92602 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 226 / Friday, November 22, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

(A) NR 400.03(4)(mf), as published in 

the Wisconsin Register March 2024 No. 

819, effective April 1, 2024. 

(B) NR 428.02(7i), NR 428.02(7p), NR 

428.02(7u), NR 428.02(7w), NR 

428.04(2)(i), NR 428.04(4)(c), NR 

428.05(2)(b), NR 428.05(2)(f), NR 

428.05(3)(f), NR 428.05(5)(c), NR 

428.055, NR 428.07(1)(a)2, NR 

428.08(2)(e)title, NR 428.08(2)(f)title, NR 

428.08(2)(g), NR 428.08(3), NR 

428.21(3)(d), NR 428.22(1) introductory 

text, NR 428.22(3), and NR 428.24(1)(c), 

as published in the Wisconsin Register 

March 2024 No. 819, effective April 1, 

2024. 

(C) NR 484.04 Table 2 Row (15m), as 

published in the Wisconsin Register 

March 2024 No. 819, effective April 1, 

2024. 

[FR Doc. 2024–26114 Filed 11–21–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

43 CFR Part 3170 

[BLM_HQ_FRN_MO4500181705] 

RIN 1004–AF01 

Waste Prevention, Production Subject 

to Royalties, and Resource 

Conservation 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: On April 10, 2024, the Bureau 

of Land Management (BLM) published a 

final rule that aims to reduce the waste 

of natural gas from venting, flaring, and 

leaks during oil and gas production 

activities on Federal and Indian leases. 

This direct final rule corrects technical 

errors in that final rule, including 

revisions to equations for consistency 

with, or to better reflect, the regulatory 

text. It separately lists definitions of the 

variables for those equations for 

increased clarity. It also corrects 

typographical errors and makes minor 

re-arrangements of provisions for better 

clarity. 

DATES: This direct final rule is effective 

on December 23, 2024, without further 

notice, unless the BLM receives 

significant adverse comment by 

December 23, 2024. If the BLM receives 

a significant adverse comment that leads 

it to conclude that the rule is 

controversial, the BLM will publish a 

timely withdrawal of this direct final 

rule in the Federal Register and the 

technical corrections described in this 

direct final rule will not go into effect. 

The incorporation by reference of 

certain material listed in the rule was 

approved by the Director of the Federal 

Register as of June 10, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: 

Mail, personal, or messenger delivery: 

U.S. Department of the Interior, Director 

(630), Bureau of Land Management, 

1849 C St. NW, Room 5646, 

Washington, DC 20240, Attention: 

1004–AF01. 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://

www.regulations.gov. In the Searchbox, 

enter ‘‘RIN 1004–AF01’’ and click the 

‘‘Search’’ button. Follow the 

instructions at this website. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Ajak, Acting Division Chief, Division of 

Fluid Minerals at 505–549–9654 or 

jajak@blm.gov for information about the 

final rule. Please use ‘‘RIN 1004–AF01’’ 

in the subject line. 

Individuals in the United States who 

are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or 

have a speech disability may dial 711 

(TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

Individuals outside the United States 

should use the relay services offered 

within their country to make 

international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. 

For a short, plain language summary 

of the direct final rule, please see the 

direct final rule summary document in 

docket BLM–2024–0001 on 

www.regulations.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

This direct final rule corrects 

technical errors in 43 CFR subpart 3179 

of the final rule that published in the 

Federal Register on April 10, 2024 (89 

FR 25378), entitled, ‘‘Waste Prevention, 

Production Subject to Royalties, and 

Resource Conservation’’ (Waste 

Prevention rule). The Waste Prevention 

rule established various measures to 

reduce waste of natural gas from 

onshore Federal and Indian oil and gas 

leases, including measures that are 

intended to ensure that, when such gas 

is wasted, the public or Indian mineral 

owners are compensated for that gas 

through royalty payments. To assist in 

meeting these objectives, § 3179.71(b) 

requires operators to measure flared gas 

for high-pressure flares for volumes 

greater than 1,050 Mcf per month above 

the averaging period (as defined in 43 

CFR 3170.3). The Waste Prevention rule 

also sets out, in § 3179.71(g) and (h), 

three equations intended to be used by 

operators when reporting or allocating 

flared gas. In addition, the Waste 

Prevention rule established a Leak 

Detection and Repair (LDAR) program 

for production facilities located on 

Federal or Indian surface estates. 

