Annual Emissions Reporting (AER) Overview

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) Annual Emissions Reporting (AER) program was developed to track emissions of air contaminants from permitted facilities.  Fees for emissions of air contaminants are assessed based on the reported data. These fees help to cover the costs of evaluating, planning, inspecting, and monitoring air quality efforts.  Under this program, those who emit more, pay more toward air pollution control efforts – and at the same time are given an incentive to reduce emissions.

The data collected by AER is used to update the comprehensive emissions inventory for the South Coast AQMD, which includes Orange County, the non-desert portions of Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, and the Riverside County areas west of the Palo Verde Valley.

This annual emissions inventory of pollutants and source categories is essential to effectively design and evaluate clean air strategies to comply with state and federal public health standards.  The compiled inventory is published in each update of the Air Quality Management Plan.

The South Coast AQMD requires the filing of an Annual Emissions Report and payment of annual fees based on a facility's emission of air contaminants, as specified in Rule 301, subdivision (e).  Facilities required to file an annual emissions report include the following:

• Every facility that has estimated annual emissions of four (4) or more tons of either sulfur oxides (SOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx), specific organics (SPOG), particulate matter (PM), or emissions of 100 tons per year or more of carbon monoxide (CO).

• Every facility subject to the AB 2588 Program for reporting quadrennial updates to its toxics emissions inventory (per Health and Safety Code Section 44344).

• Every facility subject to CARB's Criteria and Toxics Emission Reporting (CTR) Regulation (CTR requirements are being phased in for various facility types over several years).

Furthermore, facilities are required to report their emissions (both criteria and toxics) for the calendar year and pay applicable emission fees using the current fee rate specified in Tables III and IV of Rule 301(e).  

Data Year (DY) 2024 AER Program

• DY2024 What's New - Coming Soon

• List of Facilities Notified for DY2024 - Updated November 2024

• Sample - DY2024 AER Notification Letter - November 2024

• Reports and any associated fees are due by 5:00 p.m. on May 1st, 2025.

• The AER submitted for this upcoming reporting period applies to calendar year 2024 (January 1, 2024 - December 31, 2024).

• AB 2588 Facilities: For DY2024 AER, facilities in Phase 1B are required to file their Quadrennial Report.

Data Year (DY) 2024 AER Workshops

• January 2025 AER Workshops (DY2024 AER Workshop Information)

  General Overview – 1:30PM, January 15th, 2025

  Autobody Reporting – 2:00PM, January 22nd, 2025

  • DY2024 AER Webinar Slides –Coming Soon

  • Presentation Recordings – Coming Soon

 

AER WebTool Resources

AER WebTool

South Coast AQMD has developed a web-based emissions reporting tool to assist facilities enter operational data, calculate emissions and fees, and submit the Annual Emissions Report.

Users can become familiar with the tool and the AER program by accessing the resources below which include tutorial videos, help & support documents, technical guidance documents, and other useful information. The web-based reporting tool can be accessed at the link above. Users must register to use the AER WebTool.

Tutorial Videos on AER WebTool Functionality

General Help and Support Documents

Document Name	Revision Date	File Type, File Size
Help & Support	Nov. 2024	PDF, 8 MB
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)	Mar. 2023	PDF, 2.1 MB
Abbreviated Reporting	Dec. 2024	PDF, 4 MB
Core CTR Reporting	Dec. 2022	PDF, 2 MB
Additional Toxic Substances Production and Usage	Feb. 2023	PDF, 253 kB
Exemptions From Annual Emissions Reporting	Mar. 2023	PDF, 1.6 MB
AB 2588 Quadrennial Reporting Procedures	Jun. 2020	PDF, 598 kB
Importing Previous Year's Data	Dec. 2022	PDF, 692 kB
How to Amend an Annual Emissions Report	Dec. 2022	PDF, 864 kB
Storage Tank Emissions Batch Upload File	Dec. 2020	XLS, 305 kB
Toxic Air Contaminant (TAC) List	May 2024	XLSX, 58 kB
Molecular Weight Corrections	Jan. 2023	XLSX, 12 kB

