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Hey Pennsylvania Unconventional Oil & Gas Producers: You Got a Permit for That?

Posted: August 26th, 2013

Author: All4 Staff 

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) has finalized updates to its list of Air Quality Permit Exemptions, specifically Categories No. 33 and 38, to add strict criteria under which natural gas dispensing facilities and oil & gas exploration, development, and production operations would be exempt from Pennsylvania air permitting requirements. This action ends a decade-plus of blanket exemptions for oil & gas production in the State. Final technical guidance document 275-2101-003 is effective August 10, 2013, and contains few technical changes to the version proposed in February 2013.

Here are the new criteria for conditional exemption from the Pennsylvania Plan Approval requirements, in brief: 

Exemption No. 38 – Oil and gas exploration, development, and production facilities and associated equipment and operations

The following operations/equipment are unconditionally exempt:

  • Conventional wells, wellheads, and all other associated equipment.
    • Conventional wells are now defined as any well that does not meet the definition of unconventional gas well in 58 Pa. C.S §3203.
  • Well drilling, completion and work-over activities.
  • Non-road engines as defined in 40 CFR §89.2.

Unconventional wells, wellheads, and associated equipment are conditionally exempt if the following criteria are met:

  • Within 60 days of the well beginning production, and annually, owner/operator must perform a leak detection and repair (LDAR) program according to PADEP requirements. Leaks are to be repaired no later than 15 days after leak detections, unless facility shutdowns or ordering of replacement parts are necessary for repair of the leaks.
    • Leak detection and repair for storage vessels are to be performed in accordance with 40 CFR Part 60, Subpart OOOO.
    • Five (5) criteria are provided in the exemption for use in determining when a leak is considered repaired.
    • Recordkeeping requirements apply to leak repair methods and delays.
  • Storage vessels/tanks or other equipment equipped with VOC emission controls must achieve emissions reduction of 95% or greater, and demonstrate compliance consistent with 40 CFR Part 60, Subpart OOOO or an alternative and Department approved test method.
  • Combined VOC from all sources at a facility < 2.7 TPY on a 12-month rolling basis.
    • If the VOCs include HAPs, additional HAP exemption criteria apply.
      • Combined HAP emissions at a facility < 1,000 lbs of a single HAP or one (1) ton of a combination of HAPs in any consecutive 12-month period.
    • Emissions already permitted by PADEP (e.g., plan approval, general permit, exempted operations under No. 38, etc.) do not count towards this total.
  • Flaring is only to be conducted under certain restricted conditions:
    • Flaring used at exploration wells to determine the existence of gas or for appraisal.
    • Flaring used for repair, maintenance, emergency or safety purposes.
    • Flaring used for other operations at a wellhead or facility to comply with 40 CFR Part 60, Subpart OOOO.
    • Permanent enclosed flares designed and operated in accordance with the requirements of 40 CFR §60.18.
  • Combined NOx emissions from all stationary ICE at a facility < 100 lb/hr, 1,000 lb/day, 2.75 ton/ozone season, and 6.6 TPY on a 12-month rolling basis.
    • Emissions already permitted by PADEP do not count towards this total.

Exemption No. 33 – Compressed natural gas dispensing facilities

Combined NOx emissions from all stationary internal combustion engines (ICE) at a facility < 100 lb/hr, 1,000 lb/day, 2.75 ton/ozone season (May-September), and 6.6 tons per year (TPY) on a 12-month rolling basis.

  • Emissions already permitted by PADEP do not count towards this total.

Combined VOC emissions from all sources at a facility < 2.7 TPY on a 12-month rolling basis.

  • If the VOCs include HAPs, additional HAP exemption criteria apply.
    • Combined HAP emissions at a facility < 1,000 lbs of a single HAP or one (1) ton of a combination of HAPs in any consecutive 12-month period.
  • Emissions already permitted by PADEP do not count towards this total.

Owner/operator must annually perform a leak detection and repair (LDAR) program according to PADEP requirements. Leaks are to be repaired no later than 15 days after leak detections, unless facility shutdowns or ordering of replacement parts are necessary for repair of the leaks.

  • Leak detection and repair for storage vessels are to be performed in accordance with 40 CFR Part 60, Subpart OOOO.
  • Five (5) methods are provided in the exemption for use in determining when a leak is considered repaired.
  • Recordkeeping requirements apply to leak repair methods and delays

Owners/operators must otherwise comply with all the requirements of the newly-revised NSPS Subpart OOOO that apply to them. Please note that storage vessels exempt from the requirements of Subpart OOOO may not necessarily be exempt from the Pennsylvania Plan Approval process.

Compressed natural gas dispensing facilities, unconventional wells, wellheads, and associated equipment constructed, reconstructed, or modified prior to the effective date of the revised exemption list (August 10, 2013) may continue to operate under the blanket Plan Approval Exemption that was originally relied upon, provided they continue to operate unchanged in physical setup and method of operation. Any sources constructed, reconstructed, or modified after August 10, 2013 will either need to abide by the revised exemption criteria, request exemption via a request for determination (RFD), apply for a general permit (as applicable), or apply for and receive a Plan Approval from the State. Note also that, if there are other operations at a facility that would require a permit, those plan approval exempted emission units may be required to be included in the facility’s operating permit.

If you have been assuming that your planned oil and gas exploration, development, and production facility or modification does not need a Plan Approval, we highly recommend doing a careful review to make sure you will meet the criteria for exemption, and possibly submitting a Request for Determination (RFD) to PADEP to verify that you are in the clear. If not, you may need to get the permit application process started. Contact ALL4 at any time if you have further questions about what rules your oil & gas facility may be subject to. 

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