API 22.3 is referenced in the 

amendatory text of this document and 

was previously approved for § 3179.71. 

II. Direct Final Rulemaking 

The BLM is publishing corrections to 

the Waste Prevention rule as a direct 

final rule. This rule merely corrects 

inadvertent errors that would otherwise 

cause unnecessary confusion for the 

operators attempting to comply with the 

reporting requirements of the Waste 

Prevention rule, but does not impose 

new requirements. None of the changes 

are inconsistent with the BLM’s 

explanation of the Waste Prevention 

rule in its preamble. Therefore, the 

Department of the Interior has 

determined that it is appropriate for this 

rule to go into effect at the close of a 30- 

day comment period unless BLM 

receives a significant adverse comment. 

A significant adverse comment is one 

that explains: (1) why the rule is 

inappropriate, including challenges to 

the rule’s underlying premise or 

approach; or (2) why the direct final 

rule will be ineffective or unacceptable 

without additional changes. After the 

30-day comment period closes, the BLM 

will assess whether any of the 

comments received qualify as a 

significant adverse comment. If the BLM 

finds that there is a significant adverse 

comment, then it will withdraw this 

direct final rule. If no such comment is 

received, this direct final rule will 

become effective on December 23, 2024, 

without further BLM action. The BLM 

will not consider a comment 

recommending an addition to the rule to 

be significant or adverse unless the 

comment explains how this direct final 

rule would be ineffective without 

additional change. Aside from the 

technical corrections described in this 

direct final rule, this rule does not affect 

the Waste Prevention rule. 

III. Discussion 

The BLM is making technical 

corrections to Equations 2 and 3 in 

§ 3179.71, as further discussed below. In 

addition, the BLM is restyling Equation 

1 by moving the value to be determined 

from the right side of the equal sign to 

the left, in keeping with mathematical 

convention. In addition, for clarity, the 

rule as now corrected separately lists 

the variable definitions for each 

equation (in the final rule, the variable 

definitions for Equations 1 and 2 were 

combined in a single list). This rule also 

adds clarifying language in § 3179.71(b) 

and (g) and removes unintended and 

unworkable references to low-pressure 

flare volumes, discussed below, and 


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corrects typographical errors, such as in 

§ 3179.2(a) (removing a second 

unintended instance of the word 

‘‘provide’’) and in § 3179.71(b) 

(correcting the reference to paragraph 

(h) so that it refers instead to the 

intended paragraph (g)). 

In response to public comment on the 

proposed rule and based on further 

consideration, the BLM included 

equations in § 3179.71(g) and (h) of the 

final Waste Prevention rule to guide 

operators in reporting estimated 

volumes of flared gas. The BLM 

included Equations 1 and 2 in 

paragraph (g) for operators to use in 

estimating the flared volumes for highpressure flares measuring less than 

1,050 Mcf per month. The BLM 

included Equation 3 in paragraph (h) to 

assist operators in allocating flared 

volumes when gas from multiple leases, 

unit participating areas (unit PAs), or 

communitization areas (CAs) is 

commingled and then measured at a 

single flare, as authorized in 

§ 3179.71(a). 

Following publication of the final 

rule, the BLM received questions from 

several industry groups. One group 

observed that Equation 2 does not 

account for the on-lease use of gas when 

accounting for the disposition of the 

total gas produced, contrary to the 

Waste Prevention rule preamble 

acknowledgment that ‘‘[t]he BLM 

authorizes royalty-free use of lease 

production for operations and 

production purposes, including placing 

oil or gas in marketable condition.’’ 89 

FR 25420 (emphasis added). Equation 2 

calculates total gas produced by 

multiplying total oil produced by the 

gas-to-oil ratio, which is derived from 

operator-submitted Oil and Gas 

Operations Reports (OGORs) over a 6- 

month period (Equation 1). The 

equation in the April 10 rule would 

calculate the total volume of gas 

produced and then subtract the volume 

of gas sold to arrive at the total flared 

volume. The BLM agrees that Equation 

2 in the Waste Prevention rule 

inadvertently omitted a variable for 

straightforward recognition of 

deductions for gas used on-lease (VLU) 

that is necessary to put the product in 

marketable condition. This rule corrects 

that inadvertent omission. 

