The US Environmental Protection Agency proposed changes in its 2016 New Source Performance Standards for the oil and gas industry that it said would streamline implementation, reduce duplicative EPA and state requirements, and markedly decrease unnecessary burdens for producers. The targeted improvements package is expected to save as much as $484 million in regulatory costs from 2019 through 2025, or $75 million/year, it said on Sept. 11.
“These commonsense reforms will alleviate unnecessary and duplicative red tape and give the energy sector the regulatory certainty it needs to continue providing affordable and reliable energy to the American people,” Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said.
The proposed changes would affect provisions in the 2016 rule covering fugitive emissions, wellsite pneumatic pump standards, requirements for certification of closed-vent systems, and alternative means of emissions limitations (AMEL) provisions.
Additional amendments to clarify and streamline implementation dealt with well completions (location of a separator during flowback, screen-outs, and coil-tubing clean-outs), onshore natural gas processing plants (definition of capital expenditure and monitoring), storage vessels (maximum average daily throughput), and general clarifications (certifying official and recordkeeping and reporting).
“Lastly, in addition to the proposed revisions addressing reconsideration and implementation issues, EPA is proposing technical corrections of inadvertent errors in the final rule,” it said in its proposal.
Other proposed changes
Additional changes that would be made aimed to align requirements between EPA’s rule and existing state programs, modify the frequency for monitoring leaks (also known as “fugitive emissions”) at compressor stations as well as wellsites, and make it easier for owners and operators to use emerging measurement technologies in monitoring leaks, EPA said.
EPA said it will take comments on the proposal for 60 days following its publication in the Federal Register in the next few days and hold a public hearing about it in Denver. “The agency continues to consider other policy issues in the 2016 rule, including the regulation of greenhouse gases in the oil and gas sector, and will be addressed in a separate proposal at a later date,” it said.
“Today’s technical amendments recognize successful infrastructure already in place in states like Ohio to protect public health and the environment,” said Ohio EPA Director Craig W. Butler in Columbus. “EPA’s commonsense proposal supports state leadership through cooperative federalism and removes unnecessary red tape and burdensome duplication that only serve as roadblocks to responsible energy development in Ohio.”
Three major US oil and gas trade associations also applauded EPA’s move.
“We welcome EPA’s efforts to get this right and the proposed changes could ensure that the rule is based on best engineering practices and cost-effective,” said Howard J. Feldman, senior director of regulatory and scientific affairs director at the American Petroleum Institute in Washington.
Independent Petroleum Association of America Pres. Barry Russell said in Washington that EPA’s proposal “reverses the growing mistakes of the past.”
He suggested that it’s important for states to play an important role in decisions that affect their citizens, industries, and natural resources. “This proposal does just that: It empowers the states to work with the federal government on the best regulatory approaches,” Russell said.
In Denver, Western Energy Alliance Pres. Kathleen Sgamma said EPA is fixing a rule that was purposely designed during the Obama administration to tie the US oil and gas industry up in red tape.
“By fixing the numerous technical problems with the original rule, EPA will enable industry to continue its 4-decade success record of reducing methane emissions,” she said.
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].
