Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a) The Offset Project Registry shall use
Compliance Offset Protocols approved pursuant to section
95971 to determine whether an
offset project may be listed with the Offset Project Registry for issuance of
registry offset credits. The Offset Project Registry may list projects under
non-Compliance Offset Protocols, but must make it clear any GHG emission
reductions and GHG removal enhancements achieved under those protocols are not
eligible to be issued registry offset credits or ARB offset credits.
(b) The Offset Project Registry must make the
following information publicly available for each offset project developed
under a Compliance Offset Protocol:
(1)
Within 10 working days of the offset project listing requirements being deemed
complete in section
95975(f):
(A) Offset project name;
(B) Offset project location;
(C) Offset Project Operator and, if
applicable, the Authorized Project Designee;
(D) Type of offset project;
(E) Name and date of the Compliance Offset
Protocol used by the offset project;
(F) Date of offset project listing submittal
and Offset Project Commencement date; and
(G) Identification if the offset project is
in an initial or renewed crediting period;
(2) Within 10 working days of the Offset
Project Registry making a determination of registry offset credit issuance
pursuant to section
95980(b):
(A) Reporting Period verified project
baseline emissions;
(B) Reporting
Period verified GHG reductions and GHG removal enhancements achieved by the
offset project;
(C) The unique
serial numbers of registry offset credits issued to the offset project for the
applicable Offset Project Data Report;
(D) Total verified GHG reductions and GHG
removal enhancements for the offset project by Reporting Period for when an
Offset Project Data Report was submitted;
(E) The final Offset Project Data Report for
each Reporting Period; and
(F)
Offset Verification Statement for each year the Offset Project Data Report was
verified; and
(3) Clear
identification of which offset projects are listed and submitting Offset
Project Data Reports using Compliance Offset Protocols. Once an Offset Project
Registry has approved a project listing, the Offset Project Registry must
continue to list the project but may update the project listing status to
"Inactive" if the project has not been issued any registry offset credits or
ARB offset credits or update the listing status to "Terminated" if the project
has been issued any registry offset credits or ARB offset credits. The Offset
Project Registry may update the listing status to "Inactive" or "Terminated" if
any of the following circumstances exist:
(A)
The offset project has missed the 28-month reporting deadline in section
95976(d);
(B) The offset project has missed the
deadline for continuous reporting in section
95976(d);
(C) The offset project, if listed under the
Compliance Offset Protocol in section
95973(a)(2)(C)1.,
has submitted an Offset Project Data Report but has missed the 11-month
verification deadline in section
95977(d);
(D) The offset project terminates, as
specified by the Compliance Offset Protocols in section
95973(a)(2)(C)4.;
or
(E) The Offset Project Operator
submits a letter to the Offset Project Registry stating that it no longer
intends to pursue registry offset credit issuance for this project. The letter
must be signed by the Offset Project Operator's Primary or Alternate Account
Representative and must include the following:
1. Offset Project Operator name and CITSS
identification number;
2. Offset
project name and both ARB and Offset Project Registry identification
numbers;
3. Name and date of the
Compliance Offset Protocol used by the offset project;
4. Date on which the Offset Project Registry
approved the listing;
5. Indication
that the the Offset Project Operator will no longer pursue any registry offset
credits for the project;
6. Request
to change the project status to "Inactive" or "Terminated"; and
7. Signature, printed name, title, and date
signed.
(4)
When an Offset Project Registry updates the listing status to "Inactive" or
"Terminated," the Offset Project Registry must make publicly available a copy
of the letter submitted under section
95987(b)(3)(E) or
must make publicly available a memo authored by the Offset Project Registry
explaining the change of status. The memo must include the following:
(A) Offset Project Operator name and CITSS
identification number;
(B) Offset
project name and both ARB and Offset Project Registry identification
numbers;
(C) Name and date of the
Compliance Offset Protocol used by the offset project;
(D) Date on which the Offset Project Registry
approved the listing;
(E)
Indication of the deadline(s) missed; and
(F) Date on which the Offset Project Registry
has updated the status to "Inactive" or "Terminated."
(5) An Offset Project Registry may update an
offset project's listing status to "Completed" if (1) ARB offset credits have
been issued for the offset project, (2) no further ARB offset credits will be
issued to the project, (3) the project may no longer undergo offset
verification services that could reduce the invalidation period for any ARB
offset credits from eight years to three years pursuant to section
95985(b), (4) the
project is no longer required to monitor, report, and verify the permanence of
its GHG emission reductions or GHG removal enhancements, and (5) the end of the
project life has been reached as defined in the Compliance Offset Protocols in
section 95973(a)(2)(C)4.