Equation 3 allocates total flared 

volume from a commingled highpressure flare to individual leases, unit 

PAs, or CAs that send gas to a common 

flare. The Waste Prevention rule 

provided in § 3179(h) that the allocation 

is to be ‘‘based on the oil production 

while flaring.’’ Because of an error in 

Equation 3, however, that equation uses 

the volume of oil sold, commonly 

referred to as net standard volume 

(NSV). The BLM is correcting that 

typographical error in this final rule. As 

corrected, Equation 3 allocates the 

flared volume based on the total volume 

of oil produced (Vopi), which is 

consistent with the text of paragraph (h). 

In the Waste Prevention rule, 

§ 3179.71(g) would apply when, ‘‘the 

flared volume for a high-pressure flare 

is less than or equal to 1,050 Mcf per 

month,’’ instead of simply ‘‘less than,’’ 

as the BLM intended and as reflected in 

Table 1 to § 3179.71(f). The BLM is 

correcting this typographical error by 

removing the reference to ‘‘or equal to’’ 

in § 3179.71(g). 

In § 3179.71(g) of the Waste 

Prevention rule, the BLM required 

estimation of low-pressure flare 

volumes based on Equations 1 and 2. 

Industry representatives, however, 

correctly pointed out that Equations 1 

and 2 do not work for low-pressure flare 

volumes. The inclusion of ‘‘and for lowpressure flares’’ in the first sentence of 

§ 3179.71(g) was therefore a mistake and 

would require operators to use 

inappropriate formulas to estimate lowpressure flare volumes. The preamble to 

the Waste Prevention rule discussing 

§ 3179.71 did not mention calculating 

low-pressure flare volumes, see 89 FR 

25413 through 25415, and neither did 

the proposed rule. Generally, lowpressure flares combust tank vapors that 

lack sufficient pressure to enter the sales 

line, so, under § 3179.41(b)(7), normal 

operating losses from oil storage tanks 

are unavoidable losses and thus are not 

subject to royalty obligations. Because 

low-pressure flare volumes are also 

normally small in volume, and difficult 

to measure, there are several industryaccepted methods operators may use in 

estimating and reporting low-pressure 

flare volumes on the OGOR. For these 

reasons, this rule clarifies that the 

requirements in § 3179.71(g) apply to 

high-pressure flares, and the first 

sentence now states, ‘‘For high-pressure 

flares with volumes less than 1,050 Mcf 

per month, the flared volume may be 

estimated, or measured.’’ 

The BLM is also correcting a 

typographical error in § 3179.71(b). That 

section—which currently requires 

operators to ‘‘measure flared gas for 

high-pressure flares for volumes greater 

than 1,050 Mcf per month above the 

averaging period’’—inadvertently 

omitted the words ‘‘or equal to’’ after 

‘‘greater.’’ The correct phrasing appears 

in Table 1 to § 3179.71(f) and is 

referenced twice in the final rule’s 

preamble. See 89 FR 25413 (‘‘requiring 

measurement on flared volumes less 

than 1,050 Mcf per month over the 

averaging period would encompass 

flaring operations that would meet the 

BLM’s emergency criteria’’); id. at 89 FR 

25413 (‘‘The study[ ] . . . supports the 

final rule requirement to measure highpressure flares with volumes greater 

than or equal to 1,050 Mcf per month 

over the averaging period’’). 

This direct final rule also corrects 

‘‘above the averaging period’’ in 

§ 3179.71(b) to read ‘‘over the averaging 

period,’’ as BLM intended. There is no 

substantive difference, but ‘‘over’’ is a 

more standard expression (as in the 

above-quoted Waste Prevention rule 

preamble) and should prevent any 

confusion. 

There are two other inadvertent errors 

in § 3179.71(b). The Waste Prevention 

rule provided that ‘‘operators may 

estimate the volume flared, as described 

in paragraph (h) of this section.’’ 

Paragraph (h), however, applies to 

combusting gas that is combined across 

multiple units, unit PAs, or CAs. 

Paragraph (h) and its Equation 3 make 

no sense for operators who are not 

combining gas for flaring. The intended 

reference in paragraph (b) was to 

paragraph (g), and this direct final rule 

corrects that typographical error. 

