The Environmental Protection Agency has extended the submission deadline for its Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule, according to a public posting by the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy.

The notice does not yet carry a Federal Register filing number, a specific new deadline, or the prior submission date. EPA has not published a separate extension announcement at the time of this summary.

The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, codified at 40 CFR Part 98, requires roughly 8,000 large emitters and suppliers to track and disclose greenhouse gas emissions annually. EPA finalized the original rule in October 2009 under Clean Air Act authority, and covered facilities have submitted data since calendar year 2010. Reports cover direct emissions from stationary sources, supplier inputs of fuels and industrial gases, and certain process data from specific sectors. EPA publishes the aggregated data each year as part of the national greenhouse gas inventory, which feeds international climate reporting under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

What does the Office of Advocacy have to do with it?

The Office of Advocacy, an independent unit within SBA, reviews federal regulations that carry a significant economic impact on small entities. The office files comment letters, holds roundtables, and requests regulatory flexibility when EPA rules raise compliance costs for small businesses, small nonprofits, and small municipalities. Congress created the office through the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980.

In this case, the office flagged the reporting deadline change for small entity stakeholders. The Office of Advocacy periodically calls on EPA to adjust submission windows, monitoring protocols, or reporting thresholds when smaller facilities face disproportionate cost burdens relative to the data value generated. The deadline extension follows that engagement.

Which facilities does the extension reach?

Part 98 covers stationary combustion units, petroleum and natural gas systems, refineries, petrochemical production, iron and steel mills, cement plants, lime manufacturing, ammonia production, semiconductor fabrication, electronics manufacturing, electrical equipment production, magnesium processing, and waste handling operations.

The rule divides into subparts that govern each industry category. Solid waste landfills subject to subpart C must track and report methane emissions when generation exceeds set thresholds. Waste sector reporters select among several approved monitoring methodologies, including surface emissions monitoring at the landfill face, flow measurement at destruction devices including flares and internal combustion engines, or alternative methods approved by EPA through petitions. Tiered verification approaches govern data quality across facility types.

Third-party verification applies to reporters in specific supplier categories, including those who introduce imported fuel into the economy. Facilities must retain records for at least three years and respond to EPA quality assurance checks. EPA may issue notices of deficiency if a submitted report fails validation.

What remains unclear

The public posting does not include several material details:

• The length of the extension in days or months
• Whether the change applies to the current reporting cycle, calendar year 2024 submissions, or future cycles
• Whether EPA will issue revised compliance guidance alongside the extension
• Whether the change affects the publication schedule for the annual national greenhouse gas inventory, which EPA assembles using Part 98 data

Covered facilities, verifiers, and state permitting authorities await the Federal Register notice that will set the binding new date.

Why the deadline matters

Facilities have historically submitted Part 98 reports by March 31 for the prior calendar year. State air permitting programs, corporate sustainability disclosures, third-party verification engagements, and EPA's national inventory depend on timely submissions. A shift in the deadline ripples through each of those downstream uses and complicates audit cycles for fiscal year filers.

What happens next

EPA's Federal Register publication of the extension notice marks the next regulatory milestone. That filing will establish the new submission date, identify the affected reporting year or years, and confirm whether reporting methods or verification requirements change alongside the timing shift. Industry groups, verifiers, and reporting facilities will plan their 2024 reporting obligations around that publication.