Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 51477 

10. Protection of Children 

We have analyzed this rule under 

Executive Order 13045, Protection of 

Children from Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks. This rule is not 

an economically significant rule and 

does not create an environmental risk to 

health or risk to safety that may 

disproportionately affect children. 

11. Indian Tribal Governments 

This rule does not have tribal 

implications under Executive Order 

13175, Consultation and Coordination 

with Indian Tribal Governments, 

because it does not have a substantial 

direct effect on one or more Indian 

tribes, on the relationship between the 

Federal Government and Indian tribes, 

or on the distribution of power and 

responsibilities between the Federal 

Government and Indian tribes. 

12. Energy Effects 

This action is not a ‘‘significant 

energy action’’ under Executive Order 

13211, Actions Concerning Regulations 

That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use. 

13. Technical Standards 

This rule does not use technical 

standards. Therefore, we did not 

consider the use of voluntary consensus 

standards. 

14. Environment 

We have analyzed this rule under 

Department of Homeland Security 

Management Directive 023–01 and 

Commandant Instruction M16475.lD, 

which guide the Coast Guard in 

complying with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321–4370f), and 

have determined that this action is one 

of a category of actions that do not 

individually or cumulatively have a 

significant effect on the human 

environment. This rule involves 

establishing a temporary safety zone 

that will be enforced for no more than 

1.25 hours. This rule is categorically 

excluded from further review under 

paragraph 34(g) of Figure 2–1 of the 

Commandant Instruction. An 

environmental analysis checklist 

supporting this determination and a 

Categorical Exclusion Determination are 

available in the docket where indicated 

under ADDRESSES. We seek any 

comments or information that may lead 

to the discovery of a significant 

environmental impact from this rule. 

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165 

Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation 

(water), Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Security measures, 

Waterways. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33 

CFR part 165 as follows: 

PART 165—REGULATED NAVIGATION 

AREAS AND LIMITED ACCESS AREAS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 165 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1231; 46 U.S.C. 

Chapter 701, 3306, 3703; 50 U.S.C. 191, 195; 

33 CFR 1.05–1, 6.04–1, 6.04–6, 160.5; Pub. L. 

107–295, 116 Stat. 2064; Department of 

Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1. 

■ 2. Add a temporary § 165.T07–0727 to 

read as follows: 

§ 165.T07–0727 Safety Zone; Apache Pier, 

Myrtle Beach, SC. 

(a) Regulated Area. The Coast Guard 

is establishing a temporary safety zone 

with a 1000 foot radius around Apache 

Pier, Myrtle Beach, SC in approximate 

position 33°45′41.26′′ N, 078°46′47.52′′ 

W. All coordinates are North American 

Datum 1983. 

(b) Definition. The term ‘‘designated 

representative’’ means Coast Guard 

Patrol Commanders, including Coast 

Guard coxswains, petty officers, and 

other officers operating Coast Guard 

vessels, and Federal, state, and local 

officers designated by or assisting the 

Captain of the Port Charleston in the 

enforcement of the regulated areas. 

(c) Regulations. (1) All persons and 

vessels are prohibited from entering, 

transiting through, anchoring in, or 

remaining within the regulated area 

unless authorized by the Captain of the 

Port Charleston or a designated 

representative. 

(2) Persons and vessels desiring to 

enter, transit through, anchor in, or 

remain within the regulated area may 

contact the Captain of the Charleston by 

telephone at 843–740–7050, or a 

designated representative via VHF radio 

on channel 16, to request authorization. 

If authorization to enter, transit through, 

anchor in, or remain within the 

regulated area is granted by the Captain 

of the Port Charleston or a designated 

representative, all persons and vessels 

receiving such authorization must 

comply with the instructions of the 

Captain of the Port Charleston or a 

designated representative. 

(3) The Coast Guard will provide 

notice of the regulated area by Marine 

Safety Information Bulletins, Local 

Notice to Mariners, Broadcast Notice to 

Mariners, and on-scene designated 

representatives. 

(d) Effective Date. This rule is 

effective from 9 p.m. on September 1, 

2012, until 10:15 p.m. on September 2, 

2012. This rule will only be enforced on 

September 2, 2012, if the event is 

postponed from September 1, 2012. 

Dated: August 12, 2012. 

M.F. White, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the 

Port Charleston. 

[FR Doc. 2012–20832 Filed 8–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 98 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–0147; FRL–9714–3] 

RIN 2060–AR53 

2012 Technical Corrections, Clarifying 

and Other Amendments to the 

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule, and 

Confidentiality Determinations for 

Certain Data Elements of the 

Fluorinated Gas Source Category 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The EPA is amending specific 

provisions of the Greenhouse Gas 

Reporting Rule to provide greater clarity 

and flexibility to facilities subject to 

reporting emissions from the industrial 

waste landfill, petroleum and natural 

gas systems, fluorinated gas production, 

and electronics manufacturing source 

categories. These source categories will 

report greenhouse gas data for the first 

time in September 2012. The changes do 

not significantly change the overall 

calculation and monitoring 

requirements of the Greenhouse Gas 

Reporting Rule or add additional 

requirements for reporters. The EPA is 

also making confidentiality 

determinations for four new data 

elements for the fluorinated gas 

production source category of the 

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule. Lastly, 

we are finalizing an amendment to the 

general provisions to defer the reporting 

deadline for a data element used as an 

input to an emission equation in the 

fluorinated gas production source 

category until 2015. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

August 24, 2012, except for the 

amendments to 40 CFR 98.3(c)(4) and 

the confidentiality determinations for 

subpart L described in section II.D of the 

Supplementary Information, which are 

effective on September 24, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–0147. All 

documents in the docket are listed in 


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the http://www.regulations.gov index. 

Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, 

e.g., CBI or other information whose 

disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on 

the Internet and is publicly available 

only in hard copy. Publicly available 

docket materials are available either 

electronically in http:// 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the Air Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West 

Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 

Ave. NW., Washington, DC. This Docket 

Facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 

p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 

legal holidays. The telephone number 

for the Public Reading Room is (202) 

566–1744, and the telephone number for 

the Air Docket is (202) 566–1742. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carole Cook, Climate Change Division, 

Office of Atmospheric Programs (MC– 

6207J), Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 

Washington, DC 20460; telephone 

number: (202) 343–9263; fax number: 

(202) 343–2342; email address: 

GHGReportingRule@epa.gov. For 

technical information and 

implementation materials, please go to 

the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule 

Program Web site at http:// 

www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ 

ghgrulemaking.html. To submit a 

question, select Rule Help Center, 

followed by ‘‘Contact Us.’’ 

Worldwide Web (WWW). In addition 

to being available in the docket, an 

electronic copy of this final rule will 

also be available through the WWW. 

Following the Administrator’s signature, 

a copy of this action will be posted on 

the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting 

Program Web site at http:// 

www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ 

ghgrulemaking.html. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulated Entities. The Administrator 

determined that this action is subject to 

the provisions of Clean Air Act (CAA) 

section 307(d). See CAA section 

307(d)(1)(V) (the provisions of section 

307(d) apply to ‘‘such other actions as 

the Administrator may determine’’). 

These amended regulations could affect 

owners or operators of direct emitters of 

GHGs. Regulated categories and affected 

entities may include those listed in 

Table 1 of this preamble: 

TABLE 1—EXAMPLES OF AFFECTED ENTITIES BY CATEGORY

Category NAICS Examples of affected facilities 

Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems .............................. 486210 Pipeline transportation of natural gas. 

221210 Natural gas distribution facilities. 

211 Extractors of crude petroleum and natural gas. 

211112 Natural gas liquid extraction facilities. 

Electronics Manufacturing ................................................ 334111 Microcomputers manufacturing facilities. 

334413 Semiconductor, photovoltaic (solid-state) device manufacturing facilities. 

334419 LCD unit screens manufacturing facilities. 

334419 MEMS manufacturing facilities. 

Fluorinated Gas Production ............................................. 325120 Industrial gases manufacturing facilities. 

Industrial Waste Landfills ................................................. 562212 Solid waste landfills. 

322110 Pulp mills. 

322121 Paper mills. 

322122 Newsprint mills. 

322130 Paperboard mills. 

311611 Meat processing facilities. 

311411 Frozen fruit, juice, and vegetable manufacturing facilities. 

311421 Fruit and vegetable canning facilities. 

221320 Sewage treatment facilities. 

Table 1 of this preamble is not 

intended to be exhaustive, but rather 

lists the types of facilities that the EPA 

is now aware could be potentially 

affected by the reporting requirements. 

Other types of facilities not listed in the 

table could also be affected. To 

determine whether you are affected by 

this action, you should carefully 

examine the applicability criteria found 

in 40 CFR part 98, subpart A or the 

relevant criteria in the sections related 

to direct emitters of GHGs. If you have 

questions regarding the applicability of 

this action to a particular facility, 

consult the person listed in the 

preceding FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section. 

What is the effective date? This final 

rule is effective on August 24, 2012, 

except for the amendments to 40 CFR 

98.3(c)(4) (the subpart A amendments 

that affect subpart I) and the 

confidentiality determinations for 

subpart L, which are effective on 

September 24, 2012. Section 553(d) of 

the Administrative Procedure Act 

(APA), 5 U.S.C. Chapter 5, generally 

provides that rules may not take effect 

earlier than 30 days after they are 

published in the Federal Register. EPA 

is issuing this final rule under section 

307(d)(1) of the Clean Air Act, which 

states: ‘‘The provisions of section 553 

through 557 * * * of Title 5 shall not, 

except as expressly provided in this 

section, apply to actions to which this 

subsection applies.’’ Thus, section 

553(d) of the APA does not apply to this 

rule. EPA is nevertheless acting 

consistently with the purposes 

underlying APA section 553(d) in 

making the final rule provisions, except 

for the amendments to 40 CFR 98.3(c)(4) 

(the subpart A amendments that affect 

subpart I) and the subpart L 

confidentiality determinations, effective 

on August 24, 2012. This final rule, 

except for the amendments to 40 CFR 

98.3(c)(4) (the subpart A amendments 

that affect subpart I) and the subpart L 

confidentiality determinations, 

temporarily requires less detailed 

reporting under subpart L than would 

otherwise have been required by the 

November 2010 Subpart L final rule (75 

FR 74774), defers the deadline for 

reporting a data element used as an 

input to emission equations under 

subpart L, removes a data reporting 

requirement and otherwise provides 

flexibilities under subpart W, and 

removes the requirement for some 

facilities to report under subpart TT. A 

shorter effective date in such 

circumstances is consistent with the 

purposes of APA section 553(d), which 

provides an exception for any action 

that grants or recognizes an exemption 

or relieves a restriction. 

Judicial Review. Under section 

307(b)(1) of the CAA, judicial review of 


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1 75 FR 66434, October 28, 2010; 75 FR 79092, 

December 17, 2010; 76 FR 73866, November 29, 

2011; 76 FR 80554, December 23, 2011. 

2 76 FR 53057, August 25, 2011. 

this final rule is available only by filing 

a petition for review in the U.S. Court 

of Appeals for the District of Columbia 

Circuit (the Court) by October 23, 2012. 

Under CAA section 307(d)(7)(B), only 

an objection to this final rule that was 

raised with reasonable specificity 

during the period for public comment 

can be raised during judicial review. 

Section 307(d)(7)(B) of the CAA also 

provides a mechanism for the EPA to 

convene a proceeding for 

reconsideration, ‘‘[i]f the person raising 

an objection can demonstrate to EPA 

that it was impracticable to raise such 

objection within [the period for public 

comment] or if the grounds for such 

objection arose after the period for 

public comment (but within the time 

specified for judicial review) and if such 

objection is of central relevance to the 

outcome of the rule.’’ Any person 

seeking to make such a demonstration to 

us should submit a Petition for 

Reconsideration to the Office of the 

Administrator, Environmental 

Protection Agency, Room 3000, Ariel 

Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., 

NW., Washington, DC 20460, with a 

copy to the person listed in the 

preceding FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section, and the Associate 

General Counsel for the Air and 

Radiation Law Office, Office of General 

Counsel (Mail Code 2344A), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC 20004. Note, under CAA section 

307(b)(2), the requirements established 

by this final rule may not be challenged 

separately in any civil or criminal 

proceedings brought by the EPA to 

enforce these requirements. 

Acronyms and Abbreviations. The 

following acronyms and abbreviations 

are used in this document. 

CAA Clean Air Act 

CBI confidential business information 

CFR Code of Federal Regulations 

CH4 methane 

CO2 carbon dioxide 

DOC degradable organic carbon 

EF emission factor 

EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

FR Federal Register 

GHG greenhouse gas 

GHGRP Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program 

kg/ft3 kilograms per cubic foot 

CO2e carbon dioxide equivalent 

N2O nitrous oxide 

NAICS North American Industry 

Classification System 

NTTAA National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act 

OMB Office of Management and Budget 

psia pounds per square inch absolute 

QSARs quantitative structure activity 

relationships 

RFA Regulatory Flexibility Act 

SF6 sulfur hexafluoride 

U.S. United States 

UMRA Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

Organization of This Document. The 

following outline is provided to aid in 

locating information in this preamble. 

I. Background 

A. Organization of This Preamble 

B. Background on the Final Rule 

C. Legal Authority 

D. How do these amendments apply to 

2012 reports? 

E. How do these amendments affect 

confidentiality determinations? 

II. Final Amendments and Responses to 

Public Comments 

A. Subpart A—General Provisions 

B. Subpart TT—Industrial Waste Landfills 

C. Subpart W—Petroleum and Natural Gas 

Systems 

D. Subpart L—Fluorinated Gas Production 

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions 

To Address Environmental Justice in 

Minority Populations and Low-Income 

Populations 

K. Congressional Review Act 

I. Background 

A. Organization of This Preamble 

This preamble consists of three 

sections. The first section provides 

background on 40 CFR part 98 and 

describes the purpose and legal 

authority for this action. 

