The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued final regulations for the nation’s first greenhouse gas reporting system to begin in 2010, but ethanol plants have been removed from the initial list of facilities required to report emissions.

The regulations require large emitters of heat-trapping emissions to begin collecting greenhouse gas (GHG) data under the new program which will cover approximately 85 percent of the nation’s GHG emissions and apply to roughly 10,000 facilities. Ethanol plants were on the list when it was first proposed in March.

According to EPA, the new reporting system will provide a better understanding of where GHGs are coming from and will guide development of the best possible policies and programs to reduce emissions. The data will also allow businesses to track their own emissions, compare them to similar facilities, and provide assistance in identifying cost effective ways to reduce emissions in the future. This comprehensive, nationwide emissions data will help in the fight against climate change.

Among the facilities that are included in the program are extractors of crude petroleum and natural gas, coal and oil refineries, industrial landfills, and wastewater treatment plants.