A second inadvertent error in 

§ 3179.71(b) is that it encourages 

operators to estimate volumes of lowpressure flaring, as provided in 

paragraph (g). For the reasons discussed 

above, paragraph (g) and its Equations 1 

and 2 are not appropriate or intended 

for use in estimating low-pressure flare 

volumes. Accordingly, the BLM is 

removing the inadvertent language. The 

corrected second sentence in § 3179(b) 

now states, ‘‘For high-pressure flares 

measuring less than 1,050 Mcf per 

month over the averaging period, 

operators may estimate the volume 

flared, as described in paragraph (g) of 

this section,’’ 

In this direct final rule, the BLM also 

adds the full wording for the acronym 

AVO, which stands for Audio-VisualOlfactory, in § 3179.100(b)(2)(i). The 

AVO acronym appears in the List of 

Acronyms (81 FR 25328) in the Waste 

Prevention rule preamble. However, the 

AVO acronym explanation does not 

appear within the regulatory text. For 

clarity, this final rule will add the AVO 

acronym explanation to 

§ 3179.100(b)(2)(i) to read, ‘‘Well pads 

with only wellheads and no production 

equipment or storage must include 

quarterly Audio-Visual-Olfactory (AVO) 

inspections for leak detection.’’ This 

change is not substantive and only 

provides further clarity for a reader who 

does not have access to the preamble 

with its List of Acronyms. 


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92604 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 226 / Friday, November 22, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

IV. Procedural Matters 

A. Regulatory Planning and Review 

(Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, E.O. 

13563) 

E.O. 12866, as amended by E.O. 

14094, provides that the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs 

(OIRA) in the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) will review all significant 

rules. OIRA has determined that this 

rule is not significant. 

E.O. 13563 reaffirms the principles of 

E.O. 12866, as amended by E.O. 14094, 

while calling for improvements in the 

Nation’s regulatory system to promote 

predictability, reduce uncertainty, and 

use the best, most innovative, and least 

burdensome tools for achieving 

regulatory ends. E.O. 13563 directs 

agencies to consider regulatory 

approaches that reduce burdens and 

maintain flexibility and freedom of 

choice for the public where these 

approaches are relevant, feasible, and 

consistent with regulatory objectives. 

E.O.13563 emphasizes further that 

agencies must base regulations on the 

best available science and that the 

rulemaking process must allow for 

public participation and an open 

exchange of ideas. The BLM developed 

this rule in a manner consistent with 

those requirements. 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA, 

5 U.S.C. 601–612) requires an agency to 

prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis 

for all rules unless the agency certifies 

that the rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. The RFA 

applies only to rules for which an 

agency is required to first publish a 

proposed rule. See 5 U.S.C. 603(a) and 

604(a). As the BLM is not required to 

publish a notice of proposed rulemaking 

for this direct final rule, the RFA does 

not apply. 

C. Congressional Review Act 

This rule is not a major rule under the 

Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 

804(2). Specifically, the direct final rule: 

(a) will not have an annual effect on the 

economy of $100 million or more; (b) 

will not cause a major increase in costs 

or prices for consumers, individual 

industries, Federal, State, or local 

government agencies, or geographic 

regions; and (c) will not have significant 

adverse effects on competition, 

employment, investment, productivity, 

innovation, or on the ability of United 

States-based enterprises to compete 

with foreign-based enterprises in 

domestic and export markets. 

Regulatory or Economic Impacts 

This direct final rule only corrects 

errors and provides consistency and 

clarity to the April 10 rule. The changes 

neither create new requirements nor 

eliminate substantive requirements from 

the Waste Prevention rule. Therefore, 

the regulatory impacts are unchanged 

from those analyzed for the Waste 

Prevention rule, and there is no need for 

a separate regulatory impact analysis for 

this rule. 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

This rule does not impose an 

unfunded mandate on State, local, or 

Tribal governments, or the private 

sector, of more than $100 million per 

year. The rule does not have a 

significant or unique effect on State, 

local, or Tribal governments, or the 

private sector. The rule merely corrects 

inadvertent errors in the Waste 

Prevention rule and other potential 

sources of confusion. Therefore, a 

statement containing the information 

required by the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act (2 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) is not 

required. 

E. Takings (E.O. 12630) 

This rule does not result in a taking 

of private property or otherwise have 

regulatory takings implications under 

E.O. 12630. The rule primarily corrects 

inadvertent errors and sources of 

confusion in the Waste Prevention rule 

without substantive change; therefore, 

the rule will not result in private 

property being taken for public use 

without just compensation. A takings 

implication assessment is not required. 

