As bills to regulate greenhouse gases are debated in Congress, EPA shows it thinks it already has the authority to move forward with some types of climate-change rules.

Starting Jan. 1, 2010, some companies will have to track greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and report them to EPA.

This reporting will cover 85% of the GHG emissions in the U.S.

About 10,000 industrial facilities and suppliers of petroleum products will have to submit the data starting in 2011.

EPA administrator Lisa Jackson said having this data will help the U.S. decide how to reduce GHG emissions.

Bills introduced in Congress would use a cap-and-trade system to regulate GHGs. Facilities would either need to reduce their GHG emissions or buy excess credits from other companies that have reduced theirs.

While that’s the regulatory method preferred by the Obama administration, the EPA has signaled it’s willing to use another option that, it says, would not require legislation, if Congress fails to act.

This spring, EPA formally declared GHGs a danger to public health and welfare. Now that it’s made the declaration, the current administration believes it can use the Clean Air Act to create a series of emission control rules.

Industry groups opposed EPA’s declaration on the grounds that the Clean Air Act was never intended to control GHGs.

If the agency uses this regulatory process, expect a court fight. That’s why, for now, more emphasis is being placed on legislative action.

EPA is already flexing its GHG regulatory muscles in another area. It’s proposed regulating GHGs when facilities apply to expand existing or build new facilities, using prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) permits. The proposal recently went to the Office of Management and Budget, which is expected to give EPA the green light to move ahead.