The second section of this preamble 

summarizes the revisions made to the 

specific requirements for the general 

provisions (subpart A), industrial waste 

landfills (subpart TT), petroleum and 

natural gas systems (subpart W) and 

fluorinated gas production (subpart L) of 

40 CFR part 98. It also describes the 

major changes made to these source 

categories since proposal and provides a 

brief summary of significant public 

comments and EPA’s responses on 

issues specific to each source category. 

Additional responses to significant 

comments can be found in the 

document ‘‘2012 Technical Corrections, 

Clarifying and Other Amendments to 

the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule, and 

Confidentiality Determinations for 

Certain Data Elements of the 

Fluorinated Gas Source Category— 

Responses to Public Comment’’ in the 

docket to this rulemaking. 

The third section of this preamble 

discusses the various statutory and 

executive order requirements applicable 

to this rulemaking. 

B. Background on the Final Rule 

This action finalizes amendments to 

provisions in 40 CFR part 98, subparts 

A, TT, W, and L. The 2009 final GHG 

Reporting Rule was published in the 

Federal Register on October 30, 2009 

(74 FR 56260, hereafter referred to as the 

‘‘2009 final rule’’ or ‘‘Part 98’’). The 

2009 final rule, which finalized 

reporting requirements for 30 source 

categories, did not include subparts TT, 

W, and L. Subsequent notices were 

published in 2010 finalizing the 

requirements for subpart TT (75 FR 

39736, July 12, 2010), subpart W (75 FR 

74458, November 30, 2010), and subpart 

L (75 FR 74774, December 1, 2010). 

Following the promulgation of these 

subparts, the EPA finalized four 

technical corrections and clarifying 

amendments to these and other subparts 

under the Greenhouse Gas Reporting 

Program (GHGRP).1

In a separate recent action, the EPA 

proposed corrections, clarifying, and 

other amendments to subparts A, TT, W, 

and L on May 21, 2012 (77 FR 29935), 

hereinafter ‘‘2012 Technical Corrections 

Proposal.’’ In that action, the EPA 

proposed several amendments to 

specific provisions in these subparts to 

provide greater clarity and flexibility to 

facilities subject to reporting in 2012. 

The EPA also proposed an amendment 

to Table A–7 of subpart A to add a 

subpart L data element that was 

inadvertently omitted in the final 

deferral rule 2 to defer its reporting 

deadline until 2015. In this action, the 

EPA is finalizing amendments to 

provisions in subparts A, TT, W, and L. 

On January 10, 2012 (77 FR 1434), the 

EPA proposed confidentiality 

determinations for data elements 

(excluding those used as inputs to 

emission equations) in eight subparts of 

Part 98, including subpart L. In the 2012 

Technical Corrections Proposal, the EPA 

proposed, among other things, four new 

data elements for subpart L and 

confidentiality status for those four new 

subpart L data elements. In this action, 

the EPA is finalizing the addition of four 


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3See http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/

emissions/responses.html. 

4See 75 FR 30782, May 26, 2011. 

5See 77 FR 11039, February 24, 2012. 

6See 77 FR 1434, January 10, 2012. 

7See 75 FR 30782, May 26, 2011 for final 

confidentiality determination for subpart TT. See 77 

FR 1434, January 10, 2012 for proposed 

confidentiality determinations for new subpart TT 

data elements added by the December 2011 

technical corrections final rule subsequent to the 

final confidentiality determinations made in 75 FR 

30782. For the final determinations for the new 

subpart TT data elements, see the recently signed 

action titled Final Confidentiality Determinations 

For Nine Subparts and Amendments to Subparts A 

and I Under the Mandatory Reporting of 

Greenhouse Gases Rule. 

new data elements to subpart L and 

their confidentiality determinations. 

C. Legal Authority 

The EPA is promulgating these rule 

amendments under its existing CAA 

authority, specifically authorities 

provided in CAA section 114. As stated 

in the preamble to the 2009 final rule 

(74 FR 56260, October 30, 2009) and the 

Response to Comments on the April 10, 

2009 initial proposed rule,3 Volume 9, 

Legal Issues, CAA section 114 provides 

the EPA broad authority to require the 

information proposed to be gathered by 

this rule because such data would 

inform and are relevant to the EPA’s 

carrying out a wide variety of CAA 

provisions. As discussed in the 

preamble to the initial proposed rule (74 

FR 16448, April 10, 2009), CAA section 

114(a)(1) authorizes the Administrator 

to require emissions sources, persons 

subject to the CAA, manufacturers of 

control or process equipment, or 

persons who the Administrator believes 

may have necessary information to 

monitor and report emissions and 

provide such other information the 

Administrator requests for the purposes 

of carrying out any provision of the 

CAA. For further information about the 

EPA’s legal authority, see the preambles 

to the 2009 proposed and final rules and 

EPA’s Response to Comments, Volume 

9. 

In addition, the EPA is making 

confidentiality determinations for four 

data elements in subpart L, under its 

authorities provided in sections 114, 

301, and 307 of the CAA. As mentioned 

above, CAA section 114 provides the 

EPA authority to obtain the information 

in Part 98, including the four new data 

elements we have added to subpart L. 

Section 114(c) requires that the EPA 

make information obtained under 

section 114 publicly available, except 

where information qualifies for 

confidential treatment. Section 114(c) 

excludes emission data from qualifying 

for confidential treatment. The 

Administrator has determined that this 

action (amendment and confidentiality 

determination) is subject to the 

provisions of section 307(d) of the CAA. 

D. How do these amendments apply to 

2012 reports? 

As explained in the preamble to the 

2012 Technical Corrections Proposal, 

our response to comments, and this 

notice, we believe that it is feasible for 

reporters to implement the changes for 

the 2011 reporting year, for which 

reports are due by September 28, 2012. 

The revisions that apply to the reporting 

for 2011 are primarily technical 

corrections, and provide clarification 

regarding the existing regulatory 

requirements or reduce the amount of 

information that is required to be 

reported. 

In the case of 40 CFR part 98, subpart 

A, the amendment is merely a 

harmonizing change to a technical 

correction finalized in February 2012 for 

subpart I (see 77 FR 10373). This change 

is effective for reporting year 2012 and 

does not affect reporting year 2011. The 

February 2012 subpart I technical 

correction required reporters to 

calculate emissions of certain additional 

fluorinated heat transfer fluids under 

subpart I; however, the February 2012 

correction inadvertently omitted an 

amendment to a corresponding 

requirement in subpart A to include 

those calculated emissions in the annual 

GHG report. This action corrects this 

omission by requiring that reporters 

include these emissions from heat 

transfer fluids in their facility level 

totals reported to the EPA in the annual 

GHG report. Additionally, as proposed, 

this rule adds one data element to Table 

A–7 to Subpart A (Table A–7 lists data 

elements whose reporting deadline is 

deferred until 2015). This element was 

inadvertently omitted in the final 

deferral rule defers the reporting of one 

additional input until 2015. Because 

this reduces the reporting requirements, 

the EPA has determined that it is 

feasible for this amendment to apply to 

the reporting year 2011; therefore this 

data element would not need to be 

reported until 2015. 

In the case of 40 CFR part 98, subpart 

TT, this final rule excludes some 

facilities from the reporting 

requirements and reduces the burden by 

making it easier for facilities to 

determine applicability of subpart TT 

under the GHG Reporting Rule. The 

excluded facilities are not expected to 

emit GHGs since they receive only inert 

wastes that do not generate methane. 

In the case of 40 CFR part 98, subpart 

W, the amendments include technical 

corrections that, while important to 

allow reporters to calculate emissions 

accurately, do not materially affect the 

actions facilities must take to comply 

with the rule. For example, in this 

action the EPA has corrected the 

emission factors in Table W–1A of 

subpart W for the onshore petroleum 

and natural gas production segment, 

due to an error in the December 23, 

2011 Technical Revisions to the 

Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems 

Category of the Greenhouse Gas 

Reporting Rule (76 FR 80554, December 

23, 2011, referred to hereinafter as the 

‘‘December 2011 technical corrections 

final rule’’), where EPA incorrectly 

revised several of the emission factors in 

this table. This final rule corrects this 

error but does not materially affect the 

actions a facility must undertake to 

comply with subpart W. 

In the case of 40 CFR part 98, subpart 

L, facilities subject to subpart L will 

report greenhouse gas emissions in a 

more aggregated manner in 2012 and 

2013. This amendment is temporary 

(i.e., for 2012 and 2013 only) to allow 

the EPA time to fully evaluate concerns 

recently raised by stakeholders 

regarding reporting, and subsequent 

EPA release, of certain emission data. 

As explained above, we have 

concluded that it is appropriate to have 

these amendments to subpart A, Table 

A–7 and subparts TT and W apply to 

the 2011 reporting year, for which 

reporting occurs on September 28, 2012. 

For additional background information 

regarding some of these amendments, 

please refer to the Technical Support 

Document for the 2012 Technical 

Corrections, Clarifying and Other 

Amendments to Certain Provisions of 

the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule 

proposal, available in the docket for this 

rulemaking (EPA–HQ–OAR–2011– 

0147–0041). 

E. How do these amendments affect 

confidentiality determinations? 

The amendments in this action do not 

affect the confidentiality determinations 

for subpart A data elements finalized in 

the ‘‘Confidentiality Determinations for 

Data Required Under the Mandatory 

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule and 

Amendments to Special Rules 

Governing Certain Information Obtained 

Under the Clean Air Act,’’ 4 (hereinafter 

referred to as the ‘‘2011 Final CBI rule’’) 

or the proposed determinations for 

subparts W,5 L,6 and TT.7 In this notice, 

we are also finalizing confidentiality 

determinations for the four new subpart 

L data elements also added in this rule. 

The confidentiality determinations for 

these new data elements together with 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 51481 

our rationale are discussed in Section 

II.D.1 of this preamble. 

This rule does not include 

confidentiality determinations for 

subparts A, W, and TT. For the subpart 

A amendments, we are not making any 

confidentiality determinations because 

the data element being added is a subset 

of another data element in subpart I for 

which we have already proposed a CBI 

determination. Additionally, we are not 

making any confidentiality 

determination at this time for the 

subpart L data element added to Table 

A–7 of subpart A to defer the deadline 

for reporting until 2015. For subpart W, 

in addition to deleting an existing data 

element, the amendments in this action 

make only minor clarifications to the 

existing reporting requirements in that 

subpart, which do not change the type 

of data to be reported. Therefore, there 

is no change to the proposed 

confidentiality determinations for the 

data elements in that subpart. There are 

no amendments to the reporting 

requirements for subpart TT. 

II. Final Amendments and Responses to 

Public Comments 

In this action, the EPA is amending 

several provisions in subparts A, TT, W, 

and L of 40 CFR part 98 to provide 

greater clarity and flexibility. The 

amendments are listed in this section by 

subpart, followed by a more detailed 

summary of the final amendments to the 

various provisions and the EPA’s 

responses to major comments submitted 

on those amendments. We indicate 

where an amendment is being finalized 

as proposed and where an amendment 

differs from that which was proposed in 

the 2012 Technical Corrections 

Proposal. For additional comments and 

EPA’s response to those comments 

please see the comment response 

document available in Docket ID No. 

EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–0147. 

A. Subpart A—General Provisions 

1. Summary of Final Amendments 

As proposed, this action amends the 

general reporting requirements of 40 

CFR 98.3(c)(4) of subpart A, which 

specifies the types of data and format for 

reporting emissions in the annual GHG 

reports (e.g., annual emissions from 

each source category by GHG). In 

addition to the proposed amendments to 

98.3(c)(4), EPA has included one 

additional edit to 40 CFR 98.3(c)(4) that 

did not appear in the proposal. This 

additional amendment adds the text 

‘‘and each fluorinated heat transfer fluid 

(as defined in § 98.98)’’ to the 

introductory sentence of 40 CFR 

98.3(c)(4). Although this edit was not 

proposed in the 2012 Technical 

Corrections Proposal, it is being added 

as a clarifying change to the regulatory 

language. EPA has determined that this 

additional edit does not substantively 

change the amendments that were 

proposed and is administrative in 

nature. The amendment to subpart A 

that was proposed in the 2012 Technical 

Corrections proposal specifies that 

facilities subject to subpart I must 

include all fluorinated HTFs listed in 

Table A–1 of subpart A in the 

computation of CO2e that is required by 

40 CFR 98.3(c)(4)(i). Specifically, 

facilities must report each fluorinated 

HTF that is also a fluorinated GHG 

under 40 CFR 98.3(c)(4)(iii)(E) and each 

fluorinated HTF that is not a fluorinated 

GHG in the new data element, 40 CFR 

98.3(c)(4)(iii)(F). This change, effective 

for reporting year 2012, conforms with 

the amendments to reporting 

requirements for heat transfer fluids 

(fluorinated HTFs) that were published 

on February 22, 2012 (77 FR 10373). 

This change simplifies reporting for 

facilities and reduces burden by 

amending subpart A to be consistent 

with the requirements in subpart I. 

Given that facilities are already required 

to calculate emissions of fluorinated 

HTFs under subpart I, reporters already 

have the necessary data to comply with 

the final rule amendments. 

As proposed in the 2012 Technical 

Corrections Proposal, we are also 

amending Table A–7 to subpart A to add 

a subpart L data element used as an 

input to an emission equation (Equation 

L–6) that was inadvertently omitted in 

the final deferral rule. Table A–7 to 

subpart A lists the inputs to emission 

equations whose reporting deadlines 

have been deferred until March 31, 

2015. Table A–7 to subpart A is 

amended to include the data element, 

‘‘the mass of each fluorine-containing 

product produced by the process’’ (40 

CFR 98.126(b)(7)); as is already the case 

with all other subpart L data elements 

assigned to the inputs to equations data 

category, this change defers the 

reporting deadline for this data element 

until March 31, 2015. 

2. Summary of Comments and 

Responses 

We received no comments on the 

proposed amendments to subpart A. 