F. Federalism (E.O. 13132) 

Under the criteria of section 1 of E.O. 

13132, this rule does not have sufficient 

federalism implications to warrant the 

preparation of a federalism summary 

impact statement. This rule 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. A federalism 

summary impact statement is not 

required. 

G. Civil Justice Reform (E.O. 12988) 

This direct final rule complies with 

the requirements of E.O. 12988. Among 

other things, this rule: 

(a) Meets the criteria of section 3(a) 

requiring that all regulations be 

reviewed to eliminate errors and 

ambiguity and be written to minimize 

litigation; 

(b) Meets the criteria of section 3(b)(2) 

requiring that all regulations be written 

in clear language and contain clear legal 

standards. 

H. Consultation With Indian Tribes 

(E.O. 13175 and Departmental Policy) 

The Department of the Interior strives 

to strengthen its government-togovernment relationship with Indian 

Tribes through a commitment to 

consultation with Tribes and 

recognition of their right to selfgovernance and Tribal sovereignty. The 

BLM evaluated this direct final rule 

under E.O. 13175 and the Department’s 

and the BLM’s consultation policies and 

determined that it has no substantial 

direct effects on federally recognized 

Indian Tribes and that consultation 

under the Tribal consultation policies is 

not required. The rule merely revises 

the BLM’s regulation to correct 

inadvertent errors and other potential 

sources of confusion. 

I. Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq.) 

This rule does not impose any new 

information collection burden under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act. OMB 

previously approved the information 

collection activities contained in the 

April 10 rule and assigned OMB control 

number 1004–0211. This rule does not 

impose an information collection 

burden because the BLM is only 

clarifying, not increasing, the 

information collection requirements. 

J. National Environmental Policy Act 

This direct final rule does not 

constitute a major Federal action 

significantly affecting the quality of the 

human environment. A detailed 

statement under the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA, 42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) is not required 

because this rule is covered by a 

categorical exclusion applicable to 

regulatory functions ‘‘that are of an 

administrative, financial, legal, 

technical, or procedural nature.’’ 43 CFR 

46.210(i). In addition, the BLM has 

determined that this rule does not 

involve any of the extraordinary 

circumstances listed in 43 CFR 46.215 

that would require further analysis 

under NEPA. 

K. Effects on the Energy Supply (E.O. 

13211) 

This direct final rule is not a 

significant energy action as defined in 

E.O. 13211. Therefore, a Statement of 

Energy Effects is not required. 

List of Subjects in 43 CFR Part 3170 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Flaring, Immediate 

assessments, Incorporation by reference, 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 226 / Friday, November 22, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 92605 

Indians—lands, Mineral royalties, Oil 

and gas exploration, Oil and gas 

measurement, Public lands—mineral 

resources, Reporting and record keeping 

requirements, Royalty-free use, Venting. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, the Bureau of Land 

Management amends 43 CFR part 3170 

as follows: 

PART 3170—ONSHORE OIL AND GAS 

PRODUCTION 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 3170 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 25 U.S.C. 396d and 2107; 30 

U.S.C. 189, 306, 359, and 1751; and 43 U.S.C. 

1732(b), 1733, and 1740. 

■ 2. In § 3179.2, revise paragraph (a) 

introductory text to read as follows: 

§ 3179.2 Scope. 

(a) Except as provided in paragraph 

(b), this subpart applies to: 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Revise § 3179.71 to read as follows: 

§ 3179.71 Measurement of flared oil-well 

gas volume. 

(a) The operator may commingle 

flared gas from more than one lease, 

unit PA, or CA to a common highpressure flare without BLM approval, 

subject to the allocation requirement in 

paragraph (h). The site facility diagram 

required under § 3173.11 must indicate 

that the high-pressure flare is a 

common, commingled flare and list the 

leases, unit PAs, or CAs contributing gas 

to the common flare. 

(b) The operator must measure flared 

gas for high-pressure flares for volumes 

greater than or equal to 1,050 Mcf per 

month over the averaging period. For 

high-pressure flares measuring less than 

1,050 Mcf per month over the averaging 

period, operators may estimate the 

volume flared, as described in 

paragraph (g) of this section. 

