Section 437.02. Definitions.

  The definitions contained in ch. NR 400 apply to the terms used in this chapter. In addition, the following definitions apply to the terms used in this chapter:

(1)  "Baseline" means the average annual amount or rate of a greenhouse gas or air contaminant emitted before an emission reduction or avoidance action is taken, or the amount of carbon stored before a carbon sequestration project is undertaken.

(2)  "Carbon dioxide equivalent" means the amount of CO 2 that would have the same global warming potential as a given amount of another greenhouse gas. The CO 2 equivalent amount of any greenhouse gas is calculated by multiplying the mass of the greenhouse gas by the global warming potential for that gas.

(3)  "Carbon reserve" means any system that takes in and stores more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases to the atmosphere.

(4)  "Carbon sequestration" means the establishment or enhancement of a carbon reserve.

(5)  "Fine particulate matter" means solid or liquid particles with a diameter less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers or emissions that are precursors to solid or liquid particles with a diameter less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers.

(6)  "Global warming potential" means the potential over a 100 year time period for a greenhouse gas to cause warming of the earth's surface compared to the global warming potential of carbon dioxide over the same time period.

(7)  "Greenhouse gas" means carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride or any other gas that traps heat in the atmosphere.

(8)  "Law" means any federal or state statute, rule, order, mandatory emission limiting condition in an air permit or other legal requirement.

(9)  "Mandatory emission limiting condition in an air permit" means a condition in an air pollution control permit that restricts emissions in order to comply with a federal or state statute, rule, order or other legal requirement or in order to avoid application of a federal or state statute, rule, order or other legal requirement. "Mandatory emission limiting condition in an air permit" does not include a permit condition that reflects a lower emission level that is the result of a voluntary action or a contractual agreement with the department, such as an agreement under the Environmental Cooperative Agreement program (s. 299.80 , Stats.), or a federal voluntary program.

(10)  "Ozone precursor" means nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds.

(11)  "Quantification protocol" means a replicable and workable method or set of methods for quantifying emissions, emission rates, or the amount of carbon sequestered.

(12)  "Renewable energy project" means a project or facility that produces energy from a renewable resource.

(13)  "Renewable resource" means any of the following: direct radiation from the sun, geothermal energy, wind, tidal or wave action, flowing water, biomass, human waste, or animal waste.

(14)  "Voluntary emission reduction" or "VER" means any emission reduction, avoided emission or carbon sequestration that occurs before it is required by law or that results in emissions that are lower than those allowed by law.

History: CR 02-012 : cr. Register October 2002 No. 562 , eff. 11-1-02.

Note

The global warming potentials for most of the greenhouse gases covered in this chapter are contained in IPCC Third Assessment Report, Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2001. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1