Memorandum 

Subject: 

From: 

To: 

June 24 2014 

June 20, 2014 Teleconference between the Ute Indian Tribe, the MHA 

Nation (and their Representatives) and U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) 

Outreach 

Chris Stoneman, 

and Information 

Policy Advisor Division, 

~ ~ 

Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) 

Docket- EPA·HQ-OAR-2011-0151 

This memorandum to docket provides a brief summary of the main discussion points 

made at the subject teleconference during the comment period for the Advance Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR): "Managing Emissions from Oil and Natural Gas 

Production in Indian Country." (79 Federal Register 32502, June 5, 2104) 

Teleconference details: 

When: June 20, 2014; 3:00-4:00 p.m. EDT 

Participants: Laura Mckelvey, EPA, OAQPS 

Greg Green, EPA, OAQPS 

Chris Stoneman, EPA, OAQPS 

Mary Tom Kissell, EPA, OAQPS 

Pat Childers, EPA, Office of Air and Radiation 

Dee Rothery, EPA, Region 8 

Claudia Smith, EPA, Region 8 

Carey Doyle, MHA Nation 

Tom Fredericks, Fredericks Peebles & Morgan, LLP 

Chris Reagen, Fredericks Peebles & Morgan, LLP 

Jeremy Patterson, Fredericks Peebles & Morgan, LLP 

The purpose of the teleconference was to plan for a consultation with the two subject 

tribes in Denver, CO on July 18. The attached documents contain the teleconference's 

agenda and issues EPA highlighted. 

During the teleconference, EPA provided an overview of the recently-issued ANPR for 

New Source review (NSR) minor source oil and natural gas activity in Indian country, as 

well the attached questions on which EPA is seeking public input. During the course of 

the meeting the tribal members and their representatives raised several issues to be 

discussed at the July 18 consultation as follows: 

• Concerns about delays in receiving approval to construct under an oil and gas 

general permit; 
• How existing rules such as the Fort Berthold Federal Implementation Plan, and 

any "new" oil and natural gas rule EPA issues for Indian country would work 

together; 

• Prefer approaches that provide for quicker approval of oil and gas wells (e.g., prepermitting); 

• Interested in an approach for addressing existing oil and gas sources in a way that 

does not stop or limit oil and gas industry growth in Indian country; 

• Importance of delegation of enforcement and compliance of oil and gas 

requirements from EPA to tribes, especially given limited EPA resources; 

• The concept of a reservation-wide oil and gas permit; 

• Need for EPA to not treat Indian country as public lands, but instead as 

government-to-government, sovereign entities; 

• Do not want general public to be able to comment on reservation permits as tribal 

lands are not public lands; 

• Need for oil and gas permitting process in Indian country to be seamless, free 

from excessive process and public/EPA review; 

• Tribes would not want monitoring information they gather to be available 

publicly; 

• Concerns about keeping the playing field level with respect to oil and natural gas 

requirements to avoid putting tribes at an economic disadvantage; and 

• Need to ensure that oil and gas requirements are tailored to neighboring state 

requirements. 

The EPA answered basic questions about the ANPR and offered to prepare an agenda and 

associated materials for the upcoming consultation. 

This memorandum will be filed in the docket for the ANPR and will be available for 

public review. 

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Conference Call to Plan Upcoming 

Consultation on EPA Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Managing 

Emissions from Oil and Natural Gas Production in Indian Country 

(6/24/2014) 

Proposed Agenda 

Date and time: Friday, June 20, 2014; 1:00-2:00pm EDT 

Call-in number: 866/299-3188; pass code 9195415624 

• Review of agenda 

• Agreement on time, date and location for face-to-face consultation 

• Tribal NSR 

o Overview (ANPR, oil and gas extension) 

o Current Status 

o Questions 

• Petroleum Refinery proposal 

o Overview 

o Questions 

• Next steps 

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"Managing Emissions from Oil and Natural Gas Production in Indian Country" 

Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, signed May 22, 2014 

Requests for Comment 

The purpose of the Advance Notice ofProposed Rulemaking (ANPR) is to solicit 

broad feedback on the most effective and efficient means of implementing the EPA's 

Indian Country Minor New Source Review (NSR) program for sources in the oil and 

natural gas production segment of the oil and natural gas sector. The ANPR describes 

various permitting approaches including a general permit, a Federal Implementation Plan 

(FIP), and a permit by rule, and seeks comments on these or any other approaches. Some 

of the areas where comments are specifically requested are: 

1. How would an oil and natural gas FIP relate to the Indian Country minor NSR 

rule? 

2. Should we regulate existing emission units at a source under a FIP? 

3. Would a FIP or general permit apply uniformly or would the requirements vary 

depending on a source's location? 

4. What applicability threshold should apply if we regulate existing sources, and 

should we create exemptions? 

5. Which pollutants would we regulate? 

6. How would we determine the appropriate control requirements for new. and 

modified sources and existing sources? 

7. Should we require sources to install and collect data from ambient air quality 

monitors? 

8. What kinds of"Next Generation Compliance" options might be useful to 

implement? 

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