ESFPA E-News

DEC Issues Draft Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced the release of draft regulations that would require reporting from certain significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions sources to help better inform the State’s comprehensive efforts to reduce pollution, deliver cleaner air, improve community resilience, and create an equitable transition to a clean energy economy. The proposed Reporting Rule is solely for reporting purposes and would not require pollution reductions or the purchase of allowances. DEC is accepting public comments on the Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program proposal from April 2 until July 1, 2025. ESFPA will be preparing comments on the proposed rule.

DEC’s draft Mandatory GHG Reporting Program is for data collection only. It does not impose requirements for facilities to reduce GHG pollution or to obtain emission allowances. A facility required to report emissions would annually provide certain GHG emission data and information to DEC starting in June 2027 to reflect the previous year’s emissions. Certain large emission sources would also be required to verify their emissions data report annually using DEC-accredited third-party verification services.

To help ensure a comprehensive collection of greenhouse gas emissions, the following sources would be required to annually report emissions data to DEC:

• Owners and operators of facilities in New York that emit 10,000 metric tons (MT) or more of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per emissions year. These facilities include electricity generation, stationary combustion (mills and possibly kilns), landfills, waste-to-energy, natural gas compressor stations, and other infrastructure;
• Fuel suppliers that provide a quantity of fuel to an end user in New York that generates any amount of GHG emissions per emissions year. This includes suppliers of natural gas, liquid fuels, and petroleum products, liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas, and coal;
• Waste haulers and transporters (exporters) for which the estimated emissions from solid wastes transported to landfills or combustion facilities outside of New York exceed 10,000 MT CO2e emissions in any year;
• Electric power entities that emit any GHG emissions or import megawatt hours (Mwh) into New York;
• Suppliers of agricultural lime and fertilizer that supply a quantity of agricultural lime and fertilizer necessary to generate any GHG emissions per emission year; or
• Anaerobic digestion and liquid storage of waste at facilities, such as wastewater treatment plants and concentrated animal feeding operations, where wastes imported to the facility or generated at the facility in an amount that would generate 10,000 or more metric tons of CO2e per year.

Emissions sources subject to the DEC’s Mandatory GHG Reporting Program (Part 253) represent a broader set of entities than those that may participate in any future cap-and-invest program. The specific rules to determine what entities will have to participate in a future cap-and-invest program, and the emissions thresholds, will be determined later as informed by additional stakeholder outreach and determined through a separate rulemaking.

Outlook for Lumber Production in 2025 etc.

By Hugh Canham

On Tuesday March 25th from 12 to 1 PM, Farm Credit East hosted an interesting Webinar on the outlook for US lumber production for 2025, featuring Paul Jannke, a forest economist with Forest Economic Advisors. Much of the time was spent on the overall economy and society and what is seen as the outlook for the year and beyond.  Housing starts were a major topic.  When it came specifically to the expected consumption of lumber, softwood lumber was most of the focus.  However, there are some interesting insights for our New York forest products industry.  Here is a summary of the main points that I noted.

Recently home mortgage payments have surged above the accepted average of 30% of household income.  Tariffs and the resulting increase in imported lumber prices are not seen as the major factor. Rising insurance premiums due to wildfires, hurricanes, and tornados; pent up demand from the COVID pandemic; and rising interest rates due to many factors are the main drivers.

Do not look for large increases nationwide in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  The leading economic indicators are trending down, and growth will slow down but the economy is still very robust. Imports overall are up right now as foreign firms rush to get products shipped into the US ahead of possible future tariffs.  Some of the excess savings that occurred during COVID have been spent.  The net result is that overall housing starts are expected to be flat but single-family housing starts are expected to rise slightly.  Multi-family housing starts are declining partly due to uncertainty over the market for apartment units etc.  A good sign is that household debt as a percentage of income is below recent levels.

Of particular interest to our New York industry is the increase in residential improvements.  This is due to many factors: There are many aging houses with 50% having been built before 1980. Even though mortgage rates have increased, 60% of existing home mortgages are well below current rates.  This tends to lead owners to improve their existing dwelling instead of buying a new one.  Finally, the increase in home improvement opportunities has led to more contractors skilled in home renovation projects and willing to do this work.

US softwood lumber production is expected to increase by 1% in 2025 and 3% by 2026.  Exports will be up but only slightly.  A list of mill closures was shown but concentrated on softwood mills in the south and west.  The feeling is that tariffs, if enacted with Canada, will be short-lived and the administration sees them more as a negotiating tactic.  However, this is uncertain what the objective is of increasing tariffs.  The Chinese housing market is seen as in decline.

Specifically for the Northeaster US and New York industry there are some possible good signs.  Home improvements and rebuilds are likely to rise in our region.  Local cumbersome building codes, a shortage of cheap buildable lots, and the NIMBY feeling in many communities (Not In My Backyard) will lead to owners staying put.  Two other factors are the increasing time that children are living at home after adulthood and the increase in working from home offices.  Home improvements in the Northeast tend to use more hardwood in floors, kitchen cabinets, etc. than in other regions.  It is unlikely that there will be a large increase in US or Northeast furniture manufacturing.  The recent surge in the semiconductor and related computer chip industry in our area is seen as increasing the demand for wooden pallets, dunnage for shipping products, and dimension lumber for outfitting office and work spaces.

Click the link below to view the Farm Credit East webinar info:

Register Now! 29th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks – Resilience in Action

May 15^th & 16^th, 2025 - High Peaks Resort, Lake Placid, NY

Join the Adirondack Research Consortium for the 29th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks! This year’s theme, “Resilience in Action: Addressing Climate Challenges in the North Country,” brings together leading experts, policymakers, and environmental advocates to explore pressing climate impacts, socio-ecological issues, and innovative solutions.

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage, collaborate, and take action toward a more resilient region. Register today and be part of the conversation shaping the future of the North Country!

Click the link below to register:

New York’s Forests are Migrating. Here’s What the Future Might Bring

Forests are migrating northward as more southern areas become too hot to sustain them

At Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve in rural Albany County, the white spruce trees are struggling.

Planted in the 1920s at what was then the southern part of the trees’ range, the plot now has no white spruce saplings, and “the adults are not doing well either,” said Andrei Lapenas, a professor at the University at Albany’s Transformational & Ecosystem-based Climate Adaptation.

Lapenas, who co-published a paper on white spruce trees in 2022, said higher temperatures from climate change have slowed older trees’ growth, while younger trees are being out-competed by the mature ones. Meanwhile, a different species, red spruce, has established itself in the preserve. Lapenas said they are thriving in part because they respond better to warmer temperatures. He speculated that in the next 20 to 40 years, the preserve “will be overtaken by other tree species, and red spruce is a good candidate for this.”

There are many unknowns concerning forest migration, the process of tree species moving as they seek climatic zones similar to what they’ve known for millennia. Some researchers the Times Union spoke with said climate change would induce trees to move more rapidly, with one predicting that a species’ range could shift anywhere from 10 to 100 kilometers each decade in the Northeast.

No matter how it plays out, the composition of forests in New York and the Northeast will change dramatically in the future. And these changes have already begun.

Click the link below to read the full article: