[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 130 (Monday, July 9, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37157-37161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-13203]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 60

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0699; FRL-8336-2]
RIN 2060-AN71


Standards of Performance for Equipment Leaks of VOC in the 
Synthetic Organic Chemicals Manufacturing Industry; Standards of 
Performance for Equipment Leaks of VOC in Petroleum Refineries

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Data Availability (NODA).

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SUMMARY: EPA is issuing this NODA in support of the proposed rule 
published on November 7, 2006, entitled Standards of Performance for 
Equipment Leaks of VOC in the Synthetic Organic Chemicals Manufacturing 
Industry; Standards of Performance for Equipment Leaks of VOC in 
Petroleum Refineries. EPA received a number of comments on the proposed 
rule and is in the process of evaluating those comments. This NODA 
addresses new data collected and analyses conducted in response to 
comments that EPA received concerning the impacts of the proposed 
monitoring

[[Page 37158]]

provisions for open-ended lines and valves.
    We are seeking comment only on the impacts of the proposed 
monitoring provisions for open-ended lines and valves at synthetic 
organic chemical manufacturing sources and petroleum refineries. We do 
not intend to respond to new comments addressing any other aspect of 
the proposed rule.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 8, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2006-0699, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: (202) 566-1741.
     Mail: EPA Docket Center (6102T), Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2006-0699, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. Please 
include a total of two copies. In addition, please mail a copy of your 
comments on information collection provisions to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
Attn: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th St., NW., Washington, DC 20503.
     Hand Delivery: In person or by courier, deliver comments 
to: EPA Docket Center (6102T), EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. Such deliveries are only 
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments on the NODA to Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0699. EPA's policy is that all comments received will 
be included in the public docket(s) without change and may be made 
available online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed 
to be confidential business information (CBI) or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information 
that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through 
www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an 
``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket, visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information may not be publicly available, e.g., CBI or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other 
material, such as copyrighted material will be publicly available only 
in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are available either 
electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the EPA 
Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 
telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the 
telephone number for the EPA Docket Center is (202) 566-1742.
    To expedite review of your comments by Agency staff, you are 
encouraged to send a separate copy of your comments, in addition to the 
copy you submit to the official docket, to Ms. Karen Rackley, 
identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Karen Rackley, U.S. EPA, Office of 
Air Quality Planning and Standards, Sector Policies and Programs 
Division, Coatings and Chemicals Group (E143-01), Research Triangle 
Park, NC 27711; telephone number: (919) 541-0634; e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Submitting CBI. Do not submit information 
that you consider to be CBI electronically through www.regulations.gov 
or e-mail. Send or deliver information identified as CBI only to the 
following address: Roberto Morales, OAQPS Document Control Officer 
(C404-02), U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, 
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, Attention Docket ID EPA-HQ-OAR-200-
0699. Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you claim to 
be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, 
mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as CBI and then identify 
electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the specific information that 
is claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comment 
that includes information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that 
does not contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for 
inclusion in the public docket. Information so marked will not be 
disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 
2.
    If you have any questions about CBI or the procedures for claiming 
CBI, please consult the person identified in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section.
    Worldwide Web (WWW). In addition to being available in the docket, 
an electronic copy of the proposed rule published on November 7, 2006, 
is available on the WWW through the Technology Transfer Network (TTN). 
A copy of the proposed rule is posted on the TTN's policy and guidance 
page for newly proposed or promulgated rules at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg. The TTN provides information and technology exchange in various 
areas of air pollution control.
    Outline. The information presented in this NODA is organized as 
follows:

I. Background
II. Proposed Amendments to Requirements for Open-Ended Lines and 
Valves
    A. What are the proposed amendments for open-ended lines and 
valves?
    B. What new information is EPA making available for review and 
comment?
    C. What additional supporting data or documentation do I need to 
provide with my comments?

I. Background

    In November 2006, pursuant to Clean Air Act (CAA) section 111(b), 
EPA proposed amendments to Standards of Performance for Equipment Leaks 
of VOC in the Synthetic Organic Chemicals Manufacturing Industry (40 
CFR part 60, subpart VV) and Standards of Performance for Equipment 
Leaks of VOC in Petroleum Refineries (40 CFR part 60, subpart GGG). See 
71 FR 65302, November 7, 2006. In developing the proposed amendments, 
EPA used the best available data that it had before it at the time. 
Detailed background information describing the proposed rulemaking can 
be found in the preamble to the proposed rule and in the docket in 
support of that rule.
    During the public comment period, EPA received comments that the 
supporting documentation in the docket did not provide estimated 
impacts of the proposed annual monitoring provisions