B. Subpart TT—Industrial Waste 

Landfills 

1. Summary of Final Amendments 

As proposed, we are amending 

subpart TT to exempt industrial waste 

landfills that receive only inert 

materials from reporting under this 

subpart. As discussed in the preamble to 

the proposed rule (77 FR 29935, May 21, 

2012), this amendment ensures that 

landfills that are not expected to emit 

GHGs are excluded from reporting 

under this subpart. Specifically, we are 

adding, as proposed, a degradable 

organic content (DOC) value exclusion 

(provided in weight percent on a wet 

basis) as 40 CFR 98.460(c)(2)(xiii). 

2. Summary of Comments and 

Responses 

We received two comments on the 

proposed amendment to subpart TT. 

Both comments supported EPA’s 

proposed amendments. 

This section contains a brief summary 

of one of the comments received on the 

proposed changes to subpart TT and our 

response. Additional comments and 

responses thereto can be found in the 

document, ‘‘Response to Comments: 

2012 Technical Corrections, Clarifying 

and Other Amendments of the 

Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse 

Gases Rule, and Confidentiality 

Determinations for Certain Data 

Elements of the Fluorinated Gas Source 

Category’’ (see EPA–HQ–OAR–2011– 

0147). 

Comment: One commenter requested 

clarification on the number of test 

results from the use of the anaerobic 

biodegradation test that are required to 

determine whether or not a facility 

meets the definition of the source 

category under this subpart. 

Response: One representative sample 

must be taken and tested using an 

anaerobic biodegradation test in order to 

determine if a waste stream is inert and 

therefore the landfill is exempted from 

reporting under 40 CFR 

98.460(c)(2)(xiii). This is consistent with 

the number of samples required for 

determining an exemption using the 

volatile solids concentration under 40 

CFR 98.460(c)(2)(xii). The EPA agrees 

that a clarification is needed because 

Part 98 currently does not specify the 

number of samples necessary to 

determine whether the exemption 

applies. Therefore, we have added text 

to 40 CFR 98.464(b) to provide this 

clarification. The EPA notes that while 

only one representative sample must be 

taken from each waste stream to be 

tested, the anaerobic biodegradation test 

must be performed according to the 

steps described in 40 CFR 98.464(b)(i), 

which requires multiple waste samples 

to be tested. Therefore, if only one 

representative sample is taken from a 

waste stream, the sample taken must be 

of sufficient size to be subdivided and 

tested according to the requirements in 

40 CFR 98.464(b)(i). 


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C. Subpart W—Petroleum and Natural 

Gas Systems 

1. Summary of Final Amendments 

The EPA is finalizing several 

technical corrections and amendments 

to subpart W as proposed in the 2012 

Technical Corrections Proposal to 

correct equations and otherwise clarify 

provisions in the rule to ensure 

consistency across the calculation, 

monitoring, and reporting requirements 

in subpart W and thereby facilitate 

reporting. The EPA is finalizing the 

following technical corrections and 

amendments as proposed: 

• Removing a factor of 1,000 from the 

denominator of Equation W–6 in 40 CFR 

98.233(e)(5) so that the emissions are 

calculated in standard cubic feet rather than 

thousand standard cubic feet. 

• Providing reporters with the option to 

take and use more than the prescribed 

number of sample measurements per unique 

well tubing diameter and pressure group 

combination per sub-basin. 

• Changing the parameter ‘‘FRp’’ to ‘‘FR’’ 

in Equation W–7 in 40 CFR 98.233(f)(1) to 

avoid confusion. 

• Amending the parameter ‘‘Tp’’ and its 

definition in Equation W–7 to clarify that it 

refers to the cumulative amount of time in 

hours of venting for each well as opposed to 

the time for the measured well(s). 

• Revising the definition of parameter 

‘‘SPp’’ in Equation W–8 in 40 CFR 

98.233(f)(2) to clarify that the reporter must 

take a ratio of casing to tubing pressure. 

• Updating Equation W–8 and also 

Equation W–9 in 40 CFR 98.233(f)(2) and 

(f)(3) by replacing the subscript ‘‘q’’ with ‘‘p’’ 

in parameter ‘‘SFR’’ to match the definition 

of parameter ‘‘SFRp.’’ 

• Clarifying that the terms ‘‘Vp’’ and 

‘‘HRp,q’’ in Equations W–8 and W–9 are to 

be monitored per unloading event. 

• Clarifying that Calculation Methodology 

3 applies to well venting, not ‘‘each’’ well 

venting and that parameter ‘‘W’’ in Equation 

W–9 is the total number of wells with 

plunger lift assist. 

• Revising the term ‘‘backflow’’ to read 

‘‘flowback’’ in 40 CFR 98.233(g) and (g)(1). 

• Adding subscript ‘‘s’’ to several 

parameters in Equations W–10A and W–10B 

to clarify that these parameters are at 

standard conditions. 

• Clarifying that the flow volume variable 

‘‘FVs,p’’ in Equation W–10B is at standard 

cubic feet. 

• Clarifying that the outputs of Equations 

W–11A and W–11B are at actual conditions 

by inserting the word ‘‘actual’’ in the 

definition of flow rate, ‘‘FR,’’ and also adding 

a subscript ‘‘a’’ to denote inputs at actual 

conditions. 

• Adding a reference to Equation W–12 in 

40 CFR 98.233(g)(1)(iii) in the parameter 

definition ‘‘FRs,p’’ to convert ‘‘FRa’’ to 

standard conditions. 

• In Equations W–11A and W–11B, 

clarifying the definition of orifice cross 

sectional area, ‘‘A’’ to state ‘‘Cross sectional 

open area of the restriction orifice (m2).’’ 

(Adding the terms ‘‘open’’ and ‘‘the 

restriction.’’) 

• Providing reporters with the option to 

take and use more than the prescribed 

number of sample measurements per subbasin and well type (horizontal or vertical). 

• Amending Equation W–13 to clarify that 

the output is a sum of emissions from all 

completions and workovers without 

hydraulic fracturing within a sub-basin. 

• Revising parameter ‘‘Es,n’’ in the 

parameter description to match the letter case 

of the term in Equation W–14B, revising the 

term ‘‘Ta’’ to ‘‘Ta,p’’ in Equation W–14B, and 

clarifying that the temperature is for each 

blowdown ‘‘p.’’ 

• Revising 40 CFR 98.233(j)(5) to clarify 

that the term ‘‘throughput’’ refers to ‘‘average 

daily throughput of oil.’’ 

• Revising the definition of ‘‘Count’’ in 

Equation W–15 of 40 CFR 98.233(j)(5) to 

clarify that the reporters are to count only the 

separators or wells that feed oil directly to 

the storage tank. 

• Revising the parameter definition of 

‘‘1000’’ to accurately describe the conversion 

occurring through this parameter. 

• Revising the definition of ‘‘PR’’ in 

Equation W–17B of 40 CFR 98.233(l)(3) to 

clarify that the production rate is in actual 

and not standard conditions. 

• Removing and reserving 40 CFR 

98.233(n)(7) to harmonize the language with 

the reporting requirements in 40 CFR 98.236. 

• Providing the proper notation for the 

summations in Equations W–23, W–24, W– 

27, and W–28 so that owners and operators 

may correctly calculate GHG emissions from 

centrifugal and reciprocating compressors. 

• Amending 40 CFR 98.233(o)(7) to 

remove the word ‘‘thousand’’ in parameter 

‘‘EFi’’ in Equation W–25. 

• Revising the definition of parameter EFi 

in Equation W–25 in 40 CFR 98.233(o)(7) by 

deleting the term ‘‘thousand.’’ 

• Amending an incorrect reference in 40 

CFR 98.233(r)(2) to ‘‘Table W–1A’’ instead of 

‘‘Table 1–A.’’ 

• Revising the phrase ‘‘meter or regulator’’ 

in 40 CFR 98.233(r)(6)(ii) and replacing it 

with ‘‘meter/regulator.’’ 

• Revising 40 CFR 98.233(t) to clarify that 

reporters do not need to alter their 

calculation results to standard conditions if 

the results already reflect standard 

conditions. 

• Revising the definition of parameter ‘‘ri’’ 

in Equation W–36 to amend the density value 

of CH4 to be 0.0192 kg/ft3. Replacing the 

parameter ‘‘ECO2’’ with ‘‘Ea,CO2’’ in the 

parameter definition for Equation W–39A in 

40 CFR 98.233(z)(2)(iii) to match the 

parameters in the equation. 

• Revising the definition of ‘‘HHV’’ in 

Equation W–40 in 40 CFR 98.233(z)(2)(vi) to 

reflect the ‘‘higher’’ heating value 

represented by the acronym. 

• Amending 40 CFR 98.236(c)(5)(ii)(D) to 

clarify that the average internal casing 

diameter of all wells, as opposed to each 

well, must be reported. 

• Amending 40 CFR 98.236(c)(9) to remove 

reference to the optical gas imaging 

instrument. 

• Amending 40 CFR 98.236(c)(13)(iii)(C) to 

replace the units of ‘‘cubic feet per hour’’ 

with ‘‘metric tons of CO2e for each gas’’ to 

align the units of this data reporting element 

to those of the general provisions of Part 98, 

40 CFR 98.3(c)(4)(i), which require reporting 

of annual emissions in units of mass in 

metric tons of CO2e. 

• Updating the incorrect reference to 

‘‘Equation W–30’’ in 40 CFR 

98.236(c)(15)(i)(B) to read ‘‘Equation W– 

30A,’’ updating the incorrect reference to 

‘‘Equation W–30’’ in 40 CFR 

98.236(c)(15)(i)(C) to read ‘‘Equation W– 

30A,’’ and deleting the unnecessary reference 

to ‘‘parameter GHGi’’ in 40 CFR 

98.236(c)(15)(i)(C). 

• Removing the text references to ‘‘(a)(4)’’ 

and ‘‘W–3’’ in 40 CFR 98.236(c)(15)(ii)(A) by 

deleting the unnecessary references to 

‘‘(a)(8).’’ 

• Deleting ‘‘and CH4’’ from the reporting 

requirements for EOR injection pumps in 40 

CFR 98.236(c)(17)(v) to make the data 

reporting requirements consistent with the 

calculation procedures in Equation W–37. 

• Revising the incorrect title of Table W– 

1A of subpart W by deleting ‘‘Table A–1A’’ 

and correcting it to ‘‘Table W–1A.’’ 

• Correcting the emission factors in Table 

W–1A of subpart W as proposed. 

• Amending Table W–5 of subpart W to 

provide the cross-reference for footnote 2, by 

adding a reference associated with footnote 2 

to Vapor Recovery Compressor. 

In addition to finalizing the 

amendments proposed in the 2012 

Technical Corrections Proposal, the EPA 

is finalizing several additional 

corrections to address areas where 

further clarifications to the subpart W 

were considered appropriate based on 

comments received on the 2012 

Technical Corrections Proposal: 

• Removing the factors 365 days and ‘‘T’’ 

from Equation W–6 of subpart W and adding 

a new factor ‘‘N’’ for the number of 

dehydrator openings in the calendar year. 

• Correcting the definition of parameter 

‘‘SPp’’ in Equations W–8 to state that casing 

pressure is to be measured for wells with no 

packer, as opposed to taking the shut-in 

pressure or surface pressure measurement for 

wells with no packers. 

• Correcting the definition of the term 

‘‘PRs,p’’ in Equation W–10A to remove the 

phrase ‘‘under actual conditions, converted 

to standard conditions.’’ 

• Correcting the definition of the terms 

‘‘SGs,p’’ and ‘‘EnFs,p’’ in Equation W–10A to 

include omitted subscripts in the parameter 

references. 

• Correcting the definition of the term ‘‘W’’ 

in Equation W–12 by replacing the word 

‘‘formation’’ with ‘‘combination.’’ 

• Amending 40 CFR 98.233(o)(5), (o)(6), 

(o)(7), (p)(7), and (p)(7)(i) to clarify that the 

annual emissions must be estimated for each 

compressor for each mode-source 

combination measured in the reporting year. 

• Correcting the definitions of the terms 

‘‘Es,n’’ and ‘‘Ea,n’’ in Equation W–33 by 

deleting the parentheses around the terms 

‘‘FRs,p’’ and ‘‘FRa,p’’, respectively. 

• Amending 40 CFR 98.236(c)(6), 

(c)(13)(i)(G), (c)(13)(ii)(C), (c)(13)(iii)(C), 


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(c)(13)(iv), (c)(13)(v)(B), (c)(14)(i)(C), 

(c)(14)(ii)(C), (c)(14)(iii)(C), (c)(14)(iv), and 

(c)(14)(v)(B) to clarify emission reporting 

requirements for compressors. 

Since the amendments to subpart W 

finalized in this action do not change 

the type of information that must be 

collected, the methods used to collect 

the data, or materially affect how the 

emissions are calculated, we are 

requiring reporters to implement the 

amendments finalized in this action for 

the September 28, 2012 reporting 

deadline. 

2. Summary of Comments and 

Responses 

This section contains a brief summary 

of comments on the proposed changes 

to subpart W and responses. Additional 

comments and responses thereto can be 

found in the document, ‘‘Response to 

Comments: 2012 Technical Corrections, 

Clarifying and Other Amendments of 

the Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse 

Gases Rule, and Confidentiality 

Determinations for Certain Data 

Elements of the Fluorinated Gas Source 

Category’’ (see EPA–HQ–OAR–2011– 

0147). 

The EPA received several comments 

on the 2012 Technical Corrections 

Proposal that the EPA has determined to 

be out of the scope of this rulemaking. 

These comments were diverse in nature, 

and covered several provisions within 

subpart W. Some of the comments were 

more technical in nature, for example, 

one comment included a revised 

definition of parameter ‘‘Tp’’ of 

Equation W–7 to allow for reporters to 

use alternative methods such as 

engineering estimates based on best 

available data to determine the 

cumulative amount of time in hours of 

venting for specific wells. Other 

comments included more substantive 

revisions and clarifications to the final 

provisions, for example several 

comments were submitted on the 

monitoring provisions for both 

centrifugal and reciprocating 

compressors and included revisions to 

equation parameters and definitions and 

address concerns previously raised by 

reporters. Also, by way of a third 

example, some of the comments 

submitted were requests for clarification 

on the final provisions, for example, one 

comment included a request for 

clarification on the requirement in 40 

CFR 98.236 for reporting of ‘‘annual 

throughput as determined by 

engineering estimate based on best 

available data.’’ The EPA has reviewed 

these comments, and although these 

comments are out of the scope of the 

2012 Technical Corrections proposal, 

the EPA is considering ways to address 

these comments including possible 

future rulemakings or development of 

materials to post on EPA’s subpart W 

Web site. 

