EPA's Supplemental Proposal to Reduce Pollution from Oil and
Natural Gas Operations to Fight the Climate Crisis and Protect
Public Health: Fact Sheet for Small Businesses
November 11, 2022 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to update,
strengthen and expand its November 2021 proposal to secure major climate and health
benefits for all Americans by reducing emissions of methane and other harmful air pollution
from both new and existing sources in the oil and natural gas industry.
The supplemental reflects input and information the Agency received from a diverse range of
perspectives during the public comment period on the November 2021 proposal. EPA received
more than 470,000 comments on the proposal, held a three-day public hearing, and offered
government-to-government consultation to Tribal Nations. Using the information it received,
the Agency also conducted updated analyses to determine the best system of emission
reduction for several sources covered by the rule.
The resulting proposal simplifies compliance for owners and operators monitoring for leaks at
well sites. It encourages the deployment and continued development of innovative and
advanced monitoring technologies. It makes several changes to streamline training
requirements for operators using optical gas imaging. And it would require that states include
small businesses when they conduct meaningful engagement on state plans for reducing
methane emissions from existing sources.
EPA will hold a training on the supplemental proposal for small businesses at 4 p.m.,
Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022. For more information and to register to attend, visit EPA's oil and
natural gas website.
EPA's Supplemental Proposal Creates a More Comprehensive Approach to Reducing
Methane and VOC Pollution
The updated requirements EPA is proposing would apply to the Agency's New Source
Performance Standards (NSPS) for new, modified and reconstructed sources, and as
presumptive standards to assist states in developing plans under the proposed Emissions
Guidelines. Here are some of the key requirements in the supplemental proposal:
Requiring Leaks Monitoring at Every Well Site, Until Wells Are Properly Closedand Require
Leaks Monitoring at Compressor Stations
• After considering information and comments it received from the public, EPA is
revising its November 2021 proposal to find and fix leaks at new and existing well
sites. The supplemental proposal creates a cost-effective approach to ensure that
every well site, regardless of size, is regularly monitored. This new approach will
achieve more comprehensive reductions in leaks from well sites while streamlining
compliance for owners and operators.
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• The revised program would tie leak monitoring requirements to the types and
amount of equipment at a site, rather than to estimated emissions, which will make
it simpler for owners and operators to determine which monitoring requirements
they must meet at a site.
• This approach removes exemptions from routine monitoring for well sites with
lower emissions, which EPA had proposed in 2021, and it adds audio, visual and
olfactory (AVO) inspections, where inspectors listen, look and smell for leaks, for
smaller well sites. EPA is proposing monitoring requirements for four categories of
well sites:
o Single wellhead-only sites and small well sites would be required to conduct
quarterly audio, visual and olfactory (AVO) inspections.
o Wellhead-only sites with two or more wellheads would be required to conduct
quarterly AVO inspections and monitor every six months using optical gas
imaging (OGI) or EPA Method 21 (Method 21 is a method for determining leaks
from process equipment.)
o Sites with major production and processing equipment, and centralized
production facilities, would be required to conduct bimonthly AVO inspections
and to monitor quarterly using OGI or EPA Method 21.
o Well sites on the Alaska North Slope would have different monitoring schedules
to account for weather.
• Compressor stations would be required to conduct monthly AVO monitoring,
coupled with quarterly monitoring using OGI or EPA Method 21.
• The supplemental proposal also includes leak repair deadlines for each type of site
that range from 15 days to repair indications of leaks identified with AVO
monitoring, to a first attempt at repair within 30 days for leaks identified with OGI,
and a final repair within 30 days of the first attempt.
• After considering public comments, EPA is not including a requirement to conduct
OGI monitoring according to the proposed Appendix K for well sites, centralized
production facilities, or compressor stations. Instead, EPA is proposing to require
that OGI surveys follow the procedures specified in the proposed regulatory text for
the NSPS. As an alternative, owners and operators may survey for leaks according to
EPA Method 21.
Preventing Abandoned and Unplugged Wells
• EPA is proposing that monitoring must continue at well sites until all wells have been
plugged and equipment has been removed.
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• Owners would have to submit a well closure plan that includes the necessary steps
to close the wells. This includes plugging all wells, documentation of financial
assurance to complete the well closure, and a schedule for completing closure
activities. The closure plan would be due within 30 days after production has ended
at all wells at the well site or centralized production facility.
• Once a well site is closed, owners/operators would have to conduct a final survey
using OGI to ensure that no emissions are found. If emissions are detected, the
owners/operators would have to make repairs and resurvey the site.
Strengthening Requirements for Flares
• EPA is proposing compliance requirements to ensure that flares meet all
requirements for good performance, including requirements to monitor the flare to
ensure that a pilot flame burns at all times. The Agency is also proposing monitoring
requirements for enclosed combustors.
• In addition, EPA is proposing to limit the use of flares as part of improvements to
proposed requirements to eliminate venting of associated gas from oil wells. The
supplemental proposal would allow flaring of the gas only if the owner or operator
demonstrates that other compliance options are infeasible for technical or safety
reasons, and that demonstration is certified by a professional engineer.