[[Page 37159]]

for open-ended lines and valves. To address this issue, we have 
reviewed data collected by Agency inspectors regarding the percentage 
of leaking open-ended lines and valves at petroleum refineries and 
chemical manufacturing facilities. We also collected screening values 
for the leaking open-ended lines and valves at petroleum refineries. We 
used this information to estimate cost and emission reduction impacts 
for monitoring at the proposed frequency as well as at alternative 
monitoring frequencies. We will consider only comments, data or 
information related to data, and procedures used in the impacts 
analysis. We do not intend to respond to new comments addressing any 
other aspect of the proposed amendments.
    All the monitoring data and details of the procedures used in the 
impacts analysis discussed in this NODA are available at the EPA Docket 
Center described in the ADDRESSES section of this preamble.

II. Proposed Amendments to Requirements for Open-Ended Lines and Valves

A. What are the proposed amendments for open-ended lines and valves?

    Subpart VV (and subpart GGG, which references subpart VV) currently 
requires open-ended lines and valves to be equipped with a cap, plug, 
blind flange, or a second valve. As discussed in the preamble to the 
proposed amendments, inspections conducted by enforcement agencies have 
found that many of these components are leaking due to improper 
installation. In order to reduce these emissions and increase 
compliance with the requirement to properly install the control 
equipment, we proposed an amendment that would require annual 
monitoring using Method 21 in 40 CFR part 60, appendix A. An instrument 
reading of 500 parts per million (ppm) or greater would be considered a 
leak. As with other leaking equipment, repair would be required within 
15 days after detection of the leak. Examples of repair attempts 
include tightening or replacing the cap, plug, blind flange, or second 
valve. Records of all monitoring results, each leak detected, and each 
repair attempted also would be required. Documentation of the total 
number of leaks and the number for which repair was delayed would be 
required in semiannual reports.

B. What new information is EPA making available for review and comment?

    We are making available open-ended line monitoring data from 
enforcement agencies. We are also providing estimates of emission 
reductions and cost impacts for the proposed annual monitoring 
requirement as well as for more frequent monitoring scenarios. Separate 
analyses were conducted for petroleum refineries and chemical 
manufacturing facilities. A summary of the new data and the impacts 
analysis is presented below. Additional information is in the docket, 
including the data and documents referred to in the impacts analysis.
    Inspectors from EPA's National Enforcement Investigations Center 
(NEIC) monitored open-ended lines at 16 petroleum refineries. 
Instrument readings were collected from open-ended lines on an average 
of 3.5 process units per refinery. On average, 10 open-ended lines were 
found to be leaking at greater than 500 ppm per refinery (or 2.86 
leaking per process unit). All of the monitored process units were 
subject to standards that require caps, plugs, blind flanges, or second 
valves for open-ended lines.
    The percentage of leaking open-ended lines at these refineries was 
not available because the NEIC inspectors monitored only a fraction of 
the open-ended lines in each process unit, and they did not record the 
total number of open-ended lines per process unit. To estimate the 
percentage leaking, we assumed the number leaking per process unit from 
the NEIC inspections represented the total number leaking for an 
average refinery process unit, and we divided this number by the 
estimated number of open-ended lines for an average process unit. Based 
on the impacts analysis for the proposed amendments to subparts VV and 
GGG, we estimated that 195 new or reconstructed refinery process units 
with equipment in volatile organic compound (VOC) service would become 
affected sources in the next 5 years. Information on the number of 
open-ended lines for different types of process units at large and 
small refineries (see EPA-454/R-98-011) was used to estimate a total of 
7,349 open-ended lines in VOC service at these 195 process units. This 
would mean an average refinery process unit has 37.7 open-ended lines 
in VOC service, and 7.6 percent (2.86/37.7) are leaking.
    To the best of our knowledge, the monitored open-ended lines that 
were found to be leaking were in gas/vapor service or light liquid 
service. Based on information about the type of service for valves, 
flanges, and pumps in refinery process units (see EPA-454/R-98-011) we 
estimated that 27 percent of open-ended lines in refinery process units 
are in heavy liquid service. The resulting estimate is that 10.4 
percent (7.6/0.73) of refinery open-ended lines in gas/vapor or light 
liquid service are leaking. This estimate may understate the number of 
open-ended lines that are leaking (and the resulting emission reduction 
estimates) because the NEIC inspectors did not monitor all open-ended 
lines in each of the inspected processes, and it is unlikely that none 
of the unmonitored open-ended lines were leaking.
    For the synthetic organic chemicals manufacturing industry (SOCMI), 
inspectors in EPA's Region V have monitored open-ended lines at six 
chemical manufacturing facilities. They found between 6 and 27 percent 
of all open-ended lines were leaking at greater than 500 ppm. The 
average was 12.6 percent leaking. However, the leak concentrations for 
the monitored open-ended lines at SOCMI sources were unavailable. 
Therefore, we decided to estimate SOCMI emissions using the same leak 
concentrations and overall leak frequency as for refineries. Since the 
overall percent leaking for refineries (10.4 percent) is lower than for 
SOCMI sources (12.6 percent), this approach results in worst-case cost-
effectiveness estimates for SOCMI sources. As described for the 
refinery analysis, to the best of our knowledge, these leaks occurred 
from open-ended lines in gas/vapor service or light liquid service. 
Based on information from the Additional Information Document (see EPA-
450/3-82-010) we estimated that 12 percent of open-ended lines in SOCMI 
process units are in heavy liquid service. We then divided the percent 
of total open-ended lines at refineries (i.e., 7.6 percent) by 0.88 to 
estimate that 8.6 percent of the open-ended lines in gas/vapor service 
and light liquid service at SOCMI sources are leaking.
    To estimate the current emissions from leaking open-ended lines, we 
used the NEIC instrument readings in correlation equations for 
connectors and flanges (see Tables 2-9 and 2-10 in EPA-453/R-95-017). 
The equations for connectors and flanges were used because we expect 
that the openings through which VOC would be emitted around an 
improperly installed cap or plug would be more similar to the openings 
for connectors and flanges than an uncapped open-ended line. This 
procedure provided average emission rates per open-ended line 
(including non-leakers) for both refineries and SOCMI facilities. To 
estimate baseline

