U.S. EPA Issues Draft Information Collection Request for Existing Oil & Gas Facilities

On May 12, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a draft Information Collection Request (ICR) that when final, will require existing oil and natural gas facilities to provide extensive information on facility operations. The U.S. EPA has deemed this information as necessary to develop regulations to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. The issuance of the draft ICR follows the U.S. EPA’s initial announcement in March 2016 to take steps to regulate existing sources of methane emissions in the oil and natural gas industry. If you are not familiar with the March 2016 announcement, here is ALL4’s takeaway.

U.S. EPA’s goal is to gather a comprehensive range of information to determine the best approach to accurately and cost-effectively locate, measure, and mitigate methane emissions. The ICR will be applicable to onshore production; gathering and boosting; gas processing; transmission; storage; and import/export facilities, and is comprised of two (2) parts:

1. Operator Survey – The survey is designed to obtain general information from onshore petroleum and natural gas production facilities. Information requested by the Operator Survey will include facility-level information (e.g., facility name, location, and contact information), as well as the quantities and types of equipment present at the facility.
2. Detailed Facility Survey – A statistical approach will be utilized to select a representative sample of oil and natural gas facilities to participate in Part 2 of the ICR. If selected, the facility will be required to provide detailed information on its emissions sources and emissions control practices within 120 days.

The draft ICR will be available for Public comment shortly. Visit the Federal Register for more information regarding specific review periods. If you have any questions about this blog or other actions surrounding the oil and gas industry, feel free to contact us.