Comment: One commenter 

recommended that Equation W–6 be 

amended to account for situations 

where desiccant dehydrator molecular 

sieves are used. The commenter further 

stated that this change was necessary 

because natural gas processors 

commonly use desiccant dehydrator 

molecular sieves which typically only 

require the dehydrator to be opened to 

the atmosphere once every 3 or 4 years 

when the molecular sieves are replaced. 

The commenter noted that the proposed 

Equation W–6 accounts for the number 

of dehydrator vessel openings by 

dividing 365 days per year by the 

number of days ‘‘T’’ between refilling. 

The commenter recommended revising 

Equation W–6 by removing both the 365 

day factor in the numerator and the 

variable ‘‘T’’ in the denominator and 

adding a new term ‘‘N’’ (number of 

dehydrator change-outs per year) to the 

numerator. 

Response: The EPA has reviewed the 

commenter’s suggested change to 

Equation W–6 to account for situations 

where desiccant dehydrator molecular 

sieves are used in desiccant dehydrators 

such that the equation will accurately 

adjust for the number of times the 

dehydrator vessel is opened to the 

atmosphere when it may occur less 

frequently than once per year. While the 

revision that EPA proposed in the 2012 

Technical Corrections Proposal 

included a proposed amendment to 

Equation W–6 separate from what the 

commenter suggested, we agree that 

Equation W–6 can be amended as noted 

by the commenter to adjust for 

dehydrator vessels that are opened once 

over a multiple year time period. In 

these cases where vessels are opened 

less frequently than once per year, using 

Equation W–6 as written in the final 

subpart W rule would result in an 

inaccurate estimate of emissions. 

Therefore, we have amended Equation 

W–6 of subpart W as recommended by 

the commenter. EPA believes that 

finalizing this technical correction does 

not change the type of information 

collected by reporters who would use 

this equation, and that it is feasible to 

implement this correction for the 2011 

reporting year. 

Comment: Two commenters 

expressed support for EPA’s proposed 

technical corrections to Equations W– 

23, W–24, W–27, and W–28. However, 

two commenters further noted that even 

though the 2012 Technical Corrections 

Proposal correctly proposed removing 

the summation terms in Equations W– 

23, W–24, W–27 and W–28, the 

equations for calculating emissions from 

centrifugal compressors (Equations W– 

23 and W–24) and reciprocating 

compressors (Equations W–27 and W– 

28) were still incomplete because either 

the parameters or the definitions of 

those parameters did not fully align 

with the proposed technical 

amendments. Commenters 

recommended either revising the 

parameter definition for ‘‘Es,i’’ or 

including a definition for the operator 

‘‘m’’ in the equation definitions for 

Equation W–23 and W–27. Commenters 

also recommended including a 

definition for the parameter ‘‘MTm,p’’ in 

Equation W–24 and W–28. 

Response: In the 2012 Technical 

Corrections Proposal, the EPA proposed 

to make corrections, though few, to 

Equations W–23, W–24, W–27 and W– 

28 so that owners and operators would 

correctly calculate GHG emissions using 

those equations. In this action, the EPA 

is finalizing the amendments to both the 

centrifugal compressor and 

reciprocating compressor emission 

sources as proposed in the 2012 

Technical Corrections Proposal. In 

response to those comments, the EPA is 

finalizing a limited set of additional 

corrections for both the centrifugal and 

reciprocating compressor emission 

sources. Specifically, in Equations W– 

23 and W–27, the EPA has finalized a 

correction to the definition for 

parameter ‘‘Es,i’’ such that the proposed 

amendments in the 2012 Technical 

Corrections Rule would correctly align 

with the proposed amendment to 

remove the erroneous summation sign 

from these equations. EPA has reviewed 

the comments submitted, and in this 

action is revising the definition for 

parameter ‘‘Es,i’’ in Equations W–23 and 

W–27, by adding the subscript ‘‘m’’ so 

the parameter now reads ‘‘Es,i,m’’. EPA 

has also revised the parameter 

definition to clarify that the annual 

volumetric GHG emissions are to be 

calculated for each centrifugal 

compressor (for Equation W–23) and for 

each reciprocating compressor 

(Equation W–27) for each of the modesource combination in cubic feet. 

Similarly, for Equations W–24 and W– 

28 the EPA has revised the definition for 

parameters ‘‘MTm,p’’ and ‘‘m’’ in 

response to comments received on the 

2012 Technical Corrections proposed 

rule. The definition for parameter 

‘‘MTm,p’’ has been clarified to state that 

this parameter refers to the flow 

measurement from all compressor 

sources in each mode-source 

combination in standard cubic feet per 

hour, and the definition for parameter 


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51484 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

‘‘m’’ has been clarified to state that this 

parameter refers to each compressor 

mode-source combination. 

Comment: One commenter agreed 

with the proposed change to 40 CFR 

98.236(c)(13)(iii)(C) to correct the units 

for the centrifugal compressor emission 

source to be reported in units of mass 

as opposed to units of cubic feet per 

hour. This same commenter further 

noted that EPA should also apply a 

correction to the data reporting 

requirements for other provisions in 40 

CFR 98.236(c)(13) and (c)(14) such that 

data from these two emissions sources, 

centrifugal compressors and 

reciprocating compressors would be 

reported consistently on a mass unit 

basis. The commenter also noted that 

the references to the equations in 40 

CFR 98.233 that are cited in the data 

reporting requirements for 40 CFR 

98.236(c)(13) and (14) should be 

removed. 

Response: In the 2012 Technical 

Corrections Proposal, the EPA proposed 

a correction to the reporting units for 

centrifugal compressors such that the 

data would be reported in mass units for 

carbon dioxide equivalent instead of 

units of cubic feet per minute. EPA 

agrees with the commenters and has 

corrected the units for the applicable 

provisions in 40 CFR 98.236(c)(13) and 

(14) such that the data will be reported 

consistently on a mass basis. The EPA 

recognizes that corrections to the units 

to the data reporting requirements in 40 

CFR 98.236(c)(13) and (14) were not 

proposed in the 2012 Technical 

Corrections Proposal; however, the EPA 

believes that applying the correction 

proposed in the 2012 Technical 

Corrections Proposal throughout the 

data reporting requirements for these 

emission sources would be logical, and 

would also assist reporters in submitting 

the data. Subpart W reporters are 

required to submit their data to the EPA 

by September 28, 2012 for data collected 

in 2011. Because these reports are being 

submitted for the first time, the EPA 

considers this amendment necessary to 

ensure that the units for these data 

reporting requirements are consistent. 

Further, the EPA believes that this 

change is a technical correction that is 

logical in nature to apply to similar 

provisions for these two emission 

sources. Further, EPA believes that this 

change would result in less burden on 

reporters. Lastly, in line with the 

commenters suggestion to remove the 40 

CFR 98.233 equation references found 

within specific data elements in 40 CFR 

98.236(c)(13) and (14), EPA has agreed 

with the commenter and in this action 

has removed the 40 CFR 98.233 

equation references from the following 

data reporting elements, 40 CFR 

98.236(c)(13)(i)(G), 98.236(c)(13)(ii)(C), 

98.236(c)(13)(iii)(C), 98.236(c)(14)(i)(C), 

98.236(c)(14)(ii)(C), 98.236(c)(14)(iii)(C), 

and 98.236(c)(14)(iv). 

Comment: One commenter questioned 

the proposed amendments to the 

population emission factors in Table W– 

1A of subpart W. This commenter 

specifically questioned why the EPA 

increased the emission factors for 

valves, flanges, connectors, open-ended 

lines, and ‘‘other’’ components as listed 

in Table W–1A to Subpart W. The 

commenter further noted that the values 

previously included in Table W–1A 

were close to the commenter’s estimates 

when rounded up. Finally, the 

commenter recommended EPA not 

revise the Table W–1A emission factors 

for valves, flanges, connectors, openended lines, and ‘‘other’’ components. 

Response: The EPA disagrees with the 

commenter that the Table W–1A 

population emission factors should not 

be revised. In the December 2011 

technical corrections final rule (76 FR 

80592), the emission factors were 

converted from a standard temperature 

of 68 °F to a standard temperature of 

60 °F. In the December 2011 Final Rule, 

the EPA inadvertently used an incorrect 

intermediary version of Table W–1A to 

convert the emission factors, including 

the emission factors for the components 

noted by the commenter. The emission 

factors proposed in the 2012 Technical 

Corrections for Table W–1A show the 

emission factors correctly adjusted to a 

standard temperature of 60 °F. In this 

action, EPA is finalizing the emission 

factors in Table W–1A as proposed in 

the 2012 Technical Corrections 

Proposal. 

Comment: One commenter stated that 

Equation W–14A contains an error in 

the purge factor that causes the equation 

to yield erroneous results. The 

commenter further stated that because 

the volume being purged is converted 

from actual cubic feet to standard cubic 

feet, inconsistent units were being 

subtracted, (i.e. standard cubic feet 

purged and actual cubic feet ‘‘purge 

factor’’) in Equation W–14A. The 

commenter also stated that the 

inconsistency would result in a negative 

number if the volume of the purged item 

in standard cubic feet was less than that 

of actual cubic feet, (i.e. actual 

conditions are hotter or a lower pressure 

than standard conditions). Finally, the 

commenter stated that if the item is not 

being purged, the commenter believes 

the calculation should not be used, as 

there would be no GHG emissions from 

the blowdown stack. 

Response: The EPA agrees with the 

commenter that the natural gas 

remaining in the unique physical 

volume after the blowdown is complete 

without purging is at actual conditions. 

However, after a blowdown, ‘‘actual 

conditions’’ are essentially equivalent to 

atmospheric conditions, or standard 

conditions (as a simplifying assumption 

explained further below). 

Equation W–14A calculates the 

volume of natural gas emitted from 

blowdowns. When equipment is 

depressurized, the gas contained in the 

unique volume expands as it goes from 

actual conditions (process pressure and 

temperature) to standard conditions 

(i.e., atmospheric pressure and 

temperature). Equation W–14A accounts 

for this physical change. After 

expansion (i.e., venting), some gas will 

remain in the equipment or unique 

physical volume if the equipment is not 

purged. This unvented gas should be 

subtracted from the volume of expanded 

gas. If the remaining gas in the 

equipment is purged, then the purge 

factor in Equation W–14A equals zero 

and nothing will be subtracted from the 

emissions calculated earlier in the 

equation as all of the expanded gas 

volume has been emitted to the 

atmosphere. If the remaining gas is not 

purged, then the purge factor equals one 

and the unique physical volume will be 

subtracted as it was not vented and 

released to the atmosphere. There are 

several simplifying assumptions in the 

equation to facilitate its use. It is 

assumed that the process temperature 

and/or pressure are significantly 

different than standard conditions. It is 

also assumed that the equipment is fully 

vented to the atmosphere, resulting in 

the final condition of the gas being at 

atmospheric temperature and pressure. 

It is also assumed that the atmospheric 

temperature and pressure are not 

significantly different than standard 

conditions. These simplifying 

assumptions are true in a majority, if not 

all cases. 

D. Subpart L—Fluorinated Gas 

Production 

1. Summary of Final Amendments and 

Confidentiality Determinations 

Final amendments. As explained in 

Section I.D of this preamble, the EPA is 

deferring detailed reporting of GHG 

emissions from fluorinated gas 

production facilities until 2014 in 

today’s final rule. In the meantime, the 

EPA is requiring that GHG emissions be 

reported in a more aggregated manner 

than previously required for the initial 

two years of reporting under subpart L. 

These changes pertain only to subpart L, 

and are temporary (i.e., for reporting in 

2012 and 2013) to allow the EPA 


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8This includes emissions from all fluorinated gas 

production processes, all fluorinated gas 

transformation processes that are not part of a 

fluorinated gas production process, all fluorinated 

gas destruction processes that are not part of a 

fluorinated gas production process or a fluorinated 

gas transformation process, and venting of residual 

fluorinated GHGs from containers returned from the 

field. 

9This is part of the provision of subpart L that 

allows facilities to request to use provisional GWPs 

to calculate whether they must use stack testing to 

establish an emission factor for a vent. Note that 

EPA is not requiring approval of best-estimate 

GWPs in this action. 

sufficient time to fully evaluate 

concerns raised by stakeholders that 

reporting, and subsequent EPA release, 

of certain emissions would reveal trade 

secrets. 

For reporting in 2012 and 2013, we 

are requiring owners and operators of 

facilities producing fluorinated gases to 

report annual total facility-wide 

fluorinated GHG emissions from 2011 

and 2012 respectively in tons of CO2e.8

The facilities are not required to report 

process level emissions or individual 

fluorinated GHGs in 2012 and 2013. 

These amendments do not change any 

other requirements of Part 98 or affect 

the deferral of the reporting deadline for 

subpart L data elements used as inputs 

to emission equations until March 31, 

2015 (76 FR 53057, August 25, 2011). 

These amendments do not change the 

requirement that these subpart L data 

elements in today’s final rule be 

retained as records in a form that is 

suitable for expeditious inspection and 

review (required for all Part 98 records 

by 40 CFR 98.3(g)). 

As proposed, this final rule provides 

that owners and operators of facilities 

producing fluorinated gases are not 

required to submit the data elements 

listed below until March 31, 2014: 

• 40 CFR 98.3(c)(4)(iii) 

• 40 CFR 98.126 (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(4), 

(a)(6), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), and (h). 

Fluorinated gas producers subject to 

subpart L are required to report only the 

data elements in 40 CFR 98.126(a)(5) 

(the methods used) and in paragraph 40 

CFR 98.126(j) (facility-level CO2e 

emissions) for reporting of 2011 and 

2012 emissions in 2012 and 2013. 

