SECTION 115.177. Fugitive Emission Component Requirements

(a) The owner or operator of equipment with fugitive emission components shall create a written plan and maintain such plan in accordance with §115.180 of this title (relating to Recordkeeping Requirements) that details information about the site subject to this section including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) the identification of each fugitive emission component grouping required to be monitored;

(2) the fugitive emission component designated as unsafe-to-monitor or difficult-to-monitor;

(3) the exemptions or exceptions that apply to any fugitive emission component;

(4) the method of monitoring; and

(5) the monitoring survey schedules of the fugitive emission components in paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection.

(b) The owner or operator shall monitor each affected fugitive emission component and calibrate the hydrocarbon gas analyzer instrumentation in accordance with procedures specified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 21 in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 60, Appendix A-7. The owner or operator may elect to use the alternative work practice in §115.358 of this title (relating to Alternative Work Practice) for any fugitive emission component, as specified in paragraph (11) of this subsection.

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (5)(C) of this subsection, no component at a natural gas processing plant is allowed to have a volatile organic compounds (VOC) leak for more than five calendar days without a first attempt at repair after the leak is detected and must be repaired no later than 15 calendar days after the leak is found that meets the following:

(A) for pump seals in light-liquid service, a leak definition of 5,000 parts per million by volume (ppmv) for a pump used for any polymerizing monomer and 2,000 ppmv for all other pumps;

(B) for valves, flanges, connectors, pressure relief devices, pumps in heavy-liquid service, sampling connections, and process drains, a leak definition of 500 ppmv; and

(C) for compressors, a leak definition of 10,000 ppmv or exuding of process fluid based on sight, smell, or sound.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (5)(C) of this subsection, no fugitive emission component at a well site or gathering and boosting station is allowed to have a VOC leak of equal to or greater than 500 ppmv for more than five calendar days without a first attempt at repair after the leak is detected and must be repaired no later than 15 calendar days after the leak is found.

(3) Except as specified in subsection (c) of this section, the owner or operator shall conduct monitoring according to the following schedules.

(A) The owner or operator of a natural gas processing plant shall monitor annually to detect leaks of VOC emissions from all connectors.

(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (E) of this paragraph, the owner or operator shall monitor to detect leaks of VOC emissions from all:

(i) fugitive emission components at gathering and boosting stations quarterly; and

(ii) fugitive emission components at well sites semiannually.

(C) The owner or operator shall monitor quarterly to detect VOC emissions leaks from all:

(i) pump seals at a natural gas processing plant that are not in light-liquid service; and

(ii) fugitive emission components at a natural gas processing plant not specified elsewhere in this paragraph.

(D) The owner or operator shall monitor monthly to detect leaks of VOC emissions at a natural gas processing plant from all:

(i) pressure relief valves in gaseous service;

(ii) pump seals in light-liquid service; and

(iii) accessible fugitive emission components in gas/vapor and light-liquid service, except for connectors.

(E) In addition to monitoring in subparagraphs (B)(i), (B)(ii), and (D)(i) of this paragraph, the owner or operator shall monitor pressure relief valves within 24 hours of a release.

(F) At a natural gas processing plant, the owner or operator shall visually inspect for indications of dripping liquid each pump in light liquid service weekly. If evidence of a leak is found, the owner or operator shall monitor each leaking pump in accordance with Method 21 in 40 CFR Part 60, Appendix A-7 or the alternative work practice in §115.358 of this title within five calendar days after the leak is detected.

(4) Upon the detection of a leaking fugitive emission component, the owner or operator shall affix to the leaking component a weatherproof and readily visible tag, bearing an identification number and the date the leak was detected. This tag must remain in place, or be replaced if damaged, until the leaking component is repaired. Tagging of difficult-to-monitor leaking components may be done by reference tagging. The reference tag should be located as close as possible to the leaking component and should clearly identify the leaking component and its location.

(5) When a leak or defect is detected from a fugitive emission component, the owner or operator shall repair the leak or defect as soon as practicable.

(A) A first attempt at repair must be made no later than five calendar days after the leak is detected.

(B) A repair must be completed no later than 15 calendar days after the leak is detected.

(C) If an owner or operator determines and documents that a repair is technically infeasible without a shutdown, vent blowdown at a well site or gathering and boosting station, well shut-in, would be unsafe to repair during operation of the unit, or that emissions resulting from immediate repair would be greater than the total fugitive emissions likely to result from a delay of repair, then the repair is not required to be completed until the end of the next shutdown, vent blowdown at a well site or gathering and boosting station, well shut-in, or unplanned blowdown. Any repair under this subparagraph at a well site or gathering and boosting station must be made within two years after the leak is detected.

(D) For the owner or operator using the alternative work practice in §115.358 of this title to monitor fugitive emission components, repair is complete once a monitoring survey using EPA Method 21 in 40 CFR Part 60, Appendix A-7 or the alternative work practice in §115.358 of this title shows no leaking. For the owner or operator using Method 21 in 40 CFR Part 60, Appendix A-7 or audio, visual, or olfactory means to monitor fugitive emission components, repair is complete once the monitoring required under this section shows no leaking. At a well site or gathering and boosting station, this monitoring survey to check that the leak is fixed must be done within 30 days of the repair attempt. At a natural gas processing plant, if a shutdown is needed as specified in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, the monitoring survey to check that the leak is fixed must be done within 15 days of startup of the process unit.

