EPA MOVES TO CONTROL OFFSHORE EMISSIONS

Except for most of the Gulf Coast, the Environmental Protection Agency proposes to hold all U.S. offshore rigs and platforms within about 28 miles from shore to the same standards as onshore facilities. EPA estimated compliance will cost the oil industry $2.2 million/year for all sources on the Outer Continental Shelf. The rule, the first EPA has proposed to control air pollution from OCS operations, covers drilling and production off Alaska, the Pacific coast states, the Atlantic coast states,

Dec. 9, 1991

3 min read

EPA estimated compliance will cost the oil industry $2.2 million/year for all sources on the Outer Continental Shelf.

The rule, the first EPA has proposed to control air pollution from OCS operations, covers drilling and production off Alaska, the Pacific coast states, the Atlantic coast states, and the Florida Gulf Coast.

It does not affect OCS areas off Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments exempted those areas, leaving them under the jurisdiction of the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service. But it requires MMS to study the impact of emissions from OCS activities off those four states to determine if more regulation is needed.

WHAT'S COVERED

EPA's proposed rule will apply to any source of offshore air pollution in any industry authorized or regulated under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

EPA said the rule at present will affect 23 oil and gas platforms operating off California and exploratory drilling off Alaska. It also will affect four more platforms currently under construction or development off California.

Under the rule, sources within 25 miles of states' seaward boundaries, usually 3 miles offshore, will be subject to the same state, local, and federal requirements as if they were in corresponding onshore areas.

If EPA finds state regulations are adequate, it will delegate to the state implementation and enforcement authority of the OCS regulations. Oil operations beyond the 25 mile limit will be subject only to federal requirements.

EPA said, "Within 2 years this proposal will result in significant benefits to certain onshore areas currently violating smog standards. For instance, in the southern California violation areas of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties, nitrogen dioxide will be reduced by more than 240 tons/year and emissions of volatile organic compounds, a precursor of smog, will be cut more than 300 tons/year." The rule will apply to new OCS sources as soon as they go into operation. Existing sources will have 2 years to comply after the final rule is issued.

The Clean Air Act authorizes EPA to exempt offshore sources if compliance is not technologically feasible or will cause an unreasonable threat to health and safety.

A substitute control must be imposed, however, and any emission increase resulting from the exemption must be offset by emissions reductions from the same source or other sources in the offshore area or in an adjacent onshore area.

The proposed rule will apply to platform and drillship exploration, construction, development, production, processing, and transportation. Emissions from any vessel servicing or associated with an OCS source, when the vessel is docked at or within 25 miles en route to or from the source, will be treated as emissions from the stationary OCS source.