[[Page 37160]]

nationwide emissions, we multiplied these average emission rates by the 
estimated number of open-ended lines in gas/vapor or light liquid 
service that will become affected facilities in the 5 years after 
proposal of the amendments. The estimated number of refinery and SOCMI 
process units, open-ended lines, and emissions in the fifth year after 
proposal are shown in Table 1 of this preamble.

 Table 1.--National Fifth Year Estimates of the Number of Petroleum Refinery and SOCMI Process Units, Number of Open-Ended Lines, and Baseline Emissions
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                                                                                                  Number of open-             Current Emissions
                                                                                                   ended lines in  -------------------------------------
                      Type of source                        Total number of    Total number of      gas/vapor or
                                                             process units     open-ended lines     light liquid        kg/hr/OEL       Nationwide Mg/yr
                                                                                                      service
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Refinery.................................................                195              7,350              5,370            0.00047                 22
SOCMI....................................................                191             24,300             21,400             0.0028                520
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    The amount of emission reduction associated with monitoring will be 
a function of the monitoring frequency, how often the cap or plug on 
the open-ended line is opened, and the subsequent leak frequency for 
opened open-ended lines. In addition to the proposed annual monitoring 
frequency, the analysis also estimates impacts for semiannual, 
quarterly, and monthly monitoring. The opening frequency depends on the 
purpose of the open-ended line. Available data indicate that open-ended 
lines that are used for sampling represent about 20 percent of all 
open-ended lines at refineries. These open-ended lines are likely 
opened more frequently than open-ended lines that serve other 
functions. For this analysis, we assumed that these open-ended lines 
are opened once per month. Other open-ended lines that are used for 
purging, venting, and draining are likely opened much less frequently 
than open-ended lines that are part of sampling connection systems. 
Some may be opened only when the process unit is being shut down. For 
this analysis we assumed that the 80 percent of open-ended lines used 
for these purposes are evenly distributed among those that are opened 
quarterly, semiannually, and annually because data from refineries or 
SOCMI sources are unavailable. We also assumed the 20/80 split applies 
to SOCMI sources as well as refineries.
    The subsequent leak frequency is due primarily to the care and 
technique of the operator installing the cap or other control 
equipment. Properly installed, there should be no leak. For this 
analysis, we assumed that operators would continue to install caps and 
other control equipment in the same manner that they currently use. 
This means that for any open-ended lines that are opened between 
monitoring events, we would expect the subsequent leak frequency to 
equal the baseline leak frequency, regardless of the amount of time 
since the previous monitoring event or the monitoring frequency. The 
impact of these assumptions on the percentage emission reductions for 
each of the different opening frequencies and monitoring intervals is 
described in the analysis. The estimated overall percent reductions and 
total mass reductions for each of the four monitoring scenarios in the 
fifth year after proposal of the amendments are shown in Tables 2 and 3 
of this preamble for petroleum refineries and SOCMI sources, 
respectively.
    The cost impacts analysis includes estimated initial costs and 
annual costs. The initial costs include costs for identifying and 
integrating open-ended lines into the monitoring program, initial 
monitoring, and repair of initial leakers. Annual costs include capital 
recovery for initial costs, periodic monitoring costs, costs to repair 
leaking equipment, and additional time to prepare semiannual reports. 
Unit costs for initial setup and monitoring and annual monitoring were 
assumed to be the same as for other types of equipment. These costs 
were estimated only for open-ended lines in gas/vapor or light liquid 
service because, as noted above, essentially all of the leaking open-
ended lines are likely in these services. Repair costs were estimated 
assuming all of the leaks can be repaired online in an average of 10 
minutes by relatively simple techniques such as tightening the valve, 
replacing a worn plug, or reinstalling a cap properly. Labor rates and 
overhead factors were assumed to be the same as in the earlier analysis 
of impacts for the proposed changes in the leak definitions for pumps 
and valves. One hour was added to the time to prepare each semiannual 
report. We expect that the additional reporting burden will be minimal 
because only the total number of leaks and the number for which repair 
is delayed would have to be reported. The impacts analysis also 
includes a recovery credit for the material that is not emitted. As in 
the earlier impacts analysis, these credits are $600/megagrams (Mg) for 
emission reductions at petroleum refineries and $900/Mg for emission 
reductions at SOCMI facilities.
    The estimated initial costs, total annual costs, and cost-
effectiveness of each option are shown in Tables 2 and 3 of this 
preamble for refinery and SOCMI process units, respectively. Note that 
the recovery credit for two of the four scenarios in the SOCMI analysis 
exceeds the total annual cost, but it does not in the refinery 
analysis. This difference in the results is due primarily to the 
difference in the correlation equations for the two industries. For a 
given screening value, the equation for SOCMI facilities estimates much 
higher emissions than the equation for refineries.

