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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

New air quality standards from TCEQ. Thanks Sarah for all your help!

NOTICE OF ISSUANCE OF A NEW AIR QUALITY STANDARD PERMIT FOR OIL AND GAS HANDLING AND PRODUCTION FACILITIES



The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ or commission) is issuing a new standard permit for oil and gas handling and production facilities under Texas Health and Safety Code (THSC), Texas Clean Air Act, §382.05195, Standard Permit, and Title 30 Texas Administrative Code (30 TAC) Chapter 116, Subchapter F, Standard Permits. The standard permit for oil and gas handling and production facilities will be effective April 1, 2011. Copies of the standard permit for oil and gas handling and production facilities may be obtained from the TCEQ Web site at

www.tceq.texas.gov/assets/public/legal/rules/rule_lib/adoptions/OGS%20Standard%20Permit_ado.pdf

or by contacting the TCEQ, Office of Permitting and Registration, Air Permits Division, at (512) 239-1250 or Beecher Cameron at (512) 239-1495.



OVERVIEW OF AIR QUALITY STANDARD PERMIT

The commission is issuing a new non-rule standard permit that is applicable to the construction and modification of oil and gas facilities in Archer, Bosque, Clay, Comanche, Cooke, Coryell, Dallas, Denton, Eastland, Ellis, Erath, Hill, Hood, Jack, Johnson, Montague, Palo Pinto, Parker, Shackelford, Stephens, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise counties beginning April 1, 2011. The standard permit in 30 TAC, §116.620, Installation and/or Modification of Oil and Gas Facilities will apply to new projects and dependent facilities in the other counties of the state until January 5, 2012. On January 5, 2012, the new non-rule standard permit will apply to all new construction and modifications of oil and gas facilities throughout the state. The new standard permit is issued to provide an updated, comprehensive, and protective authorization for many common OGS in the affected counties. The new standard permit includes operating specifications and emissions limitations for typical equipment (facilities) during normal operation, which includes production and planned MSS. The standard permit will specifically address the appropriateness of multiple authorizations at one contiguous property and would reference the many new federal standards which have been promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as include revised criteria for registration and changes at existing, authorized sites.



PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT PERIOD

As required by 30 TAC §116.603, Public Participation in Issuance of Standard Permits, the TCEQ published notice of the proposed standard permit in the Texas Register and newspapers of the largest general circulation in the following metropolitan areas: Austin, Fort Worth, Houston, Midland, Amarillo, Brownsville, and Tyler. The notice was published in the August 13, 2010 edition of the Texas Register (35 TexReg 7109), and the public comment period ended on October 1, 2010.



PUBLIC MEETING

The TCEQ held a public meeting on the proposed standard permit on September 14, 2010, in Austin, Texas. Two-hundred twenty-two commenters submitted comments during the public comment period which closed on October 1, 2010.



ANALYSIS OF COMMENTS

The commenters included the following: Representative Lon Burnam, Representative James Keffer, Senator Wendy Davis, Senator Robert Nichols, Senator Kel Seliger, Representative Warren Chism, Representative Wayne Christian, Representative Tom Craddick, Representative Kelly Hancock, Representative Rick Hardcastle, Representative Ken Legler, Representative Randy Weber, City of Fort Worth, Akzo Noble, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (Anadarko), Argyle-Bartonville Communities Alliance (ABCA), Bart May Trucking, British Petroleum America Production Company (BP), Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce, Christian & White Properties, Cirrus Environmental Corporation (Cirrus), ConocoPhillips, Devon Energy Corporation (Devon), Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), El Paso Corporation (El Paso), EnCana Oil & Gas USA Inc. (Encana), United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6 (EPA), Energy Transfer Company (ETC), ERM, ExTerran, ExxonMobil Production (ExxonMobil), Fasken Oil and Ranch, Ltd. (Fasken), Fort Worth Crushed Stone, LLC, Fountain Quail Water Management (Ft Quail), Gas Processors Association (GPA), Harris County Public Health & Environmental Services (HCPHES), Hy-Bon, Jerry Lang Combustion Consulting (JLCC), Jones-Blair Paint Co. (JBP), Kinder Morgan, Inc. (Kinder Morgan), Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club (Sierra Club), M.E. Operating and Services, Inc., Markwest Energy Partners, Noble Energy Inc. (Noble), Nord On Corporation, NorTex, Old Town Neighborhood Association, Parrish Field Services, Permian Basin Petroleum Association (PBPA), Pioneer Natural Resources USA, Inc. (Pioneer), PSTORD OPST Corporation, Shell Global Solutions (Shell), Shell Exploration & Production Company (SWEPI), Texas Alliance of Energy Producers (TAEP), Targa Resources Partners LP (Targa), Texas Pipeline Association (TPA), Texans for Responsible and Accountable Energy Development (TRAED), Texas Oil and Gas Association (TXOGA), Earthworks Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project, Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO), Texas Pipeline Association (TPA), Mayor Calvin Tillman of DISH, Weisman Engineering and 124 various individuals.



Summaries of the comments and the commission’s response may be found at:



www.tceq.texas.gov/assets/public/legal/rules/rule_lib/adoptions/OGS%20Standard%20Permit_ado.pdf