UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

REGION IX AIR DIVISION

Technical Support Document

for

EPA ’ s Proposed Rulemaking

for the California State Implementation Plan

S an Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District

Rule 4401

Steam Enhanced Crude Oil Production Wells

Prepared by: Joanne Wells Reviewed by: Andrew Steckel

August 201 12

RULE IDENTIFICATION

-

Agency: San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution

Control District (SJVUAPCD)

SIP Approved Rule: Rule 4401

- Steam Enhanced Crude Oil Production

Wells Adopted

– December 14, 2006

Submitted

– May 8, 2007 Approved

– January 26, 2010

, effective February 25, 2010 (75 FR 3996)

Subject of this TSD: Rule 4401

– Steam

- Enhanced Crude Oil Production

Wells Adopted

– June 16, 2011

Submitted

– J uly 28, 2011

BACKGROUND

On January 26, 2010, EPA issued a limited approval/limited disapproval of SJVUAPCD Rule 4401. EPA found that while the rule strengthened the SIP, some rule provisions di d not fully satisfy requirements of section 110 and part D of the

Act. The limited disapproval was based on a deficiency in Section 6.2.4 of the

rule. Th is deficiency is discussed further in the Rule Summary section below.

EPA’s lim ited approval/limited disapproval started sanctions clocks under section 179 of the Act and our regulations at 40 CRF 52.31. Unless EPA approves a subsequent SIP revision which corrects the deficiencies, sanctions would become

effective within 18 months for offset sanctions (August 25, 2011) and 24 month s for highway sanction s (February 25, 2012)

.

RULE SUMMARY

SJVUAPCD Rule 4401

, Steam

- Enhanced Crude Oil Production Wells is a rule designed to limit volatile organic compound (VOC ) emissions at these sites

. Th is

rule also applies to any associated VOC collection and control systems. The rule establishes requirements for inspection, component replacement, re

- inspection, maintenance, repair periods, and replacement/retrofit for leaking components. It

inc ludes administrative and recordkeeping requirements, such as inspection logs.

The purpose of th is rule amendment is to correct the rule deficiency in Section

6.2.4 as identified by EPA and to clarify existing rule provisions by removing expired language t hroughout the rule

, renumbering those sections as needed. The following is a discussion of the deficiency identified by EPA in Section 6.2.4

and the revisions made to Section 6.2 , including Section 6.2.4, to correct it.

Section 6.2 of Rule 4401, submitted in May 2007, require d annual source testing

but allow ed SJVUAPCD, CARB and EPA to wai v e this test requirement. Section3

6 .2 .4 state d that waiver requests are deemed approved by EPA, if EPA does not object within 45 days of r eceipt. However, EPA noted in th e T echnical S upport

D ocument (TSD) dated, June 2009, that the local agency cannot obligate EPA’s decision in this manner and that Section 6.2.4 effectively provided executive

officer discretion in conflict with § CAA 110(a) and (i) and longstanding national policy as discussed in The Bluebook and Little Bluebook.

To correct this deficiency, SJVUAPCD deleted Sections 6.2.3 and 6.2.4, removing the language stating that waiver requests are deemed approved by EPA, if EPA does not object within 45 days of recei pt. Section 6.2.2 was revised to state that if approved by the APCO, a VOC collection and control system is not subject to source testing (Section 6.2.1) if all uncondensed VOC emissions collected by the system are controlled by a device meeting one of the requirements in Sections

6.2.2.1 to 6.2.2.3 . These sections refer to other SJVUAPCD rules controlling the emissions from internal combustion engines, other combustion devices (e.g. boilers and steam generators) and flares. Th is demonstrates th at if the co llected

VOC emission s are feed to one of these combustion devices, the emissions from that device are regulated by other district rules. Therefore, source testing under

Rule 4401 for these devices is not required

.

EPA EVALUATION

-

The following criteria were used to evaluate the submitted rule :

1. Enforceability

- The Bluebook ( Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations , EPA, May 25, 1988) and the Little Bluebook ( Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule

Defici encies, EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001) were used to help evaluate compliance with the CAA § 110(a)(2)(A) requirement for enforceability.

2. Rule Stringency

– SJVUAPCD regulates an extreme nonattainment area for

8 hour ozone (see 40 CFR part 81) and therefore must fulfill the requirements of RACT

. No f ederal g uideline s or CTGs were found that

address these specific sources. O ther state and local rules for this category were used to help evaluate the RACT requirements of CAA § 182(b)(2)

.

3. SIP Relax ation

- Where previous versions of rules have been SIP approved, new submittals must comply with CAA § 110(l) and § 193 regarding SIP

relaxations.

As stated in the previous evaluation of Rule 4401 ( See TSD dated June 2009), t he recordkeeping and other compliance provisions generally ensure that the

submitted rule can be enforced adequately

. In addition

, it was found that there are

no national guidance (e .g. , CTG or ACT) or regulation (e. g. , NSPS or NESHAP) to help define RAC T for this activit y and overall Rul e 4401’s requirement s are as stringent as other large California nonattainment areas. Therefore it was

determined that Rule 4401 generally implements relevant RACT requir ements.4

None of the revisions made to Rule 4401 affect its’ enforceab ility, implementing RACT, or relax any requirements. The revised provision in Section 6.2.2 allowing the APCO to approve that source testing is not required, no longer fall s under

APCO discretion because of the additional specific restrictions (Sections 6. 2.2.1 to 6.2.2.3) under other district rules also apply.

RULE DEFICIENCIES

– We have not identified any new deficiencies with Rule

4401 sufficient for EPA to propose less than full approval.

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NEXT RULE REVISION

- The following revision is not currently the basis for rule disapproval, but is

recommended for the next time the rule is amended.

1. For clarity and to strengthen enforcement, w e recommend adding a definition for year

.

2. We encourage the district to further study if changing the definitions of critical process unit and process unit as proposed in draft rule revisions

dated April 5, 2001, would further strengthen e nforceability of Rule 4401.

3. We encourage the district to f urther study if changes, also proposed in draft rule revisions dated April 5, 2011, to language in Sections 4.6.2 which exempts “component buried underground” and to Section 5.2.1 which addresses when leaks must be repaired

, would strengthen enforceability

.

4. For clarity and enforceability, we recommend that the district replace “by

the APCO” in Section 6.2.2 with “in writing by the APCO” and add the following language to Section 6.1.3 “and/or keep a copy of the APCO approval for VOC collection and control systems not subject to source testing under