Consistent with 40 CFR 98.126(e), a 

facility must include any excess 

emissions, converted to CO2e, that result 

from malfunctions of the destruction 

device when reporting total facility 

CO2e under 40 CFR 98.126(j). However, 

as noted in 40 CFR 98.126(j), these 

excess emissions do not need to be 

reported separately, but must be 

included in the facility-wide CO2e 

reported. In this action, we have also 

amended 98.126(a)(5) as proposed to 

require facilities to report the methods 

used to determine emissions at a facility 

level rather than linking each method to 

a particular process. 

The EPA requires that facilities use 

Equation A–1 of subpart A to calculate 

CO2e from the mass of fluorinated GHG 

emissions. For fluorinated GHGs that do 

not have a global warming potential 

(GWP) listed in Table A–1, facilities are 

required to use either a default GWP or 

their best estimate of the GWP, based on 

the information described in 40 CFR 

98.123(c)(1)(vi)(A)(3).9 As discussed 

further in Section II.D.2 of this 

preamble, we have clarified that use of 

quantitative structure activity 

relationships (QSARs), which are based 

on the chemical structure of the 

compound, is an acceptable method for 

estimating the GWP in situations where 

neither pure standards of the compound 

nor fourier transform infrared 

spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra for the 

chemicals mixed with the compound 

(i.e., impurities) are available. 

As proposed, the default GWP used 

depends on the type of fluorinated GHG. 

For fully fluorinated GHGs, the default 

GWP is 10,000, which is based on the 

average GWP of the fully fluorinated 

GHGs in Table A–1 of subpart A. For the 

purposes of subpart L, the EPA is 

finalizing as proposed the addition of 

the definition of ‘‘fully fluorinated 

GHGs’’ to 40 CFR 98.128: ‘‘Fluorinated 

GHGs that contain only single bonds 

and in which all available valence 

locations are filled by fluorine atoms. 

This includes, but is not limited to 

saturated perfluorocarbons, SF6, NF3, 

SF5CF3, fully fluorinated linear, 

branched and cyclic alkanes, fully 

fluorinated ethers, fully fluorinated 

tertiary amines, fully fluorinated 

aminoethers, and perfluoropolyethers.’’ 

As proposed, for other fluorinated 

GHGs, the default GWP is 2,000, which 

is based on the average GWP of the 

other fluorinated GHGs on Table A–1 of 

subpart A. 

As proposed, we are adding four new 

data elements to the subpart L reporting 

requirements. Facilities that use one or 

more default or best-estimate GWPs are 

required to report the amounts of CO2e 

emissions that were calculated using 

each of the two default values as well 

as using best-estimate GWPs. This 

enables the EPA to understand the 

potential impact of the default or bestestimate GWPs on the uncertainty of the 

overall estimated emissions of the 

facility. (Default and best-estimate 

GWPs are likely to have higher 

uncertainties than GWPs from Table A– 

1.) Also as proposed, facilities using 

default or best-estimate GWPs for 

fluorinated GHGs without GWPs in 

Table A–1 of subpart A are required to 

keep records of the GWP they used for 

each GHG. As proposed, facilities using 

best-estimate GWPs are also required to 

keep records of the data and analysis 

that were used to develop the GWPs, in 

a form that is suitable for expeditious 

inspection and review (required for all 

Part 98 records by 40 CFR 98.3(g)). As 

discussed further in Section II.D.2 of 

this preamble, we are updating the 

proposed recordkeeping requirement to 

specify that where QSARs are used to 

estimate GWPs, facilities must retain 

information related to the reliability of 

GWPs based on the QSARs. 

Final Confidentiality Determinations. 

We are finalizing the confidentiality 

determinations for the four new subpart 

L data elements (listed in Table 2 of this 

preamble) as proposed. In the proposal, 

we assigned these four data elements to 

the ‘‘Emissions’’ data category because 

they describe emissions exhausted to 

the atmosphere, and apply to these data 

elements the categorical confidentiality 

determination the EPA made in the 

2011 Final CBI rule for that data 

category, i.e., the data elements in this 

data category are ‘‘emission data’’ under 

CAA section 114(c) and 40 CFR 

2.301(a)(2)(i). We received no comments 

on our proposed category assignment 

and confidentiality determination 

described above. We are therefore 

finalizing the determination that these 

data elements are ‘‘emission data,’’ 

which are not eligible for confidential 

treatment under section 114(c) of the 

CAA. 


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10The CBI determinations of these data categories 

were finalized in the 2011 Final CBI Rule (May 26, 

2011, 76 FR 30782). 

11Note that the actual radiative forcing also 

depends on other variables, such as whether or not 

the gas is sufficiently long-lived to become wellmixed in the atmosphere. 

TABLE 2—REPORTING DATA ELEMENTS AND CONFIDENTIALITY DETERMINATIONS

Citation Data element Data category (finalized CBI determination 10) 

1 ................ 98.126(j)(3) ................................... You must report the total fluorinated GHG 

emissions of the facility, expressed in tons 

of CO2e.

Emissions (Emission Data: Made available to 

the public). 

2 ................ 98.126(j)(3)(ii) ............................... Provide the total annual emissions across 

fluorinated GHGs for the entire facility, in 

metric tons of CO2e, that were calculated 

using the default GWP of 2000.

Emissions (Emission Data: Made available to 

the public). 

3 ................ 98.126(j)(3)(iii) .............................. Provide the total annual emissions across 

fluorinated GHGs for the entire facility, in 

metric tons of CO2e, that were calculated 

using the default GWP of 10,000.

Emissions (Emission Data: Made available to 

the public). 

4 ................ 98.126(j)(3)(iv) .............................. Provide the total annual emissions across 

fluorinated GHGs for the entire facility, in 

metric tons of CO2e, that were calculated 

using your best estimate of the GWP.

Emissions (Emission Data: Made available to 

the public). 

2. Summary of Comments and 

Responses 

This section contains a brief summary 

of comments on the proposed changes 

to subpart L and responses. 

Additional comments and responses 

thereto can be found in the document, 

‘‘Response to Comments: 2012 

Technical Corrections, Clarifying and 

Other Amendments of the Mandatory 

Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule, 

and Confidentiality Determinations for 

Certain Data Elements of the 

Fluorinated Gas Source Category’’ (see 

EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–0147). 

Comment: One commenter 

recommended that 40 CFR 98.126(j) be 

revised to clarify that comparable 

methods for best-estimate GWPs based 

on use of professional judgment are 

acceptable if they result in accuracy that 

is comparable to the accuracy associated 

with the methods described in 40 CFR 

98.123(c)(1)(vi)(A)(3). This commenter 

stated that measurement of the lowpressure gas phase infrared absorption 

spectrum for a particular fluorinated 

GHG is not possible where neither pure 

standards of the ‘‘target’’ fluorinated 

GHG nor FTIR spectra for the impurities 

are available. In such circumstances, the 

commenter recommended the EPA 

allow reporters to use quantitative 

structure activity relationships (QSARs) 

that mathematically relate the radiative 

forcing and/or atmospheric lifetime (i.e., 

reaction rate) of a compound to the 

chemical’s structure (i.e., type of 

compound, number of carbon-halogen 

bonds, etc.). The commenter believes 

that QSARs are a valid approach for 

obtaining a ‘‘best estimate’’ of GWP in 

situations where infrared spectroscopy 

cannot be used and that this approach 

is consistent with the methods that are 

described in 40 CFR 

98.123(c)(1)(vi)(A)(3). The commenter 

also stated that comparisons between 

measured and QSAR-derived GWPs 

have shown that the uncertainty 

associated with QSAR-derived estimates 

of radiative forcing is between 18 to 23 

percent and that the uncertainty 

associated with QSAR-derived estimates 

of the atmospheric lifetime is 30 percent 

on average for a given class of 

compounds. The commenter stated that 

the overall uncertainty of QSAR-derived 

GWPs is a combination of these two 

uncertainties, but that use of a QSARbased GWP is still more accurate than 

the default GWPs of 2,000 or 10,000 

provided in the rule. 

Response: The EPA agrees with the 

commenter that for purposes of this 

rule, use of QSARs is an acceptable 

alternative method for estimating GWPs 

of fluorinated GHGs that do not have a 

GWP listed in Table A–1 of subpart A. 

QSARs are based on statistical analysis 

correlating the chemical or biological 

activity of compounds (including, e.g., 

radiative forcing and reaction rates) 

with their molecular structure and/or 

properties. The activity of one or more 

compounds is estimated (modeled) 

based on the activity of compounds 

with similar structures. The accuracy of 

QSAR-derived estimates depends on the 

structural similarity between the 

‘‘target’’ compound and the group of 

compounds (often called ‘‘analogs’’) 

used to model it and on the quantity 

and quality of the measurements of the 

activity of the analogs, among other 

factors. We are finding use of QSARs 

acceptable for purposes of this rule 

because they can provide reasonable 

estimates of the likely radiative 

forcing 11 and lifetime of the compound, 

which is what the provisions described 

at 40 CFR 98.123(c)(1)(vi)(A)(3) are 

intended to ensure. 

As requested by the commenter, we 

have revised 40 CFR 98.126(j) to specify 

that the use of QSARs for determining 

GWPs is an acceptable method for 

situations where the infrared spectrum 

of a fluorinated GHG cannot be 

measured because neither pure 

standards of the ‘‘target’’ fluorinated 

GHG nor FTIR spectra for the impurities 

are available. In addition, we have 

revised the proposed recordkeeping 

requirements at 40 CFR 98.127 to 

require retention of information related 

to the reliability of GWPs based on 

QSARs. This includes information on 

how the structure of the ‘‘target’’ 

fluorinated GHG is similar to the 

structures of the fluorinated GHGs used 

to model the radiative forcing and/or 

reaction rate of the ‘‘target’’ fluorinated 

GHG, the quality and quantity of the 

measurements of the radiative forcings 

and/or reaction rates of the fluorinated 

GHGs used to model these parameters 

for the ‘‘target’’ fluorinated GHG, any 

estimated uncertainties of the modeled 

forcings and/or reaction rates, and 

descriptions and results of any efforts to 

validate the QSAR model(s). 

Although we find the use of QSARs 

to be acceptable in this situation, we 

disagree with the commenter’s 

recommendation that the rule be revised 

to state that any comparable methods 

based on use of professional judgment 

are acceptable if they result in accuracy 

that is comparable to the accuracy 

associated with the methods described 

in 40 CFR 98.123(c)(1)(vi)(A)(3). Since 

the commenter provided no description 

of any other alternative methods, we are 

unable to assess whether other methods 

based on professional judgment would 


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provide an acceptable level of accuracy. 

Thus, we are not including a blanket 

provision permitting use of comparable 

methods based on professional 

judgment. 

III. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

This final rule, which finalizes several 

corrections to specific provisions in 

subparts A, TT, W, and L to provide 

greater clarity and flexibility to facilities 

subject to reporting in 2012 and 

finalizes confidentiality determinations 

for amended subpart L reporting 

requirements, is not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under the terms of 

Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993) and is therefore not 

subject to review under Executive 

Orders 12866 and 13563 (76 FR 3821, 

January 21, 2011). 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act 

These final rule amendments and 

confidentiality determinations do not 

increase the recordkeeping and 

reporting burden associated with Part 

98. The amendments to subpart L result 

in a net decrease in burden since they 

result in less detailed reporting under 

subpart L than would otherwise have 

been required by the December 2010 

subpart L final rule. Although we have 

added new recordkeeping provisions to 

subpart L, these apply only to those 

facilities electing to use the optional 

QSAR approach to determining GWPs 

instead of the default factors provided 

in the rule. Additionally, the subpart L 

confidentiality determinations do not 

impose any additional burden. The 

subpart A amendment is merely a 

harmonizing change to a technical 

correction finalized in February 2012 for 

subpart I that clarifies the existing 

reporting requirements. The subpart TT 

amendment excludes some facilities 

from the reporting requirements and 

reduces the burden by making it easier 

for facilities to determine applicability 

of subpart TT under the GHG Reporting 

Rule. Finally, the subpart W 

amendments are technical corrections 

and clarifications that help clarify GHG 

calculations and reporting and do not 

materially affect the actions facilities 

must take to comply with the rule or 

add any additional reporting 

requirements. The OMB has previously 

approved the information collection 

requirements for subparts A on October 

30, 2009, subpart L on December 1, 

2010, subpart W promulgated on 

November 30, 2010, subpart TT 

promulgated on July 12, 2010 under 40 

CFR part 98 under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq., and has assigned OMB 

control numbers 2060–0629; 2060–0650; 

and 2060–0647; and 2060–0649 

respectively. The OMB control numbers 

for the EPA’s regulations in 40 CFR are 

listed in 40 CFR part 9. Further 

information on the EPA’s assessment on 

the impact on burden can be found in 

the 2012 Technical Corrections and 

Amendments Cost Memo in docket 

number EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–0147. 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

The RFA generally requires an agency 

to prepare a regulatory flexibility 

analysis of any rule subject to notice 

and comment rulemaking requirements 

under the Administrative Procedure Act 

or any other statute unless the agency 

certifies that the rule will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

Small entities include small businesses, 

small organizations, and small 

governmental jurisdictions. 

For purposes of assessing the impacts 

of this final rule on small entities, a 

small entity is defined as: (1) A small 

business as defined by the Small 

Business Administration’s regulations at 

13 CFR 121.201; (2) a small 

governmental jurisdiction that is a 

government of a city, county, town, 

school district or special district with a 

population of less than 50,000; and (3) 

a small organization that is any not-forprofit enterprise which is independently 

owned and operated and is not 

dominant in its field. 

After considering the economic 

impacts of these final rule amendments 

on small entities, I certify that this 

action will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. These rule 

amendments and confidentiality 

determinations will not impose any 

additional burden on small entities 

beyond that currently required by 40 

CFR part 98, subpart A promulgated on 

October 30, 2009; subpart TT 

promulgated on July 12, 2010; subpart 

W promulgated on November 30, 2010, 

or subpart L promulgated on December 

1, 2010. The EPA is promulgating the 

amendments in this action to provide 

clarity, add flexibility, to address 

ambiguity in the rule provisions, and to 

make corrections where necessary to 

assist reporters in implementation of 

these subparts. 

