Measurement and Reporting of Fugitive Emissions from Underground Coal Mines

The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (Act), the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Regulations 2008 (Regulations) made under that Act and the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Determination 2008 (No.1) (the Determination) together establish the legislative framework for a national greenhouse and energy reporting system. The Technical Guidelines for the Estimation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Facilities in Australia, July 2014 (the Technical Guidelines) assists corporations to understand and apply the Determination, however, only limited information is provided in the Technical Guidelines regarding fugitive emissions from underground coal mines.

This report presents guidance to industry for the measurement, estimation and reporting of fugitive greenhouse gas emissions from underground coal mines, with particular reference to measurement and reporting approaches that comply with the Determination. The intent of this document is to:

· Clarify the requirements for estimating fugitive emissions that are vented from operating and non-operating underground coal mines;

· Provide general and practical information for identifying a mine's sources of vented emissions, and designing an emissions measurement and reporting program encompassing:

o Selecting and establishing sampling sites and appropriate measurement locations

o Selecting monitoring devices and frequency of measurement

o Data collection and analysis

o Estimating fugitive emissions and associated levels of uncertainty

· Provide an auditable framework to facilitate transparency and comparability of the evaluation and reporting process and record keeping;

· Provide methods for assessing bias, accuracy or uncertainty of the estimation consistent with the guiding principles and estimation requirements of the Determination; and

· Provide a suggested checklist for completeness.

This report should be read in conjunction with the "National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Amendment Determination 2014" and any changes to emissions factors will surpass the factors used in this report.