Creating a Super-Emitter Response Program
• Studies show that large leaks from a small number of sources are responsible for as
much as half of the methane emissions from oil and natural gas operations, along
with significant amounts of smog-forming VOCs and air toxics that are of concern in
many communities. These "super emitters" often are caused by malfunctions or
abnormal operating conditions, including unlit flares and open thief hatches on
storage tanks.
• While EPA's proposed requirements would reduce the number of super emitters,
EPA is also proposing a Super-Emitter Response Program to quickly identify these
events for prompt mitigation. This program would leverage expertise and data from
regulatory agencies or EPA-approved third parties with access to EPA-approved
remote methane detection technology.
• Under the proposed program, regulatory authorities or qualified third parties that
EPA has approved could notify owners and operators when a super emitter "event"
(a leak of 100 kilograms per hour, or 220 pounds, or larger) is detected. Owners and
operators would be required to conduct an analysis to determine the cause of the
event identified in the notification and promptly mitigate any malfunctions,
abnormal operations or leaks.
• To ensure that the super emitter response program operates transparently, notices
sent to oil and natural gas owners and operators would be available on a public
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website for easy access. The owners' and operators' response, along with any
corrective actions taken, if needed, would also be on available on that website.
The Supplemental Proposal Includes Changes to the Proposed Protocol for Using OGI
• In response to comments and information received during the public comment period, EPA
is proposing several updates to "Appendix K," the protocol for using OGI that EPA included
in the November 2021 proposal. Appendix K would apply only for monitoring at natural gas
processing plants. In the future, it could be used in rules for other industrial sectors.
• The proposed updates include:
o Changes to operator training requirements, the definition of "senior OGI camera
operator," and updates to a proposed requirement that operators take rest breaks
during OGI use.
o Reducing the required dwell time (the active time an operator is looking for potential
leaks when the scene is in focus and steady). It would update the camera certification
requirement to allow either butane or propane to be used, and it would clarify who
can perform initial certification testing.
o For additional information, see the fact sheet on Appendix K on EPA's oil and natural
gas website.
Updates to Requirements for State Plans
• Once EPA issues an NSPS for certain pollutants, section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act requires
the Agency to issue regulations establishing procedures for states to submit plans that
reduce those pollutants from existing sources in the same industrial category. These
regulations are known as "Emissions Guidelines."
• Emissions Guidelines do not impose requirements directly on sources. Instead, they
establish procedures for states to follow as they develop plans that establish, implement
and enforce performance standards for "designated facilities," which is the term EPA uses
for existing sources.
• EPA is proposing several updates to requirements in the proposed Emissions Guidelines
including:
Requirements for Meaningful Engagement, Including with Small Businesses
• The supplemental proposal expands on a requirement EPA proposed in November
2021 that states conduct meaningful engagement as they develop state plans to
provide definitions and additional detail about meaningful engagement
requirements.
• The proposed meaningful engagement requirement would be separate from the
public hearings states are already required to hold. It would include "early outreach,
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sharing information, and soliciting input on the state's plan" from "pertinent
stakeholders," including small businesses.
• EPA would evaluate a state's meaningful engagement demonstration as part of its
completeness evaluation of the state plan.
Requirements for Applying a Less-Stringent Standard to a Source
• State plans for implementing Emissions Guidelines must include standards that
generally are as stringent as EPA's presumptive standards. However, the Clean Air
Act allows states to apply a less-stringent standard to a particular existing source, or
class of existing sources, based on the source's remaining useful life and other
factors.
• EPA is proposing to allow states to apply a less-stringent standard to an existing
source or class of sources if they can demonstrate:
o The cost of control is unreasonable because of a facility's age, location or basic
process design;
o It is physically impossible or technically infeasible to install necessary emissions
controls;
o Factors specific to the facility are fundamentally different than factors EPA
considered in determining the BSER.
• The supplemental proposal includes requirements for information that states must
include in those demonstrations.
• EPA is proposing to require states to consider communities most affected by and
vulnerable to the impacts of a particular facility as they calculate a less-stringent
standard to apply to a particular source. State plans would have to identify where
and how a less-stringent standard would affect communities, and describe the
impacts the standard would have. States also would have to provide any feedback
the state received on the less-stringent standard during meaningful engagement on
development of its state plan.
• In addition, EPA is proposing to allow states to use a source's remaining useful life
and other factors to apply a standard that is more stringent than the presumptive
standards in the proposed Emissions Guidelines.
State Plan Deadlines and Compliance Times
• EPA is proposing to require states to submit their plans for review within 18 months
after the final Emissions Guidelines are published in the Federal Register. The
supplemental proposal does not include the timeline for EPA to review the plan; EPA
will address that timeline in the upcoming proposed implementation rule.
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• States would be required to impose a compliance deadline on existing sources that
is no later than 36 months after the deadline to submit the state plan to EPA.
EPA Will Offer Training on the Supplemental Proposal
• EPA will offer a training on the supplemental proposal for small businesses on Wednesday,
November 30, 2022. The training will provide information on the supplemental proposal to
help small businesses prepare for providing public comments. Register to attend the
training.
For More Information
• Read the proposal, additional fact sheets, and instructions on submitting comments.
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