Further, the EPA took several steps to 

reduce the impact of 40 CFR part 98 on 

small entities when developing the final 

GHG reporting rules in 2009 and 2010. 

Specifically, the EPA determined 

appropriate thresholds that reduced the 

number of small businesses reporting. In 

addition, the EPA conducted several 

meetings with industry associations to 

discuss regulatory options and the 

corresponding burden on industry, such 

as recordkeeping and reporting. Finally, 

the EPA continues to conduct 

significant outreach on the GHG 

reporting program and maintains an 

‘‘open door’’ policy for stakeholders to 

help inform the EPA’s understanding of 

key issues for the industries. 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) 

This final rule does not contain a 

Federal mandate that may result in 

expenditures of $100 million or more 

for state, local, and tribal governments, 

in the aggregate, or the private sector in 

any one year. Thus, the final rule 

amendments and confidentiality 

determinations for are not subject to the 

requirements of section 202 and 205 of 

the UMRA. This rule is also not subject 

to the requirements of section 203 of 

UMRA because it contains no regulatory 

requirements that might significantly or 

uniquely affect small governments. The 

final amendments will not impose any 

new requirements that are not currently 

required for 40 CFR part 98, and the 

final rule amendments will not unfairly 

apply to small governments. Therefore, 

this action is not subject to the 

requirements of section 203 of the 

UMRA. 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

The final rule amendments and 

confidential determinations to part 98 

do not have federalism implications. 

They will not have substantial direct 

effects on the states, on the relationship 

between the national government and 

the states, or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities among the 

various levels of government, as 

specified in Executive Order 13132. 

These amendments and confidentiality 

determinations apply directly to 

facilities that supply certain products 

that would result in GHGs when 

released, combusted or oxidized and 

facilities that directly emit greenhouse 

gases. They do not apply to 

governmental entities unless the 

government entity owns a facility that 

directly emits GHGs above threshold 

levels, so relatively few government 

facilities would be affected. This 

regulation also does not limit the power 

of states or localities to collect GHG data 

and/or regulate GHG emissions. Thus, 

Executive Order 13132 does not apply 

to this action. 


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Although section 6 of Executive Order 

13132 does not apply to this action, the 

EPA did consult with state and local 

officials or representatives of state and 

local governments in developing 

subparts A on October 30, 2009; subpart 

TT promulgated on July 12, 2010; 

subpart W promulgated on November 

30, 2010; and subpart L promulgated on 

December 1, 2010. A summary of the 

EPA’s consultations with state and local 

governments is provided in Section 

VIII.E of the preamble to the 2009 final 

rule. 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This action does not have tribal 

implications, as specified in Executive 

Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 

2000). This final rule, which finalizes 

several corrections to specific 

provisions in subparts A, TT, W, and L 

to provide greater clarity and flexibility 

to facilities subject to reporting in 2012 

and finalizes confidentiality 

determinations for amended subpart L 

reporting requirements, will not 

increase the burden associated with the 

current requirements of 40 CFR part 98. 

Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not 

apply to this action. 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks 

The EPA interprets Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) as 

applying only to those regulatory 

actions that concern health or safety 

risks, such that the analysis required 

under section 5–501 of the Executive 

Order has the potential to influence the 

regulation. This action is not subject to 

Executive Order 13045 because it does 

not establish an environmental standard 

intended to mitigate health or safety 

risks. 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

This action is not subject to Executive 

Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 

2001), because it is not a significant 

regulatory action under Executive Order 

12866. 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act 

Section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (NTTAA), Public Law 104– 

113 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) directs the EPA 

to use voluntary consensus standards in 

its regulatory activities unless to do so 

would be inconsistent with applicable 

law or otherwise impractical. Voluntary 

consensus standards are technical 

standards (e.g., materials specifications, 

test methods, sampling procedures, and 

business practices) that are developed or 

adopted by voluntary consensus 

standards bodies. NTTAA directs the 

EPA to provide Congress, through OMB, 

explanations when the EPA decides not 

to use available and applicable 

voluntary consensus standards. The 

final rule amendments do not involve 

technical standards. Therefore, the EPA 

did not consider the use of any 

voluntary consensus standards. 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal 

Actions to Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations 

Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, 

February 16, 1994) establishes federal 

executive policy on environmental 

justice. Its main provision directs 

federal agencies, to the greatest extent 

practicable and permitted by law, to 

make environmental justice part of their 

mission by identifying and addressing, 

as appropriate, disproportionately high 

and adverse human health or 

environmental effects of their programs, 

policies, and activities on minority 

populations and low-income 

populations in the United States. 

The EPA has determined that the final 

rule amendments and confidentiality 

determinations will not have 

disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects 

on minority or low-income populations 

because it does not affect the level of 

protection provided to human health or 

the environment because it is a rule 

addressing information collection and 

reporting procedures. 

K. Congressional Review Act 

The Congressional Review Act, 5 

U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), 

generally provides that before a rule 

may take effect, the agency 

promulgating the rule must submit a 

rule report, which includes a copy of 

the rule, to each House of the Congress 

and to the Comptroller General of the 

United States. The EPA will submit a 

report containing this rule and other 

required information to the U.S. Senate, 

the U.S. House of Representatives, and 

the Comptroller General of the United 

States prior to publication in the 

Federal Register. A major rule cannot 

take effect until 60 days after it is 

published in the Federal Register. This 

action is not a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined 

by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). This final rule is 

effective on August 24, 2012, except for 

the amendments to 40 CFR 98.3(c)(4) 

(the subpart A amendments that affect 

subpart I) and the confidentiality 

determinations for subpart L, which are 

effective on September 24, 2012. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 98 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Greenhouse gases, Suppliers, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: August 3, 2012. 

Lisa P. Jackson, 

Administrator. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, title 40, chapter I, of the Code 

of Federal Regulations is amended as 

follows: 

PART 98—[AMENDED] 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 98 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. 

Subpart A—[Amended] 

■ 2. Amend § 98.3 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraphs (c)(4) 

introductory text, (c)(4)(i), and 

(c)(4)(iii)(E); 

■ b. Adding paragraph (c)(4)(iii)(F); and 

■ c. Revising paragraph (c)(4)(vi). 

■ The additions and revisions read as 

follows: 

§ 98.3 What are the general monitoring, 

reporting, recordkeeping and verification 

requirements of this part? 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(4) For facilities, except as otherwise 

provided in paragraph (c)(12) of this 

section, report annual emissions of CO2, 

CH4, N2O, each fluorinated GHG (as 

defined in § 98.6), and each fluorinated 

heat transfer fluid (as defined in § 98.98) 

as follows. 

(i) Annual emissions (excluding 

biogenic CO2) aggregated for all GHG 

from all applicable source categories, 

expressed in metric tons of CO2e 

calculated using Equation A–1 of this 

subpart. For electronics manufacturing 

(as defined in § 98.90), starting in 

reporting year 2012 the CO2e calculation 

must include each fluorinated heat 

transfer fluid (as defined in § 98.98) 

whether or not it is also a fluorinated 

GHG. 

* * * * * 

(iii) * * * 

(E) Each fluorinated GHG (as defined 

in § 98.6), including those not listed in 

Table A–1 of this subpart. 

(F) For electronics manufacturing (as 

defined in § 98.90), each fluorinated 

heat transfer fluid (as defined in § 98.98) 

that is not also a fluorinated GHG as 

specified under (c)(4)(iii)(E) of this 


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section. This requirement applies 

beginning in reporting year 2012. 

* * * * * 

(vi) When applying paragraph (c)(4)(i) 

of this section to fluorinated GHGs and 

fluorinated heat transfer fluids, 

calculate and report CO2e for only those 

fluorinated GHGs and fluorinated heat 

transfer fluids listed in Table A–1 of this 

subpart. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Amend Table A–7 to subpart A of 

part 98 by revising the entries for 

subpart L to read as follows: 

TABLE A–7 TO SUBPART A OF PART 98—DATA ELEMENTS THAT ARE INPUTS TO EMISSION EQUATIONS AND FOR WHICH

THE REPORTING DEADLINE IS MARCH 31, 2015 

Subpart Rule citation (40 CFR part 98) 

Specific data elements for which reporting date is 

March 31, 2015 

(‘‘All’’ means all data elements in the cited paragraph 

are not required to be reported until March 31, 2015) 

*******

L ........................................... 98.126(b)(1) ..................................................................... Only data used in calculating the absolute errors and 

data used in calculating the relative errors. 

L ........................................... 98.126(b)(2) ..................................................................... All. 

L ........................................... 98.126(b)(6) ..................................................................... Only mass of each fluorine-containing reactant fed into 

the process. 

L ........................................... 98.126(b)(7) ..................................................................... Only mass of each fluorine-containing product produced by the process. 

L ........................................... 98.126(b)(8)(i) ................................................................. Only mass of each fluorine-containing product that is 

removed from the process and fed into the destruction device. 

L ........................................... 98.126(b)(8)(ii) ................................................................. Only mass of each fluorine-containing by-product that 

is removed from the process and fed into the destruction device. 

L ........................................... 98.126(b)(8)(iii) ................................................................ Only mass of each fluorine-containing reactant that is 

removed from the process and fed into the destruction device. 

L ........................................... 98.126(b)(8)(iv) ................................................................ Only mass of each fluorine-containing by-product that 

is removed from the process and recaptured. 

L ........................................... 98.126(b)(8)(v) ................................................................ All. 

L ........................................... 98.126(b)(9)(i) ................................................................. All. 

L ........................................... 98.126(b)(9)(ii) ................................................................. All. 

L ........................................... 98.126(b)(9)(iii) ................................................................ All. 

L ........................................... 98.126(b)(10) ................................................................... All. 

L ........................................... 98.126(b)(11) ................................................................... All. 

L ........................................... 98.126(b)(12) ................................................................... All. 

L ........................................... 98.126(c)(1) ..................................................................... Only quantity of the process activity used to estimate 

emissions. 

L ........................................... 98.126(c)(2) ..................................................................... All. 

L ........................................... 98.126(d) ......................................................................... Only estimate of missing data. 

L ........................................... 98.126(f)(1) ...................................................................... All. 

L ........................................... 98.126(g)(1) ..................................................................... All. 

L ........................................... 98.126(h)(2) ..................................................................... All. 

*******

Subpart L—[Amended] 

■ 4. Amend § 98.126 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraphs (a) 

introductory text and (a)(5); and 

■ b. Adding paragraph (j). 

The additions and revisions read as 

follows: 

§ 98.126 Data reporting requirements. 

(a) All facilities. In addition to the 

information required by § 98.3(c), you 

must report the information in 

paragraphs (a)(2) through (a)(6) of this 

section according to the schedule in 

paragraph (a)(1) of this section, except 

as otherwise provided in paragraph (j) of 

this section or in § 98.3(c)(4)(vii) and 

Table A–7 of Subpart A of this part. 

* * * * * 

(5) The methods used to determine 

the mass emissions of each fluorinated 

GHG, i.e., mass balance, process-ventspecific emission factor, or processvent-specific emission calculation 

factor, at the facility. If you use the 

process-vent-specific emission factor or 

process-vent-specific emission 

calculation factor method, report the 

methods used to estimate emissions 

from equipment leaks. 

* * * * * 

(j) Special provisions for reporting 

years 2011 and 2012 only. For reporting 

years 2011 and 2012, the owner or 

operator of a facility must comply with 

paragraphs (j)(1), (j)(2), and (j)(3) of this 

section. 

(1) Timing. The owner or operator of 

a facility is not required to report the 

data elements at § 98.3(c)(4)(iii) and 

§ 98.126(a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(4), (a)(6), (b), 

(c), (d), (e), (f), (g), and (h) of this section 

until the later of March 31, 2014 or the 

date set forth for that data element at 

§ 98.3(c)(4)(vii) and Table A–7 of 

Subpart A of this part. 

(2) Excess emissions. Excess 

emissions of fluorinated GHGs resulting 

from destruction device malfunctions 

must be reflected in the reported 

facility-wide CO2e emissions but are not 

required to be reported separately. 

(3) Calculation and reporting of CO2e. 

You must report the total fluorinated 


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51490 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

GHG emissions covered by this subpart, 

expressed in metric tons of CO2e. This 

includes emissions from all fluorinated 

gas production processes, all fluorinated 

gas transformation processes that are not 

part of a fluorinated gas production 

process, all fluorinated gas destruction 

processes that are not part of a 

fluorinated gas production process or a 

fluorinated gas transformation process, 

and venting of residual fluorinated 

GHGs from containers returned from the 

field. To convert fluorinated GHG 

emissions to CO2e for reporting under 

this section, use Equation A–1 of § 98.2. 

For fluorinated GHGs whose GWPs are 

not listed in Table A–1 of Subpart A of 

this part, use either the default GWP 

specified below or your best estimate of 

the GWP based on the information 

described in § 98.123(c)(1)(vi)(A)(3). Use 

of quantitative structure activity 

relationships (QSARs) is an acceptable 

method for determining GWPs in 

situations where pure standards of the 

‘‘target’’ fluorinated GHG are not 

available, the ‘‘target’’ fluorinated GHG 

cannot be isolated from gas streams, and 

FTIR spectra for the impurities are not 

available. 

(i) If you choose to use a default GWP 

rather than your best estimate of the 

GWP for fluorinated GHGs whose GWPs 

are not listed in Table A–1 to this 

subpart, use a default GWP of 10,000 for 

fluorinated GHGs that are fully 

fluorinated GHGs and use a default 

GWP of 2000 for other fluorinated 

GHGs. 

(ii) Provide the total annual emissions 

across fluorinated GHGs for the entire 

facility, in metric tons of CO2e, that 

were calculated using the default GWP 

of 2000. 

(iii) Provide the total annual 

emissions across fluorinated GHGs for 

the entire facility, in metric tons of 

CO2e, that were calculated using the 

default GWP of 10,000. 

(iv) Provide the total annual 

emissions across fluorinated GHGs for 

the entire facility, in metric tons of 

CO2e, that were calculated using your 

best estimate of the GWP. 

