American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2015 - 49

ways to minimize record-keeping and reporting burdens.
Operators must survey fugitive emission components at new and modified
compressor stations using OGI. Operators
must perform an initial survey within 30
days of site startup or modification (defined
as when a compressor is added, or when
a physical change is made that increases
compressor capacity). Leak repair, resurvey, survey frequency, and monitoring
plan requirements mirror well site requirements.

Existing Source Regulation
In the existing-source rule, EPA is
proposing control technique guidelines
(CTGs) for oil and gas sector VOC emissions. CTGs provide recommendations
for states to consider when establishing
"reasonably available control technology
(RACT)" emission standards for ozone
precursors.
Clean Air Act Section 182 requires
states to revise their state implementation
plans for ozone nonattainment areas to
require RACT for VOC sources located
in them.
These CTGs target VOC emissions
(because methane itself is not an ozone
precursor), but EPA expects they will reduce methane as a "co-benefit" because
reducing VOC emissions also tends to
reduce methane emissions.
CTGs apply only in ozone nonattainment areas rated "moderate" or worse,
and in nonattainment areas in the Ozone
Transport Region, which includes the
Marcellus Shale. The geographical boundaries of ozone nonattainment areas would
expand, however, if EPA finalizes its
proposal to lower the National Ambient
Air Quality standard for ozone.
The CTGs would require states to
consider imposing control requirements
on pneumatic controllers, pneumatic
pumps, compressors, equipment leaks,
and fugitive emissions from onshore oil
and gas production and processing, as
well as storage vessels in all segments
(except distribution) of the oil and gas
industry.
CTGs are not requirements that apply
to operators. Rather, they are recommendations for state regulators to consider
when setting RACT requirements in their
revised SIPs. A state may adopt a different
RACT standard than is outlined in the
CTGs, but it bears the burden of demonstrating that its alternative standard is at
least as effective as EPA's. States will
have two years from issuance of the final
CTGs to submit revisions to their SIPs.
Many parts of the country are in attainment with the current ozone standard
of 75 parts per billion. The impact of

these CTGs will expand dramatically if
EPA finalizes its November 2014 proposal
to reduce the standard somewhere in a
range of 65 to 70 ppb.
EPA expects many more areas will
fall into ozone nonattainment under this
lower standard. When that happens, VOC
sources in those areas-including oil and
gas facilities-will be required to implement
more stringent emission controls. Reducing
the ozone standard could have a particularly marked effect on oil and gas development in rural areas of the Intermountain
West, where background ozone levels
can approach the 75 ppb standard even
without oil and gas operations and other
VOC-emitting activities.

Requests For Comments
EPA's methane standards could look
very different in their final form, since
the agency is soliciting comments on
several aspects of the proposed rule. For
example, EPA asked whether fugitive
emission components at well sites and
compressor stations should be surveyed
using its Method 21, which is a far more
time-consuming approach than OGI.
Method 21 also detects leaks at a much
lower level-500 parts per million-than
does OGI, which may not identify emissions below 10,000 ppm.
OGI surveys may present special concerns for midstream companies. EPA acknowledges that many operators may not
own OGI instruments or have staff qualified to use them. By contrast, EPA notes
that many companies already own the
devices needed to perform Method 21
surveys.
Given the possibility that there may
not be not be enough contractors available
to perform OGI surveys, EPA is soliciting
comments on the availability of trained
OGI contractors and instrumentation.
EPA also seeks public comments on
criteria it can use to evaluate corporate
fugitive emission monitoring plans, and
whether those plans can serve as an alternative means to comply with its final
rule. Companies with effective internal
policies may be able to ease their compliance burdens by asking the agency to
allow these policies as an alternative.
EPA is asking for comments on issues
related to its "next generation compliance"
initiative as well. It asks whether it should
establish a third-party compliance verification program for closed vent emission
capture systems and OGI monitoring programs. EPA also solicits comments on a
potential fugitive emissions independent
audit program. The agency says it is considering whether to allow third-party reporting of an operator's compliance performance directly to regulators, and

whether to increase public availability of
information reported. r

Editor's Note: This article is intended
for educational and informational purposes
only, and does not constitute legal advice
or services. These materials represent the
views of and summaries by the authors.
They do not necessarily reflect the opinions
or views of Vinson & Elkins LLP or of
any of its other attorneys or clients.

GEORGE O.
WILKINSON Jr.

George O. Wilkinson Jr. is a partner
in Vinson & Elkins' Houston office,
and has more than 20 years of experience advising clients on businesscritical environmental matters. His
environmental law practice includes
state and federal environmental litigation, environmental enforcement
defense, emergency response, and environmental compliance counseling
on a range of environmental matters,
including the Clean Air Act, Clean
Water Act, Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act, Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act, the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, and other natural
resource damage issues.

JORDAN A.
RODRIQUEZ

Jordan A. Rodriguez is an associate
in Vinson & Elkins' Houston office.
His environmental practice involves
regulatory compliance counseling and
litigation relating to air, water, and
waste matters. Rodriguez also studies
issues related to water rights and supply, and monitors developments in
state and federal legislation and regulations affecting the energy industry.
OCTOBER 2015 49

American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2015

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