                       Table 2.--National Fifth Year Impacts of Monitoring Options for Open-Ended Lines in Refinery Process Units
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                                               Emission Reductions                         Total Annual Costs  (1000 $/     Cost-Effectiveness  ($/Mg)
                                        ---------------------------------                               yr)              -------------------------------
                                                                           Initial costs --------------------------------
          Monitoring frequency                                               (1000 $)         Without
                                             Percent          Mg/yr                          recovery      With recovery      Overall       Incremental
                                                                                              credit          credit
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Annually...............................              24              5.3             102              37              34           6,500  ..............
Semiannually...........................              42              9.1             102              51              46           5,000           3,000

[[Page 37161]]

 
Quarterly..............................              60             13               102              75              67           5,100           5,200
Monthly................................              82             18               102             150             140           7,800          15,000
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                         Table 3.--National Fifth Year Impacts of Monitoring Options for Open-Ended Lines in SOCMI Process Units
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                                                Emission Reductions                        Total Annual Costs  (1000 $/     Cost-Effectiveness  ($/Mg)
                                         --------------------------------                               yr)              -------------------------------
                                                                           Initial costs --------------------------------
          Monitoring frequency                                               (1000 $)         Without
                                              Percent          Mg/yr                         recovery      With recovery      Overall       Incremental
                                                                                              credit          credit
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Annually................................              24             120             400             120             11              87   ..............
Semiannually............................              42             220             400             170            (20)            (93)           (340)
Quarterly...............................              60             310             400             260            (18)            (57)             25
Monthly.................................              82             430             400             560            180             420           1,700
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C. What additional supporting data or documentation do I need to 
provide with my comments?

    The EPA is soliciting comment on the new monitoring data and on all 
aspects of the procedures and assumptions used in the impacts analysis. 
We are specifically requesting data and comment on the following items:
     Additional monitoring data for open-ended lines, 
particularly any data that show open-ended lines in heavy liquid 
service that have been found to leak at greater than 500 ppm.
     Data on the percentage of open-ended lines in heavy liquid 
service.
     The appropriateness of using correlation equations for 
connectors and flanges to estimate emissions from improperly capped and 
plugged open-ended lines.
     Data on how often open-ended lines in different 
applications are opened.
     A description of the types of activities needed to repair 
leaking open-ended lines, and estimates of the time needed to perform 
such repairs.
    Timely comments on these subjects will be taken into account in 
developing the final impacts analysis and in EPA's final action on the 
proposed amendments.

List of Subjects for 40 CFR Part 63

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hazardous 
substances, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    Dated: June 27, 2007.
Stephen D. Page,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. E7-13203 Filed 7-6-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P