■ 5. Amend § 98.127 by: 

■ a. Revising the introductory text. 

■ b. Adding paragraph (k). 

The addition and revisions read as 

follows: 

§ 98.127 Records that must be retained. 

In addition to the records required by 

§ 98.3(g), you must retain the dated 

records specified in paragraphs (a) 

through (k) of this section, as applicable. 

* * * * * 

(k) For fluorinated GHGs whose GWPs 

are not listed in Table A–1 to subpart A 

of this part, maintain records of the 

GWPs used to calculate facility-wide 

CO2e emissions under § 98.127(j). 

Where you used your best estimate of 

the GWP, maintain records of the data 

and analysis used to develop that GWP, 

including the data elements at 

§ 98.123(c)(1)(vi)(A)(1)through (3). If 

you have used QSARs to estimate the 

GWP, include information documenting 

the level of accuracy of the QSARderived GWP, including information on 

how the structure of the ‘‘target’’ 

fluorinated GHG is similar to the 

structures of the fluorinated GHGs used 

to model the radiative forcing and/or 

reaction rate of the ‘‘target’’ fluorinated 

GHG, the quality and quantity of the 

measurements of the radiative forcings 

and/or reaction rates of the fluorinated 

GHGs used to model these parameters 

for the ‘‘target’’ fluorinated GHG, any 

estimated uncertainties of the modeled 

forcings and/or reaction rates, and 

descriptions and results of any efforts to 

validate the QSAR model(s). 

■ 6. Amend § 98.128 by adding the 

definition of ‘‘Fully fluorinated GHGs’’ 

in alphabetical order to read as follows: 

§ 98.128 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Fully fluorinated GHGs means 

fluorinated GHGs that contain only 

single bonds and in which all available 

valence locations are filled by fluorine 

atoms. This includes but is not limited 

to saturated perfluorocarbons, SF6, NF3, 

SF5CF3, fully fluorinated linear, 

branched and cyclic alkanes, fully 

fluorinated ethers, fully fluorinated 

tertiary amines, fully fluorinated 

aminoethers, and perfluoropolyethers. 

* * * * * 

Subpart W—[Amended] 

■ 7. Amend § 98.233 by: 

■ a. In paragraph (e)(5), revising 

Equation W–6 and all of its definitions; 

■ b. Revising paragraph (f)(1) 

introductory text, Equation W–7, and 

the definition of parameter ‘‘Tp’’ in 

Equation W–7, removing the definition 

of parameter ‘‘FRp’’, and adding in its 

place the definition of parameter ‘‘FR’’; 

■ c. Revising paragraphs (f)(1)(i) 

introductory text and (f)(1)(i)(A). 

■ d. In paragraph (f)(2), revising 

Equation W–8 and the definitions of 

parameters ‘‘SPp’’, ‘‘Vp’’, and ‘‘HRp,q’’ in 

Equation W–8; 

■ e. Revising paragraph (f)(3) 

introductory text, Equation W–9, and 

the definitions of parameters ‘‘W’’, ‘‘Vp’’, 

and ‘‘HRp,q’’ in Equation W–9; 

■ f. In paragraph (g), revising Equations 

W–10A and W–10B, removing the 

definitions of ‘‘FRM’’, ‘‘PRp’’, ‘‘EnFp’’, 

‘‘SGp’’, and ‘‘FVp’’, and adding in their 

place respectively the definitions of 

‘‘FRMs’’, ‘‘PRs,p’’, ‘‘EnFs,p’’, ‘‘SGs,p’’, and 

‘‘FVs,p’’; 

■ g. Revising paragraph (g)(1) 

introductory text; 

■ h. In paragraph (g)(1)(ii), revising 

Equations W–11A and W–11B, and the 

definitions of parameter ‘‘A’’ in both 

Equations W–11A and W–11B, and 

removing the definitions of parameter 

‘‘FR’’ in both Equations W–11A and W– 

11B,, and adding in their place 

respectively the definitions of parameter 

‘‘FRa’’; 

■ i. In paragraph (g)(1)(iii), revising 

Equation W–12, and all of its 

definitions; 

■ j. Revising paragraph (g)(3)(i); 

■ k. In paragraph (h), revising the 

definition of parameter ‘‘Es,n’’ in 

Equation W–13; 

■ l. In paragraph (i)(3), revising the 

definition of parameter ‘‘ES,N’’ in 

Equation W–14A, revising Equation W– 

14B, removing the definition of 

parameter ‘‘Ta’’ in Equation W–14B, and 

adding in its place the definition of 

parameter ‘‘Ta,p’’; 

■ m. Revising paragraph (j)(5) 

introductory text and the definition of 

parameters ‘‘Count’’ and ‘‘1,000’’ in 

Equation W–15; 

■ n. In paragraph (l)(3) introductory text 

revising the definition of parameter 

‘‘PR’’ in Equation W–17B; 

■ o. Removing and reserving paragraph 

(n)(7); 

■ p. In paragraph (o)(5) introductory 

text, revising Equation W–23, removing 

the definition of parameter ‘‘Es,i’’, and 

adding in its place the definition of 

parameter ‘‘Es,i,m’’ . 

■ q. In paragraph (o)(6), revising 

Equation W–24 and the definition of 

parameter ‘‘m’’, and removing the 

definition of parameter ‘‘MTm’’, and 

adding in its place the definition of 

parameter ‘‘MTm,p’’; 

■ r. In paragraph (o)(7), revising the 

definition of ‘‘EFi’’ in Equation W–25; 

■ s. In paragraph (p)(7) introductory 

text, revising Equation W–27, removing 

the definition of parameter ‘‘Es,i’’ in 

Equation W–27, and adding in its place 

the definition of parameter ‘‘Es,i,m’’; 

■ t. In paragraph (p)(7)(i) introductory 

text, revising Equation W–28 and the 

definition of parameter ‘‘m’’, and 

removing the definition of parameter 

‘‘MTm’’, and adding in its place the 

definition of parameter ‘‘MTm,p’’; 

■ u. Revising paragraph (r)(2) 

introductory text; 

■ v. Revising paragraph (r)(6)(ii) 

introductory text; 

■ w. Revising paragraph (t) introductory 

text, paragraph (t)(1) introductory text, 

and the definition of parameters ‘‘Es,n’’ 

and ‘‘Ea,n’’ in Equation W–33; 


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■ x. In paragraph (v), revising the 

definition of ‘‘ri’’ in Equation W–36; 

■ y. In paragraph (z)(2)(iii), removing 

the definition of ‘‘ECO2’’ in Equations 

W–39A and W–39B, and adding in its 

place the definition of ‘‘Ea,CO2’’; 

■ z. In paragraph (z)(2)(vi), revising the 

definition of parameter ‘‘HHV’’ in 

Equation W–40. 

The addition and revisions read as 

follows: 

§ 98.233 Calculating GHG emissions. 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

(5) * * * 

Where: 

Es,n = Annual natural gas emissions at 

standard conditions in cubic feet. 

H = Height of the dehydrator vessel (ft). 

D = Inside diameter of the vessel (ft). 

P1 = Atmospheric pressure (psia). 

P2 = Pressure of the gas (psia). 

P = pi (3.14). 

%G = Percent of packed vessel volume that 

is gas. 

N = Number of dehydrator openings in the 

calendar year. 

100 = Conversion of %G to fraction. 

* * * * * 

(f) * * * 

(1) Calculation Methodology 1. For at 

least one well of each unique well 

tubing diameter group and pressure 

group combination in each sub-basin 

category (see § 98.238 for the definitions 

of tubing diameter group, pressure 

group, and sub-basin category), where 

gas wells are vented to the atmosphere 

to expel liquids accumulated in the 

tubing, a recording flow meter shall be 

installed on the vent line used to vent 

gas from the well (e.g., on the vent line 

off the wellhead separator or 

atmospheric storage tank) according to 

methods set forth in § 98.234(b). 

Calculate emissions from well venting 

for liquids unloading using Equation 

W–7 of this section. 

* * * * * 

Tp = Cumulative amount of time in hours of 

venting for each well, p, of the same 

tubing diameter group and pressure 

group combination in a sub-basin during 

the year. 

FR = Average flow rate in cubic feet per hour 

for all measured wells venting for the 

duration of the liquids unloading, under 

actual conditions as determined in 

paragraph (f)(1)(i) of this section. 

(i) Determine the well vent average 

flow rate as specified under paragraph 

(f)(1)(i) of this section for at least one 

well in a unique well tubing diameter 

group and pressure group combination 

in each sub-basin category. 

(A) The average flow rate per hour of 

venting is calculated for each unique 

tubing diameter group and pressure 

group combination in each sub-basin 

category by dividing the recorded total 

flow by the recorded time (in hours) for 

all measured liquid unloading events 

with venting to the atmosphere. 

* * * * * 

(2) * * * 

* * * * * 

SPp = For each well, p, shut-in pressure or 

surface pressure for wells with tubing 

production or casing pressure for each 

well with no packers in pounds per 

square inch absolute (psia); or casing-totubing pressure ratio of one well with no 

packer from the same sub-basin 

multiplied by the tubing pressure of each 

well, p, in the sub-basin, in pounds per 

square inch absolute (psia). 

Vp = Number of unloading events per year 

per well, p. 

* * * * * 

HRp,q = Hours that each well, p, was left open 

to the atmosphere during each unloading 

event, q. 

* * * * * 

(3) Calculation Methodology 3. 

Calculate emissions from well venting 

to the atmosphere for liquids unloading 

with plunger lift assist using Equation 

W–9 of this section. 

* * * * * 

W = Total number of wells with plunger lift 

assist and well venting for liquids 

unloading for each sub-basin. 

* * * * * 

Vp = Number of unloading events per year for 

each well, p. 

* * * * * 

HRp,q = Hours that each well, p, was left open 

to the atmosphere during each unloading 

event, q. 

* * * * * 

(g) * * * 


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* * * * * 

FRMs = Ratio of flowback during well 

completions and workovers from 

hydraulic fracturing to 30-day 

production rate from Equation W–12. 

PRs,p = First 30-day average production flow 

rate in standard cubic feet per hour of 

each well p, as required in paragraph 

(g)(1) of this section. 

EnFs,p = Volume of CO2 or N2 injected gas in 

cubic feet at standard conditions that 

was injected into the reservoir during an 

energized fracture job for each well p. If 

the fracture process did not inject gas 

into the reservoir, then EnFs,p is 0. If 

injected gas is CO2 then EnFs,p is 0. 

SGs,p = Volume of natural gas in cubic feet 

at standard conditions that was 

recovered into a flow-line for well p as 

per paragraph (g)(3) of this section. This 

parameter includes any natural gas that 

is injected into the well for clean-up. If 

no gas was recovered, SGs,p is 0. 

FVs,p = Flow volume of each well (p) in 

standard cubic feet measured using a 

recording flow meter (digital or analog) 

on the vent line to measure flowback 

during the completion or workover 

according to methods set forth in 

§ 98.234(b). 

(1) The average flow rate for flowback 

during well completions and workovers 

from hydraulic fracturing shall be 

determined using measurement(s) for 

Calculation Methodology 1 or 

calculation(s) for Calculation 

Methodology 2 described in this 

paragraph (g)(1) of this section. If 

Equation W–10A is used, the number of 

measurements or calculations shall be 

determined per sub-basin and well type 

(horizontal or vertical) as follows: at 

least one measurement or calculation for 

less than or equal to 25 completions or 

workovers; at least two measurements or 

calculations for 26 to 50 completions or 

workovers; at least three measurements 

or calculations for 51 to 100 

completions or workovers; at least four 

measurements or calculations for 101 to 

250 completions or workovers; and at 

least five measurements or calculations 

for greater than 250 completions or 

workovers. 

* * * * * 

(ii) * * * 

Where: FRa = Average flow rate in cubic feet per 

hour, under actual subsonic flow 

conditions. 

A = Cross sectional open area of the 

restriction orifice (m2). 

* * * * * 

Where: 

FRa = Average flow rate in cubic feet per 

hour, under actual sonic flow conditions. 

A = Cross sectional open area of the 

restriction orifice (m2). 

* * * * * 

(iii) * * * 

Where: 

FRMs = Ratio of flowback rate during well 

completions and workovers from 

hydraulic fracturing to 30-day 

production rate. 

FRs,p = Measured flowback rate from 

Calculation Methodology 1 described in 

paragraph (g)(1)(i) of this section or 

calculated flow rate from Calculation 

Methodology 2 described in paragraph 

(g)(1)(ii) of this section in standard cubic 

feet per hour for well(s) p for each subbasin and well type (horizontal or 

vertical) combination. Measured and 

calculated FRa values shall be converted 

from actual conditions (FRa) to standard 

conditions (FRs,p) for each well p using 

Equation W–33 in paragraph (t) of this 

section. You may not use flow volume as 

used in Equation W–10B converted to a 

flow rate for this parameter. 

PRs,p = First 30-day production rate in 

standard cubic feet per hour for each 

well p that was measured in the subbasin and well type combination. 

N = Number of measured or calculated well 

completions or workovers using 

hydraulic fracturing in a sub-basin and 

well type combination. 

* * * * * 

(3) * * * 

(i) Use the factor SGs,P in Equation W– 

10A of this section, to adjust the 

emissions estimated in paragraphs (g)(1) 

through (g)(4) of this section by the 

magnitude of emissions captured using 

purpose designed equipment that 

separates saleable gas from the flowback 

as determined by engineering estimate 

based on best available data. 

* * * * * 

(h) * * * 

* * * * * 

Es,n = Annual natural gas emissions in 

standard cubic feet from gas well venting 

during well completions and workovers 

without hydraulic fracturing. 

* * * * * 

(i) * * * 

(3) * * * 

* * * * * 

Es,n = Annual natural gas venting emissions 

at standard conditions from blowdowns 

in cubic feet. 

* * * * * 


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* * * * * 

Ta,p = Temperature at actual conditions in the 

unique physical volume (°F) for each 

blowdown ‘‘p’’. 

