American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2014 - 26

IndustryDigest
EPA Revises Standards
For Refinery Pollutants
WASHINGTON-The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency is
proposing revised toxic air pollution
standards for neighborhoods adjacent to
petroleum refineries. The agency says
its proposal will further reduce pollution
from flaring and from other processes,
and includes new monitoring
requirements.
The proposals will, for the first time,
require refineries to monitor air
concentrations of benzene around their
fence-line perimeters and to make those
results public. EPA says the revisions
also require upgraded emissions
controls for smaller tanks; performance
requirements for flares to ensure waste
gases are destroyed properly; and
emissions standards for delayed coking
units, which it reports remain a
significant unregulated source of toxic
emissions at refineries.
According to EPA, when the
proposed updated standards for cokers
and storage tanks are implemented
fully, toxic emissions, including
benzene, toluene and xylene, will be
reduced by 12,800 tons a year. Volatile
organic compounds will be cut by
19,000 tons a year, while proposed
amendments to flaring rules are
projected to reduce annual hazardous air
pollutant emissions by 3,800 tons and
VOC releases by 33,000 tons.
The proposed rules also eliminate
exemptions to emission limits during
startup, shutdowns and malfunctions at
refineries, the agency says.
On Sept. 27, 2012, EPA says it
received a lawsuit filed by several antidevelopment groups concerning a
schedule for mandatory review of
maximum achievable control
technology standards for refineries. The
agency reports it reached a settlement
agreement in January that commits it to
perform a risk and technology review
for those standards and to promulgate
final standards by April 17, 2015, either
updating the standards or finding such
revisions are unnecessary.
The refinery rule comes with a high
price tag but uncertain environmental
benefits, while emissions continue to
fall under existing regulations, asserts
Howard Feldman, director of regulatory
and scientific affairs for the American
Petroleum Institute.
26 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

"This rule is intended to evaluate
what risk, if any, is posed to the public
from refinery emissions. But EPA
already has concluded the risks
associated with refinery emissions are
low, and the public is protected with an
ample margin of safety," he says.
EPA will accept comments for 60
days after publication in the Federal
Register. Comments, identified by
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-20100682, may be submitted through
www.regulations.gov; by e-mail to aand-r-docket@epa.gov; or to Air and
Radiation Docket and Information
Center, Environmental Protection
Agency, Mail Code: 2822T, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington,
D.C. 20460. r

GAO Criticizes BLM's
Land Supervision Over
Oil And Gas Production
WASHINGTON-The Bureau of
Land Management is failing to properly
manage oil and gas operations on
federal and Indian lands, the
Government Accountability Office
asserts, saying the bureau's ineffective
oversight comes about because of its
reliance on outdated rules, limited
cooperation with states, and delayed
reviews of revenue-sharing agreements.
Federal and state agencies have
taken or initiated actions to change their
rules in response to technological
advances in the oil and gas sector, GAO
says, including BLM's 2012 revision of
hydraulic fracturing regulations and an
update in 2013 by Texas of its rules for
well integrity by establishing new
casing and cementing standards.
GAO says seven members of
Congress tasked it with investigating
BLM's management process because of
oil and gas drilling advances and their
potential to increase production on
federally owned acreage. GAO points
out that in fiscal year 2013, federal and
Indian energy production, including oil
and gas, generated almost $15 billion in
revenues.
BLM has not followed guidance from
the Department of the Interior to
routinely review rules and update them
consistently, GAO reports, adding that as
a result, some of the bureau's rules and
guidances governing oil and gas
development have not kept pace with

technological advancements. It cites
guidance on well spacing as one example
of BLM's lapses, saying improper
spacing could lead to lower levels of
production and therefore less revenue for
the federal government and tribes.
In addition, GAO says BLM has not
developed formal agreements to
improve coordination with state
regulatory agencies, as called for in its
internal guidance. As a result, it says
BLM and state officials have reported
the agencies have conducted duplicative
investigations on some wells while
leaving others uninspected.
Further, based on its review of
selected revenue-sharing agreements,
GAO says BLM does not always review
those agreements within the statutorily
required time frames. By statute, the
bureau must review those agreements
within 120 days of receipt, but GAO
reports it has found instances in which
BLM has taken more than a year to
review them, resulting in delayed
royalty payments.
The full report is available through
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14238. r

Wyoming, California
Pick New Regulators
CHEYENNE, WY.-Two oil and gas
producing states have selected new top
regulators.
The Wyoming Oil & Gas
Conservation Commission says it has
made Mark Watson the permanent
supervisor in a unanimous vote. Watson,
who has worked for the WOGCC for 32
years, served as interim head of the
agency since March. In other business,
the commission voted to establish a
deputy supervisor position, which Mead
says will help it be more proactive with
citizens.
"Mark was one of our finalists when
we did a national search, and he is well
qualified, with 30 years at the
WOGCC," says Wyoming Governor
Matt Mead. "Additionally, he has
demonstrated his abilities as
administrator while interim supervisor.
Mark is creating needed stability and
continuity while staying on top of efforts
to implement the model base-line water
rule, tackling our aggressive plan for
abandoned wells, and moving ahead
with a revision of the setback rule."
American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2014
