual anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions less the total amount of greenhouse gases absorbed each year by greenhouse gassinks, natural or manmade, including, but not limited to, trees, crops, soil, and wetlands within the State.

NOTE: The definition of net annual greenhouse gas emissions in 38 M.R.S. §574(1-C) does not include manmade carbon sinks. Manmade carbon sinks will be included in this analysis where applicable to most accurately estimate carbon sequestered.

U.Residential sector. "Residential sector" means an energy-consuming sector that consists of living quarters for private households. Common uses of energy associated with this sector include space heating, water heating, air conditioning, lighting, refrigeration, cooking, and running a variety of other appliances and equipment. The residential sector does not include institutional living quarters.

V. Sector. "Sector" means a category used to separate the sources of greenhouse gas emissions based on the area of the economy in which those sources share the same or a related product or service (i.e., residential, commercial, industrial, transportation, and electric utilities).

NOTE: The definition of sector in 38 M.R.S. §574(2) lists the five sectors astransportation, industrial, commercial, institutional and residential. To be consistent with EPA GHG methodology as well as the SIT, this analysis will combine the institutional and commercial sectors into the commercial sector and break out the electric utilities sector.

W.SEDS. "SEDS" means the U.S. Energy Information Administration State Energy Data System.

X.Sequestration of carbon. "Sequestration of carbon" means the geological or biological or technological process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Y.Sink for carbon. "Sink for carbon" or "carbon sink" means any reservoir, natural or manmade, that absorbs and stores carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (e.g., forests, vegetation, soils, the ocean).

Z.SIT. "SIT" means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) State Inventory Tool, a computer model developed by EPA to estimate state-specific greenhouse gas emissions.

AA.Short ton. "Short ton" is the United States "ton" and is equivalent 2,000 pounds. A short ton is not the same as a metric ton. A metric ton, or 1,000 kilograms, is approximately 1.1 short tons.

BB.Source category. "Source category" means a category used to define where greenhouse gas emissions originate based on the type of process or activity producing the greenhouse gases (i.e., industrial processes, agriculture, waste, and energy).

CC.Source of carbon. "Source of carbon" or "source" means any natural or manmade producer of chemical compounds containing carbon (e.g, carbon dioxide, methane). For example, degradation of plant matter and the burning of fossil fuels are a source of carbon to the atmosphere.

DD.Transportation sector. "Transportation sector" means an energy-consuming sector that consists of all vehicles whose primary purpose is transporting people and/or goods from one physical location to another. This sector includes automobiles, trucks, buses, motorcycles, and other on-road and off-road vehicles; trains, subways, and other rail vehicles; aircraft; and ships, barges, and other waterborne vehicles. The transportation sector does not include vehicles whose primary purpose is not transportation (e.g., construction cranes and bulldozers, farming vehicles, and warehouse tractors and forklifts); those vehicles are classified in the sector of their primary use. Natural gas used in the operation of natural gas pipelines is included in the transportation sector.

06-096 C.M.R. ch. 167, § 1