[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 228 (Friday, November 27, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 74068-74070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-30103]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 63

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0747; FRL-9937-04-OAR]
RIN 2060-AS13


Oil and Natural Gas Sector: National Emission Standards for 
Hazardous Air Pollutants

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: This action requests information related to hazardous air 
pollutant (HAP) emissions from sources in the oil and natural gas 
production and natural gas transmission and storage segments of the oil 
and natural gas sector. In 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) revised the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air 
Pollutants (NESHAP) for the Oil and Natural Gas Production Facilities 
and the Natural Gas Transmission and Storage Facilities major source 
categories. This action requests additional data and information that 
was not available at that time. In particular, we are requesting data 
on storage vessels without potential flash emissions (PFE) and data on 
HAP emissions from regulated small glycol dehydrators. With regard to 
the small glycol dehydrators we are particularly interested in data 
regarding any emissions of HAP other than benzene, toluene, 
ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX), information on available control 
options for any such HAP and information regarding a potential 
compliance demonstration issue with respect to the 2012 standards for 
small glycol dehydration units, as they apply to units with very low 
emissions.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 26, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2015-0747, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. The 
EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not 
submit electronically any information you consider to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must 
be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered 
the official comment and should include discussion of all points you 
wish to make. The EPA will generally not consider comments or comment 
contents located outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web, 
cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission 
methods, the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or 
multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective 
comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
    Docket. All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not 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 
at http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center, EPA WJC 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 Air Docket is (202) 
566-1742.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about this 
action, contact Mr. Matthew Witosky, Sector Policies and Programs 
Division (E143-05), Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 
27711, telephone number: (919) 541-2865; facsimile number: (919) 541-
3740; email address: [email protected]. For further information 
on the EPA's oil and natural gas sector regulatory program, contact Mr. 
Bruce Moore, Sector Policies and Programs Division (E143-05), Office of 
Air Quality Planning and Standards, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, telephone number: (919) 
541-5460; facsimile number: (919) 541-3470; email address: 
[email protected]. For additional contact information, see the 
following SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    Categories and entities potentially affected by this action 
include:

      TABLE 1--Industrial Source Categories Affected by This Action
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                                                  Examples of regulated
            Category             NAICS code \1\          entities
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Industry.......................          211111  Crude Petroleum and
                                                  Natural Gas
                                                  Extraction.
                                         211112  Natural Gas Liquid
                                                  Extraction.
                                         221210  Natural Gas
                                                  Distribution.
                                         486110  Pipeline Distribution
                                                  of Crude Oil.
                                         486210  Pipeline Transportation
                                                  of Natural Gas.
Federal government.............  ..............  Not affected.

[[Page 74069]]

 
State/local/tribal government..  ..............  Not affected.
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\1\ North American Industry Classification System.

    This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather is meant to 
provide a guide for readers regarding entities likely to be affected by 
this action. If you have any questions regarding the applicability of 
this action to a particular entity, consult either the air permitting 
authority for the entity or your EPA Regional representative as listed 
in 40 CFR 60.4 or 40 CFR 63.13 (General Provisions).

B. What should I consider as I prepare my information/comments to the 
EPA?

    Do not submit information containing CBI to the EPA through 
www.regulations.gov or email. Send or deliver information identified as 
CBI only to the following address: OAQPS Document Control Officer 
(C404-02), Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 
27711, Attention: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0747. Clearly mark the 
part or all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI in a 
disk or CD-ROM that you mail to the 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.

II. Background

    In 2012, the EPA issued a final rule titled ``Oil and Natural Gas 
Sector: New Source Performance Standards and National Emission 
Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants Reviews,'' 77 FR 49490 (August 
16, 2012). The final rule contains final actions on two different 
national standards for the oil and natural gas industry promulgated by 
the EPA under the Clean Air Act (CAA): (1) The new source performance 
standards (NSPS), promulgated under section 111 of the CAA, and (2) the 
NESHAP, promulgated under section 112 of the CAA. The NESHAP portion of 
the final rule (``the 2012 NESHAP revisions'') included the EPA's 
residual risk and technology review of the NESHAP for the Oil and 
Natural Gas Production Facilities and the NESHAP for the Natural Gas 
Transmission and Storage Facilities major source categories (40 CFR 
part 63 subpart HH \1\ and HHH, respectively) pursuant to sections 
112(f)(2) and (d)(6) of the CAA. In addition, pursuant to section 
112(d)(2) and (3) of the CAA, the EPA established emission standards 
for BTEX based on maximum achievable control technology (MACT) for a 
subcategory of glycol dehydrators referred to as the ``small glycol 
dehydration units.''
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    \1\ 40 CFR part 63, subpart HH also includes standards for 
certain area source glycol dehydration units, which were not a 
subject of the 2012 NESHAP revisions.
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    This request is to obtain additional data and information. We are 
interested in receiving information on HAP emissions from some affected 
facilities in the oil and natural gas production, and the natural gas 
transmission and storage segments of the oil and natural gas sector. In 
particular, the EPA is interested in the following information:
    1. HAP emissions from storage vessels without PFE from the oil and 
natural gas production segment;
    2. Emission information on HAP other than BTEX from small glycol 
dehydrators and available control options.
    In addition, the EPA recently learned of a potential compliance 
demonstration issue with respect to the 2012 BTEX MACT standards for 
small glycol dehydration units as they apply to units with very low 
BTEX emissions. The EPA is also soliciting comment and information 
related to this issue. The Agency also requests any additional relevant 
information for sources covered by the NESHAP.
    Section III of this action discusses in more detail the information 
identified above. The EPA is providing a 60-day period for the public 
to submit the requested information.