(6) If the executive director determines that the number of leaks in a process area is excessive, the monitoring schedule in this subsection may be modified to require an increase in the frequency of monitoring in a given process area.

(7) After completion of the required monthly valve monitoring in this subsection for a period of at least two years, the owner or operator of a natural gas processing plant may request in writing to the appropriate regional office that the valve monitoring schedule be revised based on the percent of valves leaking. The percent of valves leaking must be determined by dividing the sum of valves leaking during the current monitoring period and valves for which repair has been delayed by the total number of valves subject to monitoring requirements. The revised monitoring schedule is not effective until a response is received from the executive director. This request must include all data that have been developed to justify the following modifications in the monitoring schedule.

(A) After two consecutive quarterly leak detection periods with the percent of valves leaking equal to or less than 2.0%, an owner or operator may begin to skip one of the quarterly leak detection periods for the valves in gas/vapor and light liquid service.

(B) After five consecutive quarterly leak detection periods with the percent of valves leaking equal to or less than 2.0%, an owner or operator may begin to skip three of the quarterly leak detection periods for the valves in gas/vapor and light liquid service.

(8) All component monitoring must occur when the component is in contact with process material and the process unit is in service. If a unit is not operating during the required monitoring period but a component in that unit is in contact with process fluid that is circulating or under pressure, then that component is considered to be in service and is required to be monitored. Valves must be in gaseous or light liquid service to be considered in the total valve count for alternate valve monitoring schedules of paragraph (7) of this subsection.

(9) Monitored screening concentrations must be recorded for each component in gaseous or light liquid service. Notations such as "pegged," "off scale," "leaking," "not leaking," or "below leak definition" may not be substituted for hydrocarbon gas analyzer results. For readings that are higher than the upper end of the scale (i.e., pegged) even when using the highest scale setting or a dilution probe, a default pegged value of 100,000 ppmv must be recorded. This requirement does not apply to monitoring using an optical gas imaging instrument, which makes emissions visible that may otherwise be invisible to the naked eye, in accordance with §115.358 of this title.

(10) The owner or operator shall check all new connectors for leaks within 30 days of being placed in VOC service by monitoring with a hydrocarbon gas analyzer for components in light-liquid and gas service and by using visual, audio, and/or olfactory means for components in heavy-liquid service. Components that are unsafe-to-monitor or inspect are exempt from this requirement if they are monitored or inspected as soon as possible during times that are safe to monitor.

(11) For any fugitive emission component for which the owner or operator elects to use the alternative work practice in §115.358 of this title, the following provisions apply.

(A) At a natural gas processing plant, the frequency for monitoring components listed in this section must be the frequency determined according to §115.358 of this title. At a well site or gathering and boosting station, the frequency for monitoring components using optical gas imaging is the frequency in paragraph (3) of this subsection.

(B) The alternative monitoring schedules allowed under paragraph (7) of this subsection are not allowed.

(C) At a well site or gathering and boosting station, the requirements in §115.358 of this title, except for the requirements in §115.358(e) and (f) of this title, apply in addition to the appropriate requirements in this section. At a natural gas processing plant, the requirements in §115.358 of this title apply in addition to the applicable requirements in this section.

(D) The owner or operator may still classify a component as unsafe-to-monitor as allowed under subsection (c) of this section if the component cannot safely be monitored using either a hydrocarbon gas analyzer or the alternative work practice. The owner or operator may use either EPA Method 21 in 40 CFR Part 60, Appendix A-7 or the alternative work practice at the monitoring frequency specified in paragraph (3) of this subsection. Any component classified as unsafe-to-monitor under the alternative work practice must be identified as such in the list required in §115.180(7) of this title.

(E) If the executive director determines that there is an excessive number of leaks in any given process area for which the alternative work practice in §115.358 of this title is used, the executive director may require an increase in the frequency of monitoring under the alternative work practice in that process area.

(c) An owner or operator is not required to comply with monitoring frequencies in subsection (b) of this section for any fugitive emission component designated as unsafe-to-monitor or difficult-to-monitor.

(1) Any component, except closed vent systems, designated difficult-to-monitor must be monitored at least once per calendar year. Difficult-to-monitor closed vent system components must be monitored at least once every five years.

(2) Any component designated unsafe-to-monitor must be monitored as frequently as practicable during a time when it is safe-to-monitor, not to exceed the monitoring frequency in subsection (b) of this section.

(3) The number of components designated as difficult-to-monitor may not exceed 3% of total affected components in the same classification (e.g., pumps, valves, flanges, connectors etc.) at the site.

(4) The owner or operator shall inspect all flanges weekly by audio, visual, and olfactory means, excluding flanges that are monitored at least once each calendar year using EPA Method 21 in 40 CFR Part 60, Appendix A-7 and flanges that are difficult-to-monitor and unsafe-to-monitor. Flanges that are difficult-to-monitor and unsafe-to-monitor must be identified in a list made available upon request. If a difficult-to-monitor or an unsafe-to-monitor flange is not considered safe to inspect within the required weekly time frame, then it must be inspected as soon as possible during a time that it is safe to inspect.

(5) Relief valves that are designated as unsafe-to-monitor must be monitored as soon as possible during times that are safe to monitor after any release event. Relief valves that are designated as difficult-to-monitor must be monitored within 15 days after a release.

Source Note: The provisions of this §115.177 adopted to be effective July 21, 2021, 46 TexReg 4313