Guideline Documents for Facility Specific Operations

Document Name	Description and Applicable Equipment/Processes/Activities	Revision Date	File Type, Size
Organic Materials
Use of Material Containing Organic Compounds	Spray booths, open spray, powder coatings	Dec. 2016	PDF, 781 kB
VOC Default Emission Factors for Organic Containing Material	VOC and PM calculations for auto, wood, metal, and other surface coatings. Inks, solvents, and resins that contain VOCs	Dec. 2014	PDF, 445 kB
Lithographic Printing		Dec. 2019	PDF, 1.3 MB
Paint, Resin, and Ink Manufacturing Operations		Dec. 2014	PDF, 166 kB
Polyester Resin Operations		Dec. 2019	PDF, 372 kB
Refinery, Oil, & Gas
Fuel Dispensing Operations	Retail and non retail gasoline and diesel dispensing, not bulk loading	Dec. 2022	PDF, 1 MB
Refinery Flare Emissions		Dec. 2022	PDF, 1 MB
Miscellaneous Refinery Operations	API separators, cooling towers, open ponds/ditches, clean-out sumps	Dec. 2014	PDF, 181 kB
Importing Storage Tank Data into AER Reporting Tool	Petroleum storage tanks, fixed roof tanks, floating roof tanks, etc. using EPA TANKS 4.0.9d for emission calculations	Dec. 2020	PDF 1 MB
Bulk Loading Operations	For gasoline dispensing operations, please see fuel dispensing operations guidance above	Nov. 2017	PDF, 1.3 MB
Liquid Organic Storage Tanks	Petroleum storage tanks, fixed roof tanks, floating roof tanks, etc.	Dec. 2022	PDF, 362 kB
VOC Emissions from Component Leaks	Fugitive emissions from components at oil, gas, and refinery facilities	Feb. 2015	PDF, 1.6 MB
Miscellaneous Processes at Oil Gas Production Plants	API separators, open ponds/ditches, sumps, well head, well cellars.	Dec. 2014	PDF, 416 kB
Combustion
Internal Combustion Engines	Generators, fire pumps, turbines	Mar. 2023	PDF, 944 kB
Crematory Operations	PM, VOC, and toxics emissions from human and animal cremation	Apr. 2023	PDF, 4.9 MB
Portable Equipment	Reporting rules for permitted and unpermitted portable equipment including PERP and various locations permits	Apr. 2023	PDF, 182 kB
Default Combustion Emission Factors	Tables of all default combustion emission factors used in the AER reporting tool	Jan. 2023	PDF, 215 kB
Industrial
Cooling Towers	HVAC, Refineries, and other industrial cooling	Dec. 2022	PDF, 1 MB
Dry Cleaning Operations		Mar. 2023	PDF, 687 kB
PM Emission Factors for Aggregate Operations	Fugitive dust from roads, storage, mining, loading/unloading, transfer points, crushing, screening, driers and kilns	Nov. 2024	PDF, 287 kB
Abrasive Blasting Operations	Blasting cabinets, wet blasting, open-air blasting	Dec. 2014	PDF, 194 kB
Dairy, Swine, and Poultry Farm Operations	PM and VOC emissions for farm operations	Dec. 2022	PDF, 2 MB
Plating and Process Tanks	Plating, anodizing, etching, sparging, heating	Feb. 2022	PDF, 180 kB
Green Waste Composting and Co-Composting Operations		Feb. 2023	PDF, 2.7 MB
Asbestos Abatement (Demolition) Operations		Dec. 2020	PDF, 77 kB
Miscellaneous
Multiple Identical Equipment	Policy on reporting for multiple equipment with identical permit descriptions	Dec. 2014	PDF, 926 kB
Non-Combustion RECLAIM Sources		Dec.2021	PDF, 882 kB
EPA Default Stack Parameters by SCC (Excel)	Stack parameters (height, diameter, temperature, and velocity) based on activity code; for use in Emissions Release Locations page available for Core CTR facilities only	Apr. 2023	XLSX, 478 kB

South Coast AQMD Rule 301 - South Coast AQMD Fee Rule

CTR Table A-3 Phase 2 -Phase 2 facility Applicability

Guidance on CARB's Criteria and Toxics Reporting (CTR) Regulation

Emissions Data Inquiry System - Annual totals of both criteria and toxic pollutants for each reporting facility, and each reporting year since fiscal year 2000-2001, are available to the public through an online search application. 

EPA, AP-42, Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors - The primary compilation of EPA's emission factor information which contains emission factors and process information for more than 200 air pollution source categories.