(a) A natural person or company required by a law to file reports with this state or a covered government may seek declaratory relief to conclusively determine and establish a definitive record of the person's covered emissions in this state from one (1) or more of the following:(1) All direct emissions that stem from sources the natural person or company owns or directly controls, regardless of location, including, but not limited to, fuel combustion activities;(2) All indirect emissions from consumed electricity, steam, heating, or cooling purchased or acquired by the natural person or company, regardless of location; and(3) All indirect upstream and downstream emissions, other than those emissions described in subdivision (a)(2), from sources that the natural person or company does not own or directly control and may include, but are not limited to, purchased goods and services, travel, and processing and use of sold products.
(1) All direct emissions that stem from sources the natural person or company owns or directly controls, regardless of location, including, but not limited to, fuel combustion activities;
(2) All indirect emissions from consumed electricity, steam, heating, or cooling purchased or acquired by the natural person or company, regardless of location; and
(3) All indirect upstream and downstream emissions, other than those emissions described in subdivision (a)(2), from sources that the natural person or company does not own or directly control and may include, but are not limited to, purchased goods and services, travel, and processing and use of sold products.
(b) In determining the amount of emissions for an identified time period under subsection (a), the court shall, at the election of the natural person or company whose emissions are being determined, apply the formula set forth in subsection (e) or accept a calculation offered by the person that is supported by substantial evidence. If the calculation has been verified by a third-party independent verifier, an independent third-party assurance provider, or both, the court's declaration shall so find.
(c) In an action under subsection (a), the department of environment and conservation shall be named as the defendant, and after being served, the department shall publish notice of the action on its website, which constitutes service by publication to all interested parties. The court shall advance and hear the action as expeditiously as possible and render its decision no later than sixty (60) days after the action is commenced. The court shall not award costs or fees to any party. Only the natural person or company who seeks a declaration under subsection (a) may appeal a determination made in an action under subsection (a).
(d) A declaration under this section is a permanent and definitive record of a natural person or company's emissions over a given time period, and it is final and valid for all purposes and as to all persons, except in those instances where the federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. § 7401 et seq.), as amended, another federal environmental law, or a state law that is necessary to comply with a federal environmental law, requires reporting using a different methodology, in which case a declaration under this subsection (d) is final and valid for all other purposes.
(e) To ensure a uniform calculation process for emissions in this state, a natural person or company may elect to defer to a court-determined calculation of its emissions in an action brought under subsection (a). If such election is made, the irrebuttable presumption to be applied is that covered emissions in this state for each of the categories in subsection (a) is zero (0) kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent over an identified time period if the natural person or company provides a declaration that, based on a reasonable inquiry, its covered emissions for that time period are less than ten percent (10%) of the annual emissions baseline times the number of years, including fractions of a year, equal to the length of the identified time period.
(f) A natural person or company that is subject to a disclosure requirement and the attorney general and reporter may each enforce this section by commencing an action, intervening, or otherwise asserting a claim against any state or local government, or officer thereof, that fails or refuses to give full faith and credit to a record made and judgment obtained under this section, and such person or company may obtain declaratory and injunctive relief, nominal damages, and any other appropriate relief.