The final EPA OOOOb/c rules have been updated and come in at a whopping 1,690 pages. In this quick summary, we highlight a few of the changes between the final EPA OOOOb/c (December 2023) compared to the previous draft (November 2022). You can get the full summary here.

Join our Event this Thursday December 14 or watch the recording to learn more about the EPA's latest rule. If you have any questions/comments you'd like us to address live, feel free to add them to the comments section below.

Updated EPA timeline

The final rules updated the OOOOb/c start date from 11/15/2021 to 12/6/2022. OOOOb rules are for upstream sites that were operational starting after 12/6/2022 and OOOOc is for all sites operational on or before 12/6/2022. NOTE: OOOOb is a Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) regulation, whereas OOOOc is a GHG (i.e. methane only) regulation.

The final rules applied the new super-emitter program backwards to OOOO & OOOOa, so in short, it could go into effect as soon as March 2024 and impact all of your existing sites. The EPA will post notices on a public super-emitter website, so if you don’t respond within 15-days, they’ll assume you’re guilty and that information could cause reputational harm.

The big question on every environmental person's mind is “when do these rules take effect?”

As we mentioned above, the super-emitter enforcement could come as early as March 2024. So, potentially, there could be satellites looking for 100 kg/hour emission events on a daily basis starting very soon.

The next BIG item will be Subpart W, where many operators will want to start measuring every emission source by January 2024 to avoid the potential methane fees that will start in March 2026.

If you don't measure every source, you'll end up using default emission factors and durations. These defaults are increasing by 3-10 times their current values, making it highly likely that you'll have to pay the methane fee.

Technology Frameworks for Reference - Darcy Partners Commentary

The past 3 years, Darcy Partners has been researching technology in this space and has compiled the following frameworks for you to evaluate technology that best fits your need. Given the decision by the EPA to include "periodic screening" and "continuous monitoring" technology, otherwise known as emissions detection solutions, these links should be helpful to understand innovation in this space.

Things to note about EPA's rule and how it affect alternative methods of emissions detection

• These alternative methods, when approved, can be used instead of OGI and AVO. The approval process is largely led by the technology provider, with support from an operator through the AMEL process.
• The EPA made changes to the frequency of these periodic surveys allowing them to vary depending on the sensitivity of the technology. The spatial resolution and threshold will guide the frequency needed and EPA is asking operators to come up with a monitoring plan specifying the site being screened along with technologies used. The follow up monitoring will, however, include OGI or EPA Method 21.
• For continuous monitoring technologies, the EPA has specified that a valid methane mass emission rate (or equivalent) can be provided at least once every 12 hours, be 90% efficient with respect to downtime, and have checks in place to monitor the health of the system. The sensitivity must also be of 0.4 kg/hr of methane or lower and data must be transmitted at least once every 24 hours.

Further evaluation of the technology categories listed below can be done utilizing the Innovation Concierge tool on the Darcy Partners website.

• Methane Detection by Deployment Type
• Continuous Monitoring Shortlist
• Zero Emissions Pneumatics Mitigation
• Hand-held Emissions Detection

Get the EPA Cheat Sheet: For more details, you can download the entire EPA Cheat Sheet, where we summarize over 2,800 pages of new regulations into a 17-page PDF, you can download that here.

This article was written by Mark Smith at CleanConnect.ai and Marelyn Serrano from Darcy Partners.

References

EPA 40 CFR Part 60
EPA Cheat Sheet by Clean Connect AI.