Technical Support Document

for

EPA's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

on revisions to the California State Implementation Plan

as submitted by the State of California, Air Resources Board for the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control Dist rict

EPA’s Analysis of San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District’s

Rule 4401

, Steam

- Enhanced Crude Oil Production Well s

United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX

Air Division

Ju ne 200 9

Jerald S. WamsleySJVAPCD

- Rule 4401,

Steam

- Enhanced Crude Oil Produc tion Wells; TSD, 06/09

2 Chronology of Rule Adoption, Submittal and EPA Actions

- On June 22, 1998, EPA approved and incorporated into the SIP the January 15, 1998

amendments of Rule 4401. Please see 63 Federal Register 33854.

- On December 14, 2006, t he San Joaquin Valley Air Pollutio n Control District (SJVAPCD) Governing Board amended Rule 4401

.

- On May 8, 2007, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) submitted Rule 4401 to EPA as a revision to the California State Implementation Plan (SIP).

- On July 23, 2007 , EPA found comple te CARB's May 8, 2007 su bmittal

.

Rule Summary

SJVAPCD Rule 4401

, Steam

- Enhanced Crude Oil Production Well s is designed to reduce fugitive volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions at these sites. The rule establishes requirements for inspection, compone nt replace ment, re

- inspection , maintenance, repair periods,

and re placement/retrofit for leakin g components

. It also describes associated administrative and recordkeeping requirements, such as an i nspection log, for determining compliance. The

December 1 4, 2006 a mendments to the rule are summarized below.

1. Add ed d efinitions for component, critical process unit, facility, inspection, leak, leak minimization, front line production equipment, gauge tank, and various components such as

compressors, pressu re relief device and pump . (See Section 3.0).

2. Revised exemptions including: (a ) sunsets section 4.2 on January 1, 2009; (b ) reduce d the number of cyclic wells that can be exempted in section 4.5; (c ) sunsets section 4.6 on December 31, 2008; (d ) add ed exemptions in sections 4.7, 4.8, and 4.9 for components that do not leak appreciably and are difficult to inspect such as underground components.

3. Sunsets existing requirements in sections 5.1

- 5.4 and replace d them with s ection s 5.5

- 5.9.

This re tain s the emission control standards of the prior requirements while adding leak standards, repair, inspection and re

- inspection requirements for various c omponents

.

4. Extend ed r ecord maintenance requirements from two years to five, requires an inspec tion log , and add ed various testing and inspection recordkeeping and reporting requirements. (See Section 6.1)

5. Allow s a waiver of annual source test provisions and re quire vapour pressure testing of

g auge tanks e very 2 years. (See Section 6.2)SJVAPCD

- Rule 4401,

Steam

- Enhanced Crude Oil Produc tion Wells; TSD, 06/09

3 6. Update d t est methods and add ed requirements for calibrating portable hydrocarbon detectors. (See Section 6.3)

7. Require s s ources to maintain a log recording inspections and details of leaks found including number, nature, location and repairs . (see S ection 6.4)

8. Require s s ources to train employee s in inspection, leak determination, and recordkeeping. ( S ee Section 6.5)

9. Require s exempt s ources to provide an operator management plan describing the facility,
components

, hazards, inspection sche du les, and personnel training . (see Section 6.6)

Rule Evaluation

The memoranda, guidance , and statute cited below were used t o review the submitted rule.

1

. To evaluate compliance with the R easonably A vailable C ontrol T echnology (RACT) requirements of CAA §182(b)(2) : SJVAPCD’s 2009 RACT SIP Demonstration (April 16, 2009) ; “Preamble, Final Rule to Implement the 8

- hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality

Standard: (70 FR 71612 November 29, 2005); Letter from William T. Hartnett to Regional

Air Division D irectors, “RACT Qs & As

– Reasonable Available Control Technology (RACT) Questi ons and Answers” (May 18, 2006); and other state and local rules for this
category

.

2

. To evaluate compliance with the CAA §110(a)(2)(A) requirement for enforceability : The

B luebook ( “ Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations

, ” EPA, May 25, 1988) ; the Little Bluebook ( “ Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule Deficiencies, ” EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001) ; and

, “ State Implementati on Plans, General Preamble for the Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air

Amendments of 1990 ” (57 FR 13498, April 16, 1992)

.

3. To evaluate compliance with CAA §110(l) and §193 regarding SIP relaxations , we compared the submitted rule against the exi sting SIP rule to determine if new provisions weaken the SIP approved rule.

