DEP Announces Final Air Quality Permit for Natural Gas
Operations, Proposes New Environmental Controls
PA-DEP Release
31 January 2013
Comment Period on Proposed Changes Open until March 19
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
01/31/2013
CONTACT:
Kevin Sunday, Department of Environmental Protection
717-787-1323
HARRISBURG -- The Department of Environmental Protection announced
today it has finalized revisions to a general permit for natural
gas-fired engines and equipment at compressor stations, which help
move gas from well sites into transmission pipelines. The revised
general permit includes significantly lower allowable emission
limits than the previous general permit, called GP-5.
DEP also announced it will accept public comment on a proposed
plan approval and operating permit exemption for air emission
sources at well drilling sites. Well sites would only be eligible
for the exemption for the air quality plan approval process if the
wells will meet emission control and monitoring criteria that are
stricter than federal air quality rules for controlling wellhead
emissions. The plan approval authorizes construction of facilities
that emit certain types and amounts of pollutants.
“Pennsylvania has seen improved air quality over the past decade,
and the United States led the world in greenhouse gas emission
reductions over the past five years, in great part due to shale
gas,” DEP Secretary Mike Krancer said. “This shift in the way we
approach emissions will help us continue these trends.
“The steps we are taking now mean far lower emissions at well
sites and more efficient compressor stations, resulting in cleaner
air as development, production and transmission take place,” he
said. “DEP’s effective and robust oversight will deliver on the
promise of cleaner air from the increased use of natural gas.”
The final revisions to GP-5, which were developed after
considering public comment, impose emissions limits that are 75 to
90 percent stricter than current limits for the largest, most
common types of engines used at compressor stations. Notably, the
revised permit also affords operators the ability to install
controls to achieve even lower emissions, allowing for the use of
additional engines.
“Essentially, we are doing much more by setting these limits as a
line the operator cannot cross. This is an improvement in air
quality protection,” Krancer said. “We are also determining
compliance based on the facility’s actual emissions, instead of
equating the permit’s limits with the facility’s emissions, as was
previously done.”
Operators of facilities permitted by the GP-5 must demonstrate
that their facilities continue to be minor sources as defined by
the Clean Air Act, allowing for operational flexibility.
DEP is also proposing a revision to one section of its air quality
permit exemption list that governs which types of facilities do
need to obtain a plan approval prior to construction. The proposed
exemption would apply to wellheads and their associated storage
tanks.
The proposed exemption requires drillers to control emissions more
stringently and conduct leak detection on the entire wellhead,
which is more comprehensive than is currently required by federal
air quality rules for oil and gas development. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency released these rules, called New
Source Performance Standards, in April 2012.
Operators of all newly drilled oil and gas wells would be required
to decide between demonstrating eligibility for the exemption or
applying for a plan approval after the proposed exemption
regulations are finalized.
Formal notices announcing the final revised GP-5 and the proposed
exemptions to air quality plan approval regulations will appear in
the Feb. 2 edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin. DEP will accept
comments on the proposed changes until March 19.
For more information and to view the final general permit and
proposed exemption, visit http://www.dep.state.pa.us
and click “Air” then “Bureau of Air Quality,” or call
717-787-4325.