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Figure 1: Quick Reference for Reporting

Figure 1 is a flow chart to determine whether a facility belong to Class A, B or C and if so, whether the facility must submit an annual or a smog season report on its air emissions.

The first question being asked is whether the facility belongs to either Class “A” (the electricity generation sector), Class “B” (sectors that contain large emission sources) or Class “C” (sectors that contain small emission sources).

(It should be kept in mind that as of January 2002, there is no difference in the monitoring and reporting requirements of Class A, B or C facilities. The only reason one would need to distinguish between these facilities is if one needs to know whether a facility has to provide data for its air releases before January 2002.)

If a facility does not belong to either Class A, B or C, then Ontario Regulation 127/01 does not apply to your facility. For Class A facilities, the regulation also does not apply if the facility has a generating capacity of 1 megawatt or less, or that sells 10 percent or less of its total electricity generated to the Independent Market Operators administered market.

If the answer to the first question is yes (the facility does belong to one of these classes), then the next step is the identification of its air emissions.

For the reportable air contaminants in Appendix 2a (criteria air contaminants such as sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen and for green house gases such as carbon dioxide), the second question being asked is whether the facility meets any of the screening criteria outlined in Part 3 of the Guide. If the facility does not meet the screening criteria, then it does not have to calculate, report or record these contaminants.

If the facility does meet the screening criteria, then it must calculate on a facility-wide basis, its annual emissions for these reportable contaminants. If the total facility emissions for each specific contaminant meets or exceeds its respective annual threshold, then annual emissions reporting is required. If the total facility emission for each specific contaminant does not meet its respective annual threshold, then the facility just reports that the annual contaminant emission is below its reporting threshold.

For the reportable air contaminants in Appendix 2b (air toxics such as mercury), the third question being asked is again whether your facility meets any of the screening criteria outlined in Part 3 of the Guide. If your facility does not meet the screening criteria, then the facility does not have to calculate, report or record these contaminants.

If the facility does meet the screening criteria, then the facility must calculate on a facility-wide basis, the annual emissions for these reportable contaminants. If the total facility emissions for each specific contaminant meets or exceeds its respective annual threshold, then annual emissions reporting is required.

Quarterly reporting of emissions is required if the discharge unit has a name plate capacity greater than 73 megawatts and its annual sulphur dioxide and/or nitrogen oxides emissions can reasonably be expected to be equal to or greater than their respective annual reporting thresholds.

Smog season (May 1 through September 30) reporting is required for each criteria air contaminant with total facility emissions that are equal to or greater than their respective annual reporting thresholds.

For facilities that are required to report their releases of air contaminants to the National Pollutant Release Inventory, they are also required to send a copy of the same information to the provincial Director (as named under Ontario Regulation 127/01) at the same time it is provided to the federal Minister.