O n April 16, 2009, SJVAPCD adopted its “2009 RACT SIP,” which provides the District’s demonstration that RACT is implemented for all appropriate activities. This demonstration includes several pages discussing Rule 4401 (cover and applicable pages attached). To summarize, SJVAPCD made the following two findings : (1) T here is no national guidance (e.g., CTG or ACT ) or regulation ( e.g., NSPS or NESHAP ) to help defin e RACT for this activity ; and, (2) o verall, Rule 4401 ’s requirements are as stringent as other large California

nonattainment areas.SJVAPCD

- Rule 4401,

Steam

- Enhanced Crude Oil Produc tion Wells; TSD, 06/09

4 EPA concur s with SJVAPCD’s findings and conclu des that Rule 4401 implements RACT for

three reasons

. First, Rule 4401 require s sign ificant emissions control; for example, stea m

enhanced crude oil production w ells can not be operated unless uncontrolled VOC emissions from any well vent are reduced by at least 99 percent by weight. Second, Rule 4401 leak detection and repair (LDAR) req uirements for crude oil production wells are consistent with

other similar LDAR rules , such as SJ VAPCD Rule 4409

- Components at Light Crude Oil Production Facilities, Natural Gas Production Facilities

, and Natural Gas Processing Facilities

and Mont erey Ba y Unified APCD Rule 427

- Steam Drive Crude Oil Production Wells

. Finally, SJVAPCD, S outh Coast A QMD, and the other large California n onattainment agencies generally have the most stringent stationary source requirements nationwide, and we are not aware o f other reasonably available technological or operational controls likely to reduce significantly emissions from this activity. In sum, we believe that Rule 4401 implements relevant RACT requirements.

With t he exception of the deficiency identified bel ow, the rule’s recordkeeping and other compliance provisions ensure that rule requirements can be enforced adequately. The exemptions added in Sections 4.7

- 4.9 do not weaken the SIP rule or submitted rule

. Specifically,

the exemption in Section 4.7 for p roduced fluid line components does not weaken the SIP rule

because these components were not subject to the SIP rule

. We note also that for light duty crude

oil operations produced fluid line component emissions are regulated by Rule 4409 . LDAR

programs for heavy duty crude oil production lines are under study by the SJVAPCD

. The exemptions in Section 4.8 do not weaken the SIP rule because they apply only to four categories of components that have nominal (if any) VOC emissions. Finally, the exemption i n Section 4.9 for components carrying low (<10% by weight)

- VOC gas and liquids does not apply to requirements of the SIP rule; this exemption applies only to new , more

- rigorous inspection requirements that we propose to approve in this action . Note that c omponents carrying low VOC gas and liquids are exempt only from routine inspection requirement s, but if found to be leaking these components are still subject to the rule’s repair requirements . (See staff report pages 7

- 8.) In conclusion, the submitted r ule is more stringent than the version previously approved into the

SIP

, does not relax the SIP

, and complies with CAA §110(l) and §193.

Rule Deficienc y

Section 6.2 of submitted Rule 4401 requires annual source testing, but allows SJVAPCD, CARB

and EPA to waive this test requirement. Section 6.4 states that waiver request s are deemed approved by EPA if EPA d o es not object within 45 days of receipt. While we appreciate SJVAPCD’s desire to avoid delay, the local agency cannot o bligate EPA’s decision in this

manne r

. Section 6. 2. 4 effectively provides executive officer discretion in conflict with CAA §§ 110(a) and (i) and long

- standing national policy as discuss ed in the bluebook and little bluebook. This deficiency can be corrected by removing the last s entence in section 6.2.4 of the

submitted rule.SJVAPCD

- Rule 4401,

Steam

- Enhanced Crude Oil Produc tion Wells; TSD, 06/09

5 EPA Action

The December 14, 2006 amended Rule 4401

- Steam

- Enha nced Crude Oil Production Wells implements RACT, strengthens the SIP

, and is generally enforceable. As a result, EPA staff

recommends a limite d approval of the rule pursuant to CAA §110(k)(3) and §301(a) . However, EPA staff simultaneously recommends a limited disapproval of the rule a s a result of the deficiency in section 6.2.4 of the Rule. We do not expect t his deficiency to reduce significa ntly

the projected e mission reductions from SJVAPCD’s rule revisions

.

Attachments

1. SJVAPCD , Rule 4401

- Steam

- Enhanced Crude Oil Production Well s , adopted December 14, 2006

. Change copy.

2. SJVAPCD , Rule 4401

- Steam

- Enhanced Crude Oil Production W ell s , adopted December 14, 2006

.

3. “Final Staff Report: Proposed Amendments to Rule 4401

- Steam

- Enhanced Crude Oil

Production Well s ,” December 14, 2006, SJVAPCD

. Appendices not included.

4

. “Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) Demonst ration for Ozone State Implementation Plans (SIP)” SJVAPCD, April 16, 2009.

A dditional References

1. “Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations,” (a.k.a., Bluebook) EPA OAQPS, May 25, 1988

.

2. “Guidance Document for Corr ecting Common VOC & Other Rule Deficiencies,” (a.k.a., Little Bluebook), EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001

.

3. Portions of the proposed post

- 1987 ozone and carbon monoxide policy that concern RACT, 52 FR 45044, November 24, 1987.

4. “State Implementation Plans, General Preamble for the Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Amendments of 1990” 57 FR 13498, April 16, 1992.

5. “Preamble, Final Rule to Implement the 8

- hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard” 70 FR 71612; Nov. 29, 2005.

6. Lette r from William T. Hartnett to Regional Air Division Directors, “RACT Qs & As

– Reasonable Available Control Technology (RACT) Questions and Answers,” May 18, 2006.