III. Solicitation of Data and Comments

    The following presents the issues on which we are particularly 
interested in receiving feedback, data, and information.

A. Storage Vessels Without Potential Flash Emissions

    We request available data on storage vessels without PFE. Crude 
oil, condensate, and produced water are typically stored in fixed-roof 
storage vessels. Some vessels used for storing produced water may be 
open-top tanks. These fixed-roof vessels, which are operated at or near 
atmospheric pressure conditions, are typically located in tank 
batteries at well sites and at centralized gathering facilities. A tank 
battery refers to the collection of process components used to 
separate, treat, and store crude oil, condensate, intermediate 
hydrocarbon liquids, and produced water. The extracted products from 
production wells enter the tank battery through the production header, 
which may collect product from many wells.
    Emissions from storage vessels are a result of working, breathing, 
and flash losses. Working losses occur due to the emptying and filling 
of storage vessels. Breathing losses are the release of gas associated 
with daily temperature fluctuations and other equilibrium effects. 
Flash losses occur when a liquid with entrained gases is transferred 
from a vessel with higher pressure to a vessel with lower pressure, and 
thus, allowing entrained gases or a portion of the liquid to vaporize 
or flash. In the oil and natural gas production segment, flashing 
losses occur when crude oil or condensate flows into a storage vessel 
from a processing vessel operated at a higher pressure. Typically, the 
larger the pressure drop, the more flash emissions will occur in the 
storage vessel. Temperature of the liquid may also influence the amount 
of flash emissions.
    In 1999, the EPA promulgated the NESHAP for the Oil and Natural Gas 
Production Facilities major source category (40 CFR part 63, subpart 
HH). The 1999 NESHAP included the MACT standards for storage vessels 
with PFE, which are defined in subpart HH, 40 CFR 63.761.
    The 1999 NESHAP left unregulated storage vessels without PFE (i.e., 
storage vessels that do not meet the above definition). In the 2011 
proposal to revise the Oil and Natural Gas

[[Page 74070]]

NESHAP,\2\ the EPA proposed MACT standards for storage vessels without 
PFE pursuant to CAA section 112(d)(2) and (3), but did not take final 
action on that proposal. As explained in the preamble to the 2012 
NESHAP revisions, ``we need (and intend to gather) additional data on 
these sources in order to analyze and establish MACT emission standards 
for this subcategory of storage vessels under section 112(d)(2) and (3) 
of the CAA.'' 77 FR 49503.
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    \2\ Proposed Rule, Oil and Natural Gas Sector: New Source 
Performance Standards and National Emission Standards for Hazardous 
Air Pollutants Reviews, 76 FR 52738 (August 23, 2011).
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    We request available data regarding storage vessels without PFE. In 
particular, we are interested in data and other relevant information 
characterizing emissions and emission rates of storage vessels in the 
oil and natural gas production segment that do not have PFE, but that 
nonetheless emit HAP. We also request information on technologies and/
or practices for reducing emissions from storage vessels without PFE.

B. Studies of HAP Emissions From Small Glycol Dehydrators

    The EPA is specifically interested in receiving data for units with 
low inlet concentration of BTEX and the amount of these HAP emissions 
from small glycol dehydration units. In 2012, pursuant to CAA section 
112(d)(2) and (3), the EPA revised 40 CFR part 63, subparts HH and HHH 
to include MACT standards for ``small glycol dehydration units.'' See 
40 CFR 63.761 and 63.1271. The standards for both existing and new 
sources of small glycol dehydration units are in the form of a unit-
specific BTEX emission limit determined by the equations provided in 
that subpart.
    The EPA recently learned of a potential compliance demonstration 
issue for certain small glycol dehydration units with very low BTEX 
emissions. Specifically, we were informed that for certain small glycol 
dehydrators that operate with low BTEX inlet concentrations, the 
equations may result in emission standards that are below the detection 
limit for the reference method used for compliance purposes. If there 
are units that fit this criterion, it is theoretically possible that 
neither the source nor the EPA could verify compliance using the 
methods specified in the rule. To enable us to fully evaluate this 
issue, we are requesting source data that demonstrates whether 
compliance with the standard can be verified at small glycol 
dehydration units for which this is a potential issue. We request that 
commenters submit estimates on the number of units where this is a 
potential problem and the data showing the HAP inlet concentrations for 
these units.\3\
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    \3\ The EPA is not requesting information that would identify 
the units. Rather, we are requesting information demonstrating that 
for an affected facility, the applicable standard would be below the 
detection limit of the EPA method used to show compliance.
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    We are also requesting information on emissions of HAP other than 
BTEX from small glycol dehydrators. As explained above, in the 2012 
NESHAP revisions, the EPA established MACT standards for BTEX emitted 
from small glycol dehydration units. While our data indicate that there 
is potential for other HAP to be emitted from small glycol dehydration 
units, we do not have sufficient information to establish MACT 
standards for other HAP emitted from these units. We are, therefore, 
requesting data that show the types and quantities of HAP emissions 
other than BTEX from small glycol dehydration units. In addition to 
non-BTEX HAP emissions data, we are requesting information on methods 
employed to control these non-BTEX HAP, including whether BTEX control 
measures are an effective method for other non-BTEX HAP emitted by the 
units.

    Dated: November 3, 2015.
Janet G. McCabe,
Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2015-30103 Filed 11-25-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P