(c) High-pressure flares requiring 

measurement must use either orifice 

plates and orifice meter tubes, or 

ultrasonic meters. High-pressure flare 

measurement systems must meet the 

following requirements: 

(1) Orifice metering systems must 

comply with the low-volume 

measurement requirements in § 3175.80, 

low-volume electronic gas measurement 

requirements in § 3175.100, and the 

low-volume gas sampling and analysis 

requirements in § 3175.110 with the gas 

sampling location requirements 

provided in paragraph (d) or (e) of this 

section. 

(2) Ultrasonic metering systems must 

comply with the following 

requirements: 

(i) Each ultrasonic meter make and 

model must be tested for flare use. Flare 

gas meter testing must be conducted and 

reported pursuant to API 22.3 

(incorporated by reference, see 

§ 3179.30) and results must be made 

available to the AO upon request. 

(ii) Ultrasonic meters must be 

installed and operated for flare use 

according to the manufacturer’s 

specifications and those specifications 

must be provided to the AO upon 

request. 

(iii) Ultrasonic metering systems must 

comply with the low-volume electronic 

gas measurement requirements in 

§ 3175.100, and the low-volume gas 

sampling analysis requirements in 

§ 3175.110, except for the gas sampling 

requirements in paragraph (d) or (e) of 

this section. 

(3) Operators must evaluate the 

production facility to determine which 

type of flare measurement is safe for the 

facility. 

(d) The gas sample must be taken 

from one of the following locations 

when the high-pressure flare is 

measuring a single lease, unit PA, or 

CA: 

(1) At the flare meter; 

(2) At the gas FMP, if there is a gas 

FMP at the well site and the gas 

composition is the same as that of the 

flare-meter gas; or 

(3) At another location approved by 

the AO with a Sundry Notice 

submission. 

(e) The gas sample must be taken from 

one of the following locations for a 

common high-pressure flare that 

measures more than one lease, unit PA, 

or CA; 

(1) At the flare meter; or 

(2) At another location approved by 

the AO with a Sundry Notice 

submission. 

(f) Appropriate meters must be 

installed at all high-pressure flares 

pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section, 

and gas sampling must be taken from 

the appropriate location pursuant to 

paragraph (d) or (e) of this section 

according to the following phase-in 

timeline: 

TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (f)—DEADLINE FOR COMPLIANCE WITH HIGH-PRESSURE FLARE MEASUREMENT, AND GAS

SAMPLING LOCATION

Flare flow category 

Deadline for measurement 

compliance for 

high-pressure flares and 

gas sampling location 

≥30,000 Mcf per month .................................................................................................................................................. December 10, 2024. 

<30,000 Mcf per month and ≥6,000 Mcf per month ...................................................................................................... June 10, 2025. 

<6,000 Mcf per month and ≥1,050 Mcf per month ........................................................................................................ December 10, 2025. 

<1,050 Mcf per month .................................................................................................................................................... Not applicable. 

(g) For high-pressure flares with 

volumes less than 1,050 Mcf per month, 

the flared volume may be estimated, or 

measured. Estimated flared gas volumes 

must be based on production reported 

on the ONRR OGORs over the previous 

6 months and calculated as follows: 

Equation 1 to Paragraph (g) 

Where: 

GORr = The gas-to-oil ratio for the previous 

6 months of production as reported on 

the OGOR 

m = The previous 6 months of flaring 

Vg = The total volume of gas produced from 

oil wells in the previous 6 months as 

reported on the OGOR 

Vo = The total volume of oil produced from 

oil wells in the previous 6 months as 

reported on the OGOR 

Equation 2 to Paragraph (g) 

Vf = (Vop × GORr)¥VLU¥Vs

Where: 

Vf = The estimated gas flared from oil wells 

to be reported on the OGOR 


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6 V, 

GORT= L ~ m=l 
92606 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 226 / Friday, November 22, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

Vop = The total oil produced from oil wells 

while flaring 

GORr = The gas-to-oil ratio for the previous 

6 months of production as calculated 

from Equation 1 to Paragraph (g) using 

volumes reported on the OGOR 

VLU = The total gas used on lease, unit PA, 

or CA pursuant to subpart 3178 

Vs = The total gas volume produced and sent 

through a gas FMP from oil wells while 

flaring 

(h) If a flare is combusting gas that is 

combined across multiple leases, unit 

PAs, or CAs, the operator may measure 

the gas at a single point at the flare and 

allocate flared volumes based on the oil 

production while flaring from each 

lease, unit PA, or CA as follows: 

Equation 3 to Paragraph (h) 

Where: 

n = The total number of leases, unit PAs, or 

CAs sending gas to a common flare 

VFi = The volume flared from the ith lease, 

unit PA, or CA sent to a common flare 

VFt = The total volume flared from a common 

flare 

Vopi = The total volume of oil produced from 

oil wells on the ith lease, unit PA, or CA 

while flaring 

(i) Measurement points for flared 

volumes are not FMPs for the purposes 

of subpart 3175. 

