On August 8, 2013, the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection announced
that operators of unconventional gas wells will no longer be “unconditionally
exempt” from seeking air quality plan approval for well sites. Additionally,
the DEP provided updated technical guidance, in the Pennsylvania
Bulletin, for operators now required to submit air quality plans. Included
in the guidance, are leak detection and repair programs that apply to the
entire well site. Federal standards only require leak plans to apply to storage
tanks. Further, the technical guidance limits the emissions of nitrogen oxides
(unaddressed by federal standards) and requires any flaring used as emission
control on storage vessels to be enclosed. According to a DEP news
release, the DEP may still issue an operator a “permitting exemption”
should they implement controls and practices that surpass federal EPA standards.
Written by: Garrett Lent, Research Assistant
Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center
August 2013
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