The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has rolled out a draft plan to curtail air emissions from thousands of existing oil and natural gas wells — a move that could have a major and costly impact on drillers, Kallanish Energy reports.
The state is expected to take public comment on the proposal early next year.
Part of governor’s strategy
The proposal is part of Gov. Tom Wolf’s 2016 strategy to reduce methane emissions, a powerful greenhouse gas that may leak from wells and other facilities. Last August, Pennsylvania adopted regulations on air emissions from new wells and other facilities.
The new 84-page draft plan that covers existing wells, compressor stations, storage tanks, pneumatic controllers and pumps at wells sites, processing plants and gathering stations, was released last week by the Dep.
Environmental groups pleased
The industry expressed concerns about the added cost and the timing of the state plan, while the plan was hailed by environmental groups including the Environmental Defense Fund.
“We want to make sure that all oil and gas sources are well-controlled in a reasonable manner to make sure we can keep emissions reduced as low as possible,” George Hartenstein, deputy secretary for Waste, Air, Radiation and Remediation, told media outlet StateImpact Pennsylvania.
The new rules mainly target volatile organic compounds (Vocs) that can be harmful to human health and also contribute to unhealthy ozone or smog.
State officials say stricter limits on Vocs will also prevent methane from escaping. Both Vocs and methane are found co-mingled in natural gas.
Leak detection increased
The proposed rules would increase leak detection to quarterly and, in some cases, require better controls to prevent emissions from escaping at wells and other facilities.
Low-producing wells are exempt from the proposed rules. It would maintain the state’s stricter standards for tanks installed after August 2013.
The impacts would be large because of the number of existing Marcellus Shale wells in Pennsylvania. Nearly 7,000 shale wells were drilled in Pennsylvania before the state adopted emission limits from new wells in August 2013. Another 4,400 shale wells were drilled before Dep updated its air pollution rules for new wells last August.
Trump administation moving in opposite direction
The state’s move comes at a time when the Trump administration is proposing to rollback Voc rules. For that reason, the Pennsylvania energy industry has suggested the state postpone taking any action until the federal changes are implemented.
There is concern Pennsylvania’s stricter rules could create a disadvantage compared to other shale states.
The draft plan is available at: http://files.dep.state.pa.us/Air/AirQuality/AQPortalFiles/Advisory%20Committees/Air%20Quality%20Technical%20Advisory%20Committee/2018/12-13-18/ONG_PRN_Annex_A_AQTAC_12-13-2018_for_posting.pdf.