■ 4. Revise § 3179.100 to read as 

follows: 

§ 3179.100 Leak detection and repair 

program. 

(a) Pursuant to paragraph (b) of this 

section, the operator must maintain a 

BLM administrative statewide LDAR 

program designed to prevent the waste 

of Federal or Indian gas. 

(b) Operators must submit a statewide 

LDAR program to the BLM state office 

with jurisdiction over the production for 

review. The LDAR program must cover 

operations and production equipment 

located on a Federal or Indian oil and 

gas lease and not operations and 

production equipment located on State 

or private tracts, even though those 

tracts are committed to a federally 

approved unit PA or CA. When there is 

a change of operator, the new operator 

must update the LDAR program on the 

annual update and revision timeline. 

Operators must submit the LDAR 

program in writing for review until such 

time as the BLM’s electronic filing 

system is capable of receiving LDAR 

program submissions. At minimum, the 

LDAR program must contain the 

following information, as applicable: 

(1) Identification of the leases, unit 

PAs, CAs by geographic State for all 

States within BLM’s administrative 

State boundaries to which the LDAR 

program applies; and 

(2) Identification of the method and 

frequency of leak detection inspection 

used at the lease, unit PA, or CA. 

Acceptable methods, as well as other 

methods approved by the BLM, and 

frequency include the following: 

(i) Well pads with only wellheads and 

no production equipment or storage 

must include quarterly Audio-VisualOlfactory (AVO) inspections for leak 

detection; 

(ii) Well pads with any production 

and processing equipment and oil 

storage must include AVO inspections 

every other month and quarterly optical 

gas imaging for leak detection; and 

(iii) Other leak detection inspection 

methods and frequency acceptable to 

the BLM (e.g., continuous monitoring). 

(3) Identification of the operator’s 

recordkeeping process for leak detection 

and repair pursuant to § 3179.102. 

(c) The BLM will review the 

operator’s LDAR program and notify the 

operator if the BLM deems the program 

to be inadequate. The notification will 

explain the basis for the BLM’s 

determination, identify the plan’s 

inadequacies, describe any additional 

measures that could address the 

inadequacies, and provide a reasonable 

time frame in which the operator must 

submit a revised LDAR program to the 

BLM for review. 

(d) For leases in effect on June 10, 

2024, the operator must submit a 

statewide LDAR program to the state 

office no later than December 10, 2025. 

(e) Operators must review and update 

submitted LDAR programs on an annual 

basis in the month in which the 

operator submitted the first LDAR 

program to ensure the identified leases, 

unit PAs, and CAs, leak detection 

methods, and frequency of inspections 

are current. If the operator’s LDAR 

program requires no changes, then the 

operator must notify the BLM state 

office that the LDAR program submitted 

and reviewed by the BLM remains in 

effect. Any updates to the LDAR 

program must be submitted in writing to 

the BLM state office for review until 

such time as the BLM’s electronic 

system is capable of receiving the 

annual LDAR updates. 

Delegation of Signing Authority 

The action taken herein is pursuant to 

an existing delegation of authority. 

Steven H. Feldgus, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land 

and Minerals Management. 

[FR Doc. 2024–27333 Filed 11–21–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–29–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 52 

[WC Docket No. 18–336; FCC 24–111; FR 

ID 258492] 

Implementation of the National Suicide 

Hotline Act of 2018 

Correction 

In Rule Document 2024–25912, 

appearing on pages 88890 through 

88905, in the issue of Tuesday, 

November 12, 2024, make the following 

correction: 

On page 88890, in the first column, in 

the DATES section, in the 9th and 10th 

lines ‘‘December 13, 2024’’ should read 

‘‘December 12, 2024’’. 

[FR Doc. C1–2024–25912 Filed 11–20–24; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 0099–10–D 


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