* * * * * 

(j) * * * 

(5) Calculation Methodology 5. For 

well pad gas-liquid separators and for 

wells flowing off a well pad without 

passing through a gas-liquid separator 

with annual average daily throughput of 

oil less than 10 barrels per day use 

Equation W–15 of this section: 

* * * * * 

Count = Total number of separators or wells 

with annual average daily throughput 

less than 10 barrels per day. Count only 

separators or wells that feed oil directly 

to the storage tank. 

1,000 = Conversion from thousand standard 

cubic feet to standard cubic feet. 

* * * * * 

(l) * * * 

(3) * * * 

* * * * * 

PR = Average annual production rate in 

actual cubic feet per day for the gas 

well(s) being tested. 

* * * * * 

(o) * * * 

(5) * * * 

* * * * * 

Es,i,m = Annual total volumetric GHG 

emissions at standard conditions from 

each centrifugal compressor for modesource combination m, in cubic feet. 

* * * * * 

(6) * * * 

* * * * * 

MTm,p = Flow measurements from all 

centrifugal compressor sources in each 

mode-source combination, m, for each 

measured compressor, p, in standard 

cubic feet per hour. 

m = Compressor mode-source combination as 

listed in paragraphs (o)(1)(i) through 

(o)(1)(iii). 

* * * * * 

(7) * * * 

Where: 

EFi = Emission factor for GHGi. Use 1.2 × 107

standard cubic feet per year per 

compressor for CH4 and 5.30 × 105

standard cubic feet per year per 

compressor for CO2 at 60 °F and 14.7 

psia. 

* * * * * 

(p) * * * 

(7) * * * 

* * * * * 

Es,i,m = Annual total volumetric GHG 

emissions at standard conditions from 

each reciprocating compressor for modesource combination m, in cubic feet. 

(i) * * * 

* * * * * 

MTm,p = Flow measurements from all 

reciprocating compressor sources in each 

mode-source combination, m, for each 

measured compressor, p, in standard 

cubic feet per hour. 

m = Compressor mode-source combination as 

listed in (p)(1) through (p)(3). 

* * * * * 

(r) * * * 

(2) Onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production facilities shall use the 

appropriate default population emission 

factors listed in Table W–1A of this 

subpart for equipment leaks from 

valves, connectors, open ended lines, 

pressure relief valves, pump, flanges, 

and other. Major equipment and 

components associated with gas wells 

are considered gas service components 

in reference to Table W–1A of this 

subpart and major natural gas 

equipment in reference to Table W–1B 

of this subpart. Major equipment and 

components associated with crude oil 

wells are considered crude service 

components in reference to Table W–1A 

of this subpart and major crude oil 

equipment in reference to Table W–1C 

of this subpart. Where facilities conduct 

EOR operations the emissions factor 

listed in Table W–1A of this subpart 


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51494 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

shall be used to estimate all streams of 

gases, including recycle CO2 stream. 

The component count can be 

determined using either of the 

methodologies described in this 

paragraph (r)(2). The same methodology 

must be used for the entire calendar 

year. 

* * * * * 

(6) * * * 

(ii) Emissions from all above grade 

metering-regulating stations (including 

above grade TD transfer stations) shall 

be calculated by applying the emission 

factor calculated in Equation W–32 and 

the total count of meter/regulator runs at 

all above grade metering-regulating 

stations (inclusive of TD transfer 

stations) to Equation W–31. The facility 

wide emission factor in Equation W–32 

will be calculated by using the total 

volumetric GHG emissions at standard 

conditions for all equipment leak 

sources calculated in Equation W–30B 

in paragraph (q)(8) of this section and 

the count of meter/regulator runs 

located at above grade transmissiondistribution transfer stations that were 

monitored over the years that constitute 

one complete cycle as per paragraph 

(q)(8)(i) of this section. A meter on a 

regulator run is considered one meter/ 

regulator run. Reporters that do not have 

above grade T–D transfer stations shall 

report a count of above grade meteringregulating stations only and do not have 

to comply with § 98.236(c)(16)(xix). 

* * * * * 

(t) Volumetric emissions. If equation 

parameters in § 98.233 are already at 

standard conditions, which results in 

volumetric emissions at standard 

conditions, then this paragraph does not 

apply. Calculate volumetric emissions at 

standard conditions as specified in 

paragraphs (t)(1) or (2) of this section, 

with actual pressure and temperature 

determined by engineering estimates 

based on best available data unless 

otherwise specified. 

(1) Calculate natural gas volumetric 

emissions at standard conditions using 

actual natural gas emission temperature 

and pressure, and Equation W–33 of this 

section for conversions of Ea,n or 

conversions of FRa (whether sub-sonic 

or sonic). 

* * * * * 

Es,n = Natural gas volumetric emissions at 

standard temperature and pressure (STP) 

conditions in cubic feet, except Es,n

equals FRs,p for each well p when 

calculating either subsonic or sonic 

flowrates under 98.233(g). 

Ea,n = Natural gas volumetric emissions at 

actual conditions in cubic feet, except 

Ea,n equals FRa,p for each well p when 

calculating either subsonic or sonic 

flowrates under 98.233(g). 

* * * * * 

(v) * * * 

* * * * * 

Pi = Density of GHGi. Use 0.0526 kg/ft3 for 

CO2 and N2O, and 0.0192 kg/ft3 for CH4

at 60°F and 14.7 psia. 

* * * * * 

(z) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(iii) * * * 

* * * * * 

Ea,CO2 = Contribution of annual CO2

emissions from portable or stationary 

fuel combustion sources in cubic feet, 

under actual conditions. 

* * * * * 

(vi) * * * 

* * * * * 

HHV = For the higher heating value for field 

gas or process vent gas, use 1.235 × 10¥3

mmBtu/scf for HHV. 

* * * * * 

■ 8. Section 98.236 is amended by: 

■ a. Revising paragraph (c)(5)(ii)(D). 

■ b. Revising paragraph (c)(9) 

introductory text. 

■ c. Revising paragraphs (c)(13)(i)(G), 

(c)(13)(ii)(C), (c)(13)(iii)(C), (c)(13)(iv), 

and (c)(13)(v)(B). 

■ d. Revising paragraphs (c)(14)(i)(C), 

(c)(14)(ii)(C), (c)(14)(iii)(C), (c)(14)(iv), 

and (c)(14)(v)(B). 

■ e. Revising paragraphs (c)(15)(i)(B), 

(c)(15)(i)(C), and (c)(15)(ii)(A). 

■ f. Revising paragraph (c)(17)(v). The 

revisions read as follows: 

§ 98.236 Data reporting requirements. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(5) * * * 

(ii) * * * 

(D) Average internal casing diameter, 

in inches, for all wells, where 

applicable. 

* * * * * 

(9) For transmission tank emissions 

identified in § 98.233(k) from scrubber 

dump valves report the following: 

* * * * * 

(13) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(G) Report seal oil degassing vent 

emissions for compressors measured 

and for compressors not measured in 

metric tons of CO2e for each gas. 

(ii) * * * 

(C) Report blowdown vent emissions 

when in operating mode in metric tons 

of CO2e for each gas. 

(iii) * * * 

(C) Report the isolation valve leakage 

emissions in not operating, 

depressurized mode in metric tons of 

CO2e for each gas. 

(iv) Report total annual compressor 

emissions from all modes of operation 

in metric tons of CO2e for each gas. 

(v) * * * 

(B) Report annual emissions in metric 

tons of CO2e for each gas (refer to 

Equation W–25 of § 98.233) collectively. 

(14) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(C) Report rod packing emissions for 

compressors measured and for 

compressors not measured in metric 

tons of CO2e for each gas. 

(ii) * * * 

(C) Report blowdown vent emissions 

when in operating and standby 

pressurized modes in metric tons of 

CO2e for each gas. 

(iii) * * * 

(C) Report isolation valve leakage 

emissions in not operating, 

depressurized mode in metric tons of 

CO2e for each gas. 

(iv) Report total annual compressor 

emissions from all modes of operation 

in metric tons of CO2e for each gas. 

(v) * * * 

(B) Report annual emissions in metric 

tons of CO2e for each gas collectively 

(refer to Equation W–29 of § 98.233). 

(15) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(B) For onshore natural gas 

processing, range of concentrations of 

CH4 and CO2 (refer to Equation W–30A 

of § 98.233). 

(C) Annual CO2 and CH4 emissions in 

metric tons CO2e for each gas (refer to 

Equation W–30A of § 98.233), by 

component type. 

(ii) * * * 

(A) For source categories 

§ 98.230(a)(5), (a)(6), and (a)(7), total 

count for each component type in 

Tables W–4, W–5, and W–6 of this 

subpart for which there is a population 

emission factor, listed by major heading 

and component type. 

* * * * * 

(17) * * * 

(v) For each EOR pump, report annual 

CO2 emissions, expressed in metric tons 

CO2e for each gas. 

* * * * * 

■ 9. Revise Table A–1A of Subpart W of 

part 98 to read as follows: 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 51495 

TABLE A–1A OF SUBPART W—DEFAULT WHOLE GAS EMISSION FACTORS FOR ONSHORE PETROLEUM

AND NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION

Onshore petroleum and 

natural gas production 

Emission factor 

(scf/hour/ 

component) 

Eastern U.S. 

Population Emission Factors—All 

Components, Gas Service 1

Valve ................................... 0 .027 

Connector ........................... 0 .003 

Open-ended Line ................ 0 .061 

Pressure Relief Valve ......... 0 .040 

Low Continuous Bleed 

Pneumatic Device Vents 2 1 .39 

High Continuous Bleed 

Pneumatic Device Vents 2 37 .3 

Intermittent Bleed Pneumatic Device Vents 2 ....... 13 .5 

Pneumatic Pumps 3 ............ 13 .3 

Population Emission Factors—All 

Components, Light Crude Service 4

Valve ................................... 0 .05 

Flange ................................. 0 .003 

Connector ........................... 0 .007 

Open-ended Line ................ 0 .05 

Pump .................................. 0 .01 

Other 5 ................................. 0 .30 

Population Emission Factors—All 

Components, Heavy Crude Service 6

Valve ................................... 0 .0005 

Flange ................................. 0 .0009 

Connector (other) ............... 0 .0003 

Open-ended Line ................ 0 .006 

Other 5 ................................. 0 .003 

Western U.S. 

Population Emission Factors—All 

Components, Gas Service 1

Valve ................................... 0 .121 

Connector ........................... 0 .017 

Open-ended Line ................ 0 .031 

Pressure Relief Valve ......... 0 .193 

Low Continuous Bleed 

Pneumatic Device Vents 2 1 .39 

High Continuous Bleed 

Pneumatic Device Vents 2 37 .3 

Intermittent Bleed Pneumatic Device Vents 2 ....... 13 .5 

Pneumatic Pumps 3 ............ 13 .3 

TABLE A–1A OF SUBPART W—DEFAULT WHOLE GAS EMISSION FACTORS FOR ONSHORE PETROLEUM

AND NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION— 

Continued 

Onshore petroleum and 

natural gas production 

Emission factor 

(scf/hour/ 

component) 

Population Emission Factors—All 

Components, Light Crude Service 4

Valve ................................... 0 .05 

Flange ................................. 0 .003 

Connector (other) ............... 0 .007 

Open-ended Line ................ 0 .05 

Pump .................................. 0 .01 

Other 5 ................................. 0 .30 

Population Emission Factors—All 

Components, Heavy Crude Service 6

Valve ................................... 0 .0005 

Flange ................................. 0 .0009 

Connector (other) ............... 0 .0003 

Open-ended Line ................ 0 .006 

Other 5 ................................. 0 .003 

1For multi-phase flow that includes gas, use 

the gas service emissions factors. 2Emission Factor is in units of ‘‘scf/hour/device.’’ 3Emission Factor is in units of ‘‘scf/hour/ 

pump.’’ 4 Hydrocarbon liquids greater than or equal 

to 20°API are considered ‘‘light crude.’’ 5 ‘‘Others’’ category includes instruments, 

loading arms, pressure relief valves, stuffing 

boxes, compressor seals, dump lever arms, 

and vents. 6 Hydrocarbon liquids less than 20°API are 

considered ‘‘heavy crude.’’ 

■ 10. Amend Table W–5 of Subpart W 

of part 98 by revising the entry for 

‘‘Vapor Recovery Compressor’’ to read 

as follows: 

TABLE W–5 OF SUBPART W—DEFAULT

METHANE EMISSION FACTORS FOR

LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS (LNG) 

STORAGE

LNG Storage 

Emission factor 

(scf/hour/ 

component) 

* * * * * 

Vapor Recovery Compressor 2 .......................... 4 .17 

TABLE W–5 OF SUBPART W—DEFAULT

METHANE EMISSION FACTORS FOR

LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS (LNG) 

STORAGE—Continued 

LNG Storage 

Emission factor 

(scf/hour/ 

component) 

* * * * * 

2Emission Factor is in units of ‘‘scf/hour/ 

device.’’ 

* * * * * 

Subpart TT—[Amended] 

■ 11. Amend § 98.460 by adding 

paragraph (c)(2)(xiii) to read as follows: 

§ 98.460 Definition of source category. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(xiii) Other waste material that has a 

DOC value of 0.3 weight percent (on a 

wet basis) or less. DOC value must be 

determined using a 60-day anaerobic 

biodegradation test procedure identified 

in § 98.464(b)(4)(i)(A). 

* * * * * 

■ 12. Section 98.464(b) is revised to 

read as follows: 

§ 98.464 Monitoring and QA/QVC 

requirements. 

* * * * * 

(b) For each waste stream placed in 

the landfill during the reporting year for 

which you choose to determine volatile 

solids concentration for the purposes of 

§ 98.460(c)(2)(xii) or choose to 

determine a landfill-specific DOCx for 

use in Equation TT–1 of this subpart or 

for the purposes of § 98.460(c)(2)(xiii) of 

this subpart, you must collect and test 

a representative sample of that waste 

stream using the methods specified in 

paragraphs (b)(1) through (b)(4) of this 

section. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2012–19957 Filed 8–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 


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