Requirement to Submit Emissions Inventory Data for Natural Gas Activities [46 Pa.B. 67]
[Saturday, January 2, 2016]The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) is notifying all owners or operators of companies involved in certain natural gas related activities across this Commonwealth that source reports must be submitted to the Department for air contaminant air emissions from their facilities during the 2015 calendar year.
In accordance with section 4(3) of the Air Pollution Control Act (35 P .S. § 4004(3)) and 25 Pa. Code § 135.3 (relating to reporting), the Department is authorized to collect air quality emissions inventories, including those from owners or operators of facilities engaged in the following: coal bed methane gas compressing, processing and related activities; unconventional natural gas development, production, transmission, processing and related activities; and midstream conventional natural gas compressing, processing and related activities.
The sources and activities that the Department has identified for the source reporting requirements include, but are not limited to, midstream compressor stations, pigging operations, dehydration units, drill rigs, heaters, pneumatic pumps, stationary engines, simple cycle turbines, natural gas-driven pneumatic controllers, pneumatic pumps, fugitive sources, storage vessels/tanks, venting, blowdown systems, well heads and well completions. Fugitive sources include connectors, flanges, pump lines, pump seals and valves. The storage vessels/tanks category includes storage tanks, pressurized vessels, impoundments and central impoundments.
Complete source reports, including emissions data, for the 2015 calendar year must be submitted to the Department no later than March 1, 2016. Subsequent source reports and annual emissions inventories will be due to the Department by March 1 each year for operations during the preceding calendar year. A request for an extension of time for source reporting may be submitted to the Department by a source owner or operator in accordance with 25 Pa. Code § 135.3(c).
The owner or operator of a well site facility or coalbed methane facility must submit Microsoft Excel source reports, including emissions factors and actual calculations, for the 2015 calendar year to the Department no later than March 1, 2016. These spreadsheets must be submitted through the GreenPort. Subsequent source reports and annual emissions inventories will be due to the Department by March 1 each year for operations during the preceding calendar year.
Midstream facility owners and operators must submit emissions through the Department's AES*Online or AES*XML emission inventory system no later than March 1, 2016. Supporting documents, including emission factors, actual calculations and supplemental spreadsheets, must be attached to the submittal. The owner or operator should use mass balance estimation methods to calculate fugitive emissions. Access to the Greenport may be requested by contacting Robert Bihl, (717) 772-3950, rbihl@pa.gov as soon as possible but no later than 2 weeks prior to accessing the system. Subsequent source reports and annual emissions inventories will be due to the Department by March 1 each year for operations during the preceding calendar year.
Any owner or operator of midstream pipeline pigging stations must submit separate Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to the Department by e-mail for those pigging operations that are not located within 1/4 mile of a compressor station and not included in compressor station submittals. The owner or operator of pigging operations within 1/4 mile of a compressor station must submit data to AES, not by means of spreadsheet. Instructions and spreadsheets are available for downloading on the Bureau of Air Quality's web site.
All source reports and emissions data must be submitted to the Department by a responsible official, as defined in 25 Pa. Code § 121.1 (relating to definitions).
Emission statements required for stationary sources emitting equal to or greater than 50 and 100 tons per year of volatile organic compounds and oxides of nitrogen, respectively, should have already been submitted to the Department as required under 25 Pa. Code § 135.21 (relating to emission statements).
Additional information may be obtained by contacting Karen Gee, Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air Quality, Air Information Section, P. O. Box 8468, Harrisburg PA 17105-8468, (717) 783-9241, kgee@pa.gov.
JOHN QUIGLEY,
Secretary[Pa.B. Doc. No. 16-11. Filed for public inspection December 31, 2015, 9:00 a.m.]
