EPA Delays 2025 Deadline for Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program

(Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA on Feb. 27 issued a final rule delaying the 2025 reporting deadline for its Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) from March 31, 2026, to Oct. 30, 2026. The agency continues to consider repeal of the GHGRP.

The EPA in March 2025 announce plans to reconsider the GHGRP and in September 2025 released a proposed rule to end the program. A comment period was open through Nov. 3. If finalized, the proposal would remove reporting obligations for most large facilities, all fuel and industrial gas suppliers, and CO2 injection sites.

Development of EPA’s GHGRP was mandated by Congress as part of the Fiscal Year 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act. The agency in 2009 released a final rule implementing the program, with data collecting beginning the following year.

The GHGRP currently collects GHG data from 47 source categories. More than 8,000 facilities and suppliers in the U.S. are required to calculate and submit data on their GHG emissions annually. Many ethanol plants and other biorefineries are among the facilities currently subject to the GHGRP.

In announcing its plans to end the GHGRP, the EPA said its review determined there is no requirement under Clean Air Act section 114(a) to collect GHG emission information from businesses. The agency also said that continuing the ongoing, costly data collection is not useful to fulfill any of the agency’s statutory obligations.

The GHGRP, in part, is used by companies to verify GHG sequestration volumes for the purposes of the 45Q credit for carbon sequestration. For that reason, the attorneys general of Nebraska and Iowa in November 2025 urged the EPA to retain Subpart RR of the GHGRP as an opt-in reporting program that ethanol producers could take advantage of on a voluntary basis.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service, however, are already preparing for repeal of the GHGPM. The two agencies in December 2025 published interim guidance that aims to help eligible taxpayers claim the 45Q credit if the EPA follows through with its proposal to repeal the program.

The safe harbor guidance issued by Treasury and the IRS on Dec. 19 in Notice 2026-01 provides a path for companies to claim the 45Q credit if the EPA does not launch its electronic Greenhouse Gas Reporting Tool for reporting year 2025 by June 10, 2026. If the tool is not released by that date, the IRS said taxpayers may submit an annual report to a qualified independent engineer or geologist. The engineer or geologist must then certify that the capture and disposal described in the annual report is in compliance with relevant greenhouse gas reporting program requirements as in effect on Dec. 31, 2025, in the manner specified within Notice 2026-01.

The notice also informs taxpayers that Treasury and IRS intend to issue regulations under section 45Q, including with respect to measurement and verification standards, and that taxpayers may rely on this guidance until the regulations are issued.

The EPA has yet to take final action on its proposal to repeal the GHGRP, but on March 3 announced it would delay the 2025 reporting deadline for the program “in response to comments received on the proposed rescission of the [GHGRP].” The agency also said it anticipates addressing the remainder of the proposed rule in one or more subsequent final actions.

Although the EPA originally intended to finalize its proposed GHGRP rulemaking by March 2026, a notice published in the Federal Register explains the agency is now expected to take final action in July 2026.

A full copy of the March 3 final rule is available on the Federal Register website. READ MORE