NSPS OOOOa – Looking Forward

Presented By

John A. McGreevyNovember 2, 2016

Prepared For

The Past

► U.S. EPA’s understanding of the oil and natural gas industry has significantly increased▪ April 2015 multi-million dollar settlement▪ September 2015 Compliance Alert

► Enforcement initiative focused on “Energy Extraction” has focused on oil and natural gas▪ In Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania there have been

551 inspections in the past 5 years, and 113 formal enforcement actions within the past 5 years*

▪ This is a 20% enforcement rate

*U.S. EPA’s ECHO system, October 21, 2016

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The Present

► Regulatory changes▪ NSPS OOOO▪ NSPS OOOOa▪ Source determination

► Information requests / data gathering▪ ICR in two phases▪ Used to develop rules for existing sources

► Continuation of the enforcement initiative

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The Future

► Nobody can precisely predict the future

► What can we be thinking about going forward?▪ Compliance timelines▪ Social cost of methane▪ Design and maintenance requirements▪ Leak detection technology▪ Ozone transport and RACT rules

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Compliance timelines

► NSPS OOOOa Leak Detection Timelines▪ Federal timelines for fugitive leak detection and repair

programs do not always dovetail with state requirements

▪ Examples:o OOOOa – initial survey within 60 dayso Ohio GP 12 – initial survey within 90 days

o OOOOa – initial attempt at repair within 30 dayso Ohio GP 12 – initial attempt at repair within 5 days

▪ Potential to comply with one standard but not the other

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The social cost of methane

► U.S. EPA performed a “Costs and Benefits” review on the most recent version of NSPS OOOOa▪ Incorporated the “social cost of methane” looking at

reductions by 2020 and by 2025▪ Ranges between $550 and $3,800 per metric ton▪ These costs were used to justify the federal LDAR programs

in the new rule, and underlie the RACT recommendations in the new CTG document

► Where will these costs be used next?

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Design and maintenance requirements

► NSPS OOOOa requires closed vent system design to be certified by a professional engineer▪ This requirement drives company internal policies and

procedures▪ Includes feasibility of controlling emissions under all anticipated

scenarios, including IP rates

► General duty clause for NSPS▪ 40 CFR 60.11(d) – “…owners and operators shall, to the extent

practicable, maintain and operate any affected facility including associated air pollution control equipment in a manner consistent with good air pollution control practice for minimizing emissions.”

► Documentation is key to avoiding potential issues

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Leak detection technology

► Current technologies can be expensive and / or time consuming ▪ Specific performance criteria and work practices in rule

► NSPS OOOOa allows a demonstration of “equivalency”▪ The process is ambiguous, taken directly from the Clean Air

Act▪ May allow future flexibility

► The Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC)▪ Developing consensus criteria for assessing different methane

detection technologies▪ This is an active field of research and quickly evolving

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The Ozone Transport Region and RACT rules

► U.S. EPA officially published a new Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) document for the oil and gas industry▪ Limitations and recommendations directly from OOOOa▪ Applies to existing sources in some ozone non-attainment

areas and states in the OTR▪ 2 years for states to revise their rules to incorporate these

requirements – RACT rules

► The OTR currently includes Pennsylvania▪ Several OTR states submitted a petition to U.S. EPA on

December 9, 2013 requesting the addition of several more states, including Ohio

▪ This petition is still pending, no action has been taken as of yet

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Thank you

► I appreciate your attention, and look forward to your questions and comments

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