Greenhouse Gas Search User Guide

This is a brief user's guide to the GHG Search. Select a variety of different search options and output options detailed below.

Select more than one search option at a time to speed up the search and make the retrieval more focused. Only those facilities matching all specified criteria will be retrieved.

When you have selected and entered all the search data, click the “Search” button to view the results. Click the “Clear” button to remove all selections on the search page and start a new search.

Facility Identification Search Option

From the Facility Identification or Parent Company dropdown, select Facility Name, GHG Facility ID, or Parent Company Name.

Facility Name

Enter the complete or partial facility name to retrieve all facilities with that name.

Select the “Beginning With” option to retrieve results where the start of the facility name is equal to the search value. When an "Exact Match" option is specified for a facility name, only facilities that exactly match the name as entered will be retrieved. Select the "Containing" option when entering a partial name for a better retrieval the first time you access the data.

GHG Facility ID

Enter the complete or partial facility identification (ID) number provided by the GHG database. The ID cannot be more than 15 characters.

Corporate Parent Name

Enter the complete or partial parent company name to retrieve all facilities with that parent company name.

Geography Search Option

Select from the following geographical search options: ZIP Code, Address, City, County, and State.

ZIP Code

The entry can be one or more digits.

Address

Enter a complete or partial street address. Select the “Beginning With” option to retrieve results where the start of the address is equal to the search value. When an "Exact Match" option is specified for an address, only facilities that exactly match the address as entered will be retrieved. Select the "Containing" option when entering an address for a better retrieval the first time you access the data.

City

Enter a complete or partial city name. State is required with City.

County

Enter a complete or partial county name. State is required with County.

State

Select a State from the dropdown list.

Note: We strongly recommend that you enter a small geographical area to begin the search since Envirofacts contains a large number of facilities.

Facility Industrial Classification Search Option

NAICS Code Description

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code(s) that best describe the business activities conducted at a facility or establishment. NAICS codes are 6 digit numbers used by the Bureau of Census as part of a system to categorize and track the types of business activities conducted in the United States.

The individual digits within the NAICS code indicate different levels of granularity in identifying a business. Here is an example of the granularity the individual digits provide:

Number of Digits	NAICS Example	Definition / Granularity
Two	31xxxx	Manufacturing
Three	311xxx	Food Manufacturing
Four	3115xx	Food Manufacturing, Dairy Products
Five	31151x	Food Manufacturing, Dairy Products, (Not Frozen)
Six	311511	Food Manufacturing, Dairy Products, (Not Frozen), Fluid Milk

A facility may be comprised of one or more establishments. An establishment is an economic unit, generally at a single physical location, where business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed. Each establishment may have a unique NAICS code.

Reporting Year

Data is available for selection beginning from 2010. See the user interface for the default selection, which is the most recent available reporting year.

Greenhouse Gas

By default all gases are searched. To narrow your search, select a specific gas(es). The available gases are:

Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) is a naturally occurring gas and is a by-product of burning fossil fuels and biomass, as well as land-use changes and other industrial processes. It is the principal anthropogenic greenhouse gas that affects the Earth's radiative balance. It is the reference gas against which other greenhouse gases are measured and therefore has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 1.

Nitrous Oxide (N₂O) is a powerful greenhouse gas with a GWP 298 times that of carbon dioxide (CO₂). Major sources of nitrous oxide include soil cultivation practices, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning.

Methane (CH₄) is a hydrocarbon and a greenhouse gas with a GWP of 25. Methane is produced through anaerobic (without oxygen) decomposition of waste in landfills, animal digestion, decomposition of animal wastes, production and distribution of natural gas and petroleum, coal production, and incomplete fossil fuel combustion.

Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) are a type of greenhouse gas. PFCs are a group of man-made chemicals composed of carbon and fluorine only. These chemicals were introduced as alternatives, along with hydrofluorocarbons, to the ozone depleting substances. PFCs are emitted as by-products of industrial processes and are also used in manufacturing. PFCs do not harm the stratospheric ozone layer, but they are powerful greenhouse gases.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are a type of greenhouse gas. Hydrofluorocarbons are compounds that contain only hydrogen, fluorine, and carbon atoms. They were introduced as alternatives to ozone depleting substances in serving many industrial, commercial, and personal needs. HFCs are emitted as by-products of industrial processes and are also used in manufacturing. They do not significantly deplete the stratospheric ozone layer, but they are powerful greenhouse gases.

Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF₆) is a fully fluorinated GHG that is used in and emitted from a number of applications. These include uses as an electrical insulator and arc-quenching medium in electrical transmission and distribution equipment, as a device etching and chamber cleaning agent in electronics manufacturing, and as a cover gas to prevent oxidation during magnesium production and processing. The most potent GHG known, SF₆ has an atmospheric lifetime of 3,200 years and a GWP of 22,800.

Emission/Quantity Range

Click and drag the sliders to set a minimum and/or maximum value for annual facility emissions. Alternatively, you may type minimum and maximum values manually in the provided text boxes.

Filter by Status

Facilities are color-coded to designate their verification and reporting status as of EPA's latest data refresh for reporting year 2013 and later.

Emitter/Supplier/CO2 Injector

Emitters are facilities that combust fuels or otherwise put GHGs into the atmosphere directly from their facility. An example of this is a power plant that burns coal or natural gas and emits carbon dioxide directly into the atmosphere.

Suppliers are those entities that supply products into the economy which if combusted, released or oxidized emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These fuels and industrial gases are not emitted from the supplier facility but instead distributed throughout the country and used. An example of this is gasoline, which is sold in the U.S. and primarily burned in cars throughout the country. The majority of GHG emissions associated with the transportation, residential and commercial sectors are accounted for by these suppliers.

CO₂ injectors are facilities that inject CO₂ underground.

Sector/Subsector

To limit the search to a specific sector or subsector, click on the checkbox next to the sector or subsector of interest.

Subpart

To limit the search to a specific subpart, click on the checkbox(s) next to the subpart(s) of interest.

Sectors/Subsectors and Subparts are mutually exclusive of each other. Please choose a Sector and corresponding Subsectors OR choose a Subpart to limit your search. When selecting a Sector or Subsector checkbox, any Subpart checkboxes that have been selected will automatically get deselected. Similarly, if a Subpart checkbox is selected, any previously selected Sector or Subsector checkboxes will be deselected.