Oil and Gas NSPS Public Hearing— API Statement April 29, 2013 Good morning.
My name

is Matthew Todd and I’m

a senior policy advisor

at the American Petroleum Institute.
API represents more than 500 oil and natural gas companies, leaders

of

a technology-driven industry that supplies most
of America’s energy, supports

9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.7 percent

of the U.S. economy,
and delivers more than $86 million

a day
in revenue

to our government.

Our industry plays

a vital role
in meeting the energy demands

of our nation and many
of our members
will be directly impacted

by the outcome

of this regulation. I should start by saying that API has been actively engaged throughout

the development

of the Oil and Natural Gas Sector New Source Performance Standards,

to advocate

for

a final rule that

is cost-effective, achievable
and would not inadvertently jeopardize

the safety

of our operators

in any way. To that end, we have worked

to identify cost-effective technologies

to achieve the emission reductions

the EPA was seeking and to ensure sufficient time to implement

the rule so as not to impede operations

or create undue compliance
risk. It’s also important

to note that this regulation

is a major expansion

of the existing NSPSthatwillfundamentallychangethewayindustryoperatesfromthispointforward.Nosmalltask.Lastyear,whenthefinalrulewaspublished,itwasobviousthatimplementationofthestoragetankrequirementsaspublishedwassimplygoingtobeanimpossibletask.APIestimatesthattherearetensofthousandsoftanksthatwouldbeaffectedbythisrulesincethe2011proposaldateandsimplynotenoughemissioncontrolstoinstallbytheOctoberdeadline.Subsequently,APIfiledapetitionforreconsiderationofthefinalruletoaddressthisimplementationissueinhopesofarrivingatacommonsensesolutionthatwillallowindustryadequatetimetoimplementtherule.Thesechangesarecriticaltoavoidunnecessarycompliancecomplicationsandinterruptiontooperationsthatwillarisethisfalliftheruledoesnotchange.Again,APImembersdonotobjecttocontrollingemissionsfromthesetanks;however,thecontrolsshouldbeimplementedonatimeframeandwithenoughflexibilityappropriateforasourcecategorywithtensofthousandsofaffectedsourcesnow,andthethousandsofnewtanksthatareexpectedtobeinstalledeachyear,yearafteryear.TheproposedruleunderdiscussiontodayappearstoaddresstheseconcernsandwebelievetheAgencyhasputforthanapproachthatmakessensebyrequiringcontrols

on new tanks from this date forward (that
is, the proposed Group

2 tanks) while phasing

in controls
for tanks that have been installed since the proposal date (the proposed Group

1 tanks). While we agree with the general construct

of the proposed rule, API plans
to submit some recommendations

to add clarity

to tracking
the Group

1 tanks. For example

it will be critical

to make very clear what emission events will cause the Group

1 tanks
to follow the Group 2 requirements.

In addition,
API

is supportive

of the proposed compliance assurance requirements

that confirm the emissions controls
are in place and functioning properly and believes this approach could, and should, apply
to other sources. In closing,
we agree with the President’s statements
that the development

of natural gas
is a job creator and that we don’t have to choose between
the environment

and our economy. And while some may say that EPA should regulate everything

and regulate

it now, it’s quite another thing for our industry

to implement,

and the EPA to track,

a rule that will ultimately impact and reduce emissions from hundreds

of thousands

of sources, many
of which,

as you know, are in extremely remote and unmanned locations.
We commend

the Agency
for trying

to strike that balance throughout

this effort. The proposal significantly improves
the rule and makes

it more achievable.

It gives industry

a chance

torealizetheVOCemissionreductions,includingtheco-benefits,theAgencyisseekingandisastepintherightdirectiontowarddeliveringtheregulatoryclaritytheindustrymusthavetoresponsiblycontinueoperations.Thankyouforprovidingmethisopportunitytodelivertestimonyonthisveryimportantregulation.