How will the protocol differ from previous inventories of wastewater treatment facilities?
• In the past, ICLEI has provided guidance on including the energy used in wastewater treatment in emissions inventories. While a few of our members have made attempts to include fugitive and process emissions of N2O and methane, most have not due to the lack of availability of a consistent methodology. One of the significant advances of the U.S. Local Government Operations Protocol is the development, through a stakeholder process, of a standard methodology for estimating these emissions. While it is likely that refinements will be made in the future, this is a significant improvement to the overall guidance available. ICLEI encourages local governments to begin quantifying these emissions as part of future emissions inventories. Local governments which have completed inventories using either a different methodology or which have not included fugitive and process emissions should consider the guidance on updating baselines.