(if applicable).
(6) An Offset
Project Registry may update an offset project's listing status to "Monitored"
if (1) ARB offset credits have been issued for the offset project, (2) no
further ARB offset credits will be issued to the project, and (3) the project
is still required to monitor, report, and verify the permanence of its GHG
emission reductions or GHG removal enhancements.
(c) Conflict of Interest Review by Offset
Project Registries. The Offset Project Registry must apply the conflict of
interest requirements in section
95979 when making a conflict of
interest determination for a verification body proposing to conduct offset
verification services under sections
95977.1 and
95977.2. The Offset Project
Registry must review and make sure the conflict of interest submittal in
section 95979(e) is
complete. When an Offset Project Operator or Authorized Project Designee
submits its information pursuant to section
95981(b) to ARB,
the Offset Project Registry must provide ARB with the information and
attestation identified in section
95979(e) within
15 calendar days.
(d) The Offset
Project Registry may provide guidance to Offset Project Operators, Authorized
Project Designees, or offset verifiers for offset projects using a Compliance
Offset Protocol, if there is no clear requirement for the topic in a Compliance
Offset Protocol, this article, or an ARB guidance document, after consulting
and coordinating with ARB.
(1) An Offset
Project Registry must maintain all correspondence and records of communication
with an Offset Project Operator, Authorized Project Designee, or offset
verifier when providing clarifications or guidance for an offset project using
a Compliance Offset Protocol.
(2)
Before providing such guidance, the Offset Project Registry may request ARB to
provide clarification on the topic.
(3) Any Offset Project Operator or Authorized
Project Designee requests for clarifications or guidance must be documented and
the Offset Project Registry response must be submitted on an ongoing monthly
basis to ARB beginning with the date of approval as an Offset Project
Registry.
(e) The Offset
Project Registry must audit at least 10 percent of the annual full offset
verifications developed for offset projects using a Compliance Offset Protocol.
(1) The audit must include the following
checks:
(A) Attendance with the offset
verification team on the offset project site visit;
(B) In-person or conference call attendance
for the first offset verification team and Offset Project Operator or
Authorized Project Designee meeting;
(C) In-person or conference call attendance
to the last meeting or discussion between the offset verification team and
Offset Project Operator or Authorized Project Designee;
(D) Documentation of any findings during the
audit that cause the Offset Project Registry to provide guidance to, or require
corrective action with, the offset verification team, including a list of
issues noted during the audit and how those were resolved;
(E) A review of the detailed verification
report and sampling plan to ensure that it meets the minimum requirements in
sections 95977.1 and
95977.2 and documentation of any
discrepancies found during the review; and
(F) An investigative review of the conflict
of interest assessment provided by the verification body, which includes the
following:
1. Discussions with the lead
verifier, the verification body officer or staff person most knowledgable about
the conflict of interest self-evaluation, and the Offset Project Operator or
Authorized Project Designee to confirm the information on the conflict of
interest assessment form is true, accurate, and complete;
2. An internet-based search to ascertain the
existence of any previous relationship between the verification body and the
Offset Project Operator or Authorized Project Designee, and if so the nature
and extent; and
3. Any other follow
up by the Offset Project Registry to have reasonable assurance that the
information provided on the conflict of interest assessment form is true,
accurate, and complete.
(2) All information related to audits of
offset projects developed using a Compliance Offset Protocol must be provided
to ARB within 10 calendar days of an ARB request.
(3) The audits must be selected to provide a
representative sampling of geographic locations of all offset projects,
representative sampling of verification bodies, representative sampling of lead
verifiers, representative sampling of offset project types, and representative
sampling of offset projects by size.
(4) The Offset Project Registry must provide
an annual report to ARB by January 31 for its previous year's audit program of
offset projects developed using Compliance Offset Protocols that includes:
(A) A list of all offset projects
audited;
(B) Locations of all
offset projects audited;
(C)
Verification bodies associated with each offset project and names of offset
verification team members;
(D)
Dates of site visits;
(E) Offset
Project Registry staff that conducted the audit; and
(F) Audit findings as required in section
95987(e)(1)(D) through
(F).
(f) The Offset Project Registry must review
each detailed verification report provided in section
95977.1(b)(3)(R)
(4.)(a.) for completeness and accuracy and to ensure it meets the requirements
of section
95977.1(b)(3)(R)
(4.)(a.) before accepting the associated Offset Verification Statement for the
Offset Project Data Report and issuing registry offset credits. The Offset
Project Registry must maintain a log of all issues raised during its review of
a detailed verification report and the corresponding Offset Project Data Report
and Offset Verification Statement and how the issues are resolved. Within three
working days of issuing registry offset credits, the Offset Project Registry
must provide the following to ARB:
(1) The
attestations required in sections
95976(d)(7),
95977.1(b)(3)(R)4.b.,
95977.1(b)(3)(R)4.e., 95977.1(b)(3)(R)4.f., and any in the applicable
Compliance Offset Protocol;
(2) The
final Offset Project Data Reports submitted to an Offset Project Registry
pursuant to sections
95976(d),
95977.1(b)(3)(M),
and 95977.1(b)(3)(R)5.;
(3) The final Offset Verification Statements
submitted pursuant to section
95977.1(b)(3)(R)4.b.;
and
(4) The Offset Project
Registry's log of all issues raised during its review.
(g) The Offset Project Registry must provide
all information in its possession, custody, or control related to a listed
offset project under a Compliance Offset Protocol within 10 calendar days of
request by ARB.
(h) The Offset
Project Registry must make its staff and all information related to listed
offset projects under Compliance Offset Protocols by the Offset Project
Registry available to ARB during any audits or oversight activities initiated
by ARB to ensure the requirements in section
95987 are being carried out as
required by this article.
(i) The
Offset Project Registry must remove or cancel any registry offset credits
issued for an offset project using a Compliance Offset Protocol, such that the
registry offset credits are no longer available for transaction on the Offset
Project Registry system, once notified by ARB that the offset project is
eligible to be issued ARB offset credits.
(j) The Offset Project Registry must provide
an annual report by January 31 of the previous year's offset projects that are
listed using a Compliance Offset Protocol. The report must contain the name of
the offset project, type of offset project and applicable Compliance Offset
Protocol, name of Offset Project Operator or Authorized Project Designee,
location of offset project, status of offset project, associated verification
body, crediting period, amount of any registry offset credits issued to date,
amount of any registry offset credits retired or cancelled for the offset
project by the Offset Project Registry to date.
(k) The Offset Project Registry may choose to
offer insurance or other products to cover the risk of invalidation of ARB
offset credits, but purchase or use of the insurance or other invalidation risk
mechanisms will be optional for all entities involved with registry offset
credits and ARB offset credit transactions.
(l) Within 10 working days of first receiving
an Offset Project Data Report to meet the reporting deadline pursuant to
section 95976(d)(8), an
Offset Project Registry must provide ARB a copy of the Offset Project Data
Report and confirm the date on which the Offset Project Data Report was
submitted to the Offset Project Registry.
1. New
section filed 12-13-2011; operative 1-1-2012 pursuant to Government Code
section
11343.4
(Register 2011, No. 50).
2. Change without regulatory effect
amending subsections (e)(1)(D) and (f) filed 2-15-2012 pursuant to section
100, title 1, California Code of
Regulations (Register 2012, No. 7).
3. Amendment of subsection
(b)(2), new subsection (b)(2)(E), subsection relettering and amendment of
subsections (d) and (e) filed 6-26-2014; operative 7-1-2014 pursuant to
Government Code section
11343.4(b)(3)
(Register 2014, No. 26).
4. Amendment of subsections (b)(2)(A)-(B)
filed 9-18-2017; operative 10-1-2017 pursuant to Government Code section
11343.4(b)(3)
(Register 2017, No. 38).
5. Amendment of subsection (b)(3), new
subsections (b)(3)(A)-(b)(6), amendment of subsections (e)(1)(F)1. and (f) and
new subsection (l) filed 3-29-2019; operative 3-29-2019 pursuant to Government
Code section
11343.4(b)(3)
(Register 2019, No. 13).
Note: Authority cited: Sections
38510,
38560,
38562,
38570,
38571,
38580,
39600
and
39601,
Health and Safety Code. Reference: Sections
38530,
38560.5,
38564,
38565,
38570
and
39600,
Health and Safety Code.
