DEP Seeks Companies' Emissions Data
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
8 December 2011
By Don Hopey
Pennsylvania has asked 99 Marcellus Shale gas drilling and
development companies to submit air pollution emissions
information that will be used in a comprehensive three-year state
inventory of air pollutants required by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.
The companies must submit their reports to the state Department of
Environmental Protection by March, which in turn will give them to
the EPA by the end of the year.
The 2012 data to the EPA will be the first to include an inventory
of emissions from Marcellus Shale drilling, production and
processing activities.
The DEP said the operators must submit emissions data for carbon
monoxide, nitrogen oxides, airborne particles or soot, sulfur
dioxide, volatile organic compounds and total hazardous air
pollutants.
The department notified the companies this week of the pollution
inventory requirement, which covers companies involved in all
phases of shale gas drilling, production, transmission, processing
and related activities, and should include releases from drill
rigs, compressor stations and dehydration units, and emissions
from connectors; flanges; pump lines; pump seals and valves;
heaters; pneumatic controllers and pumps; stationary engines;
tanks; pressurized vessels and impoundments; venting and blow down
systems; well heads; and well completions.
It's unclear if all companies working in the shale gas field have
been collecting emissions data for all of those pollutants at all
of those locations throughout the year. Katy Gresh, a DEP
spokeswoman, said Marcellus Shale companies are "required to meet
their permit limits, which requires measuring and tracking
emissions."
Matt Pitzarella, a Range Resources spokesman, said the drilling
company knows the emissions potential of diesel engines it uses in
drilling processes and does routine air monitoring.
Michael Krancer, DEP secretary, said the emission inventory, which
is submitted to the EPA every three years, is an important tool to
use to ensure the maintenance of air quality and prevent
deterioration.
Don Hopey: dhopey@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1983.