OREANDA-NEWS. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is readying an electronic tool to allow states to submit compliance plans for greenhouse gas (GHG) standards on existing power plants.

The electronic submission portal and new training tools will help states meet CO2 emissions rate targets proposed in EPA's Clean Power Plan, agency officials said yesterday.

"The goal of the system is to provide a way for states to submit plans and a place for states to store plans and documentation to support the plans," said Juan Santiago, an associate director in EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, during a Clean Air Act Advisory Committee meeting in Arlington, Virginia.

EPA says it will finalize the regulations this summer. States would have to meet CO2 emissions rate targets by 2030 and submit compliance plans by mid-2016. States can request a one-year extension and a two-year extension is available for states that file a multi-state plan.

A key function of the portal would be to allow for collaboration among federal, state and local regulators that will be involved in reviewing the plans, Santiago said. The portal would also facilitate collaboration among states that opt for a multi-state plan or those that share power grids, which could affect an individual state's plan.

"What you describe is not necessarily a multi-state plan but a state plan that has reliance on some other state's plan goals and activities," Santiago said.

The system would allow the primary users, include the state agencies responsible for filing compliance plans, to track the progress of their plans and where they stand in development and approval. The agency is still working with regions and states to identify who would be involved in the plan submissions, Santiago said.

Committee members expressed interest in how much of the information would be made public. The portal is intended to have a section allowing the general public to access information on the progress of their states' plans, Santiago said.