Oil & Gas Facilities Subject to NSPS Subpart OOOOa Must be in Compliance by October 31, 2017!

The oil and gas air emissions management rules in NSPS OOOOa originally required a demonstration of compliance by August 2, 2017, per 40 CFR §60.5410a.  EPA attempted to stay the rule twice, but only the 90-day stay, which ran from June 2, 2017, to August 31, 2017, was successful.  The stay moved the compliance deadline back to October 31, 2017, but it did NOT eliminate the need for affected facilities to be in compliance with applicable OOOOa requirements by this date.  Note that NSPS OOOOa applies only to units constructed, reconstructed or modified after September 18, 2015.  Units constructed, reconstructed or modified after August 2, 2016, were subject upon startup.

Facilities are required to know what OOOOa obligations apply to them and to be in compliance with these obligations, even though they do not have to verify compliance with a notification or report at this time.  This means that facilities not in compliance with applicable provisions of NSPS OOOOa by October 31, 2017, will be vulnerable to enforcement action if inspected by an agency or are otherwise compelled to disclose OOOOa-related compliance information.   

Also, subject facilities will have to file an Annual Compliance Report within 90 days after the end of the initial compliance year (January 29, 2019) per 40 CFR §60.5420a.  This report will describe compliance activities from November 1, 2017, through October 31, 2018, and will expose gaps in compliance for facilities not in compliance on October 31, 2017.  Facilities whose reports expose a failure to comply with OOOOa on a timely basis will be vulnerable to enforcement action at that time.

If you need assistance determining which provisions of NSPS OOOOa are applicable to your facilities or what your facility compliance requirements are, eSPARC is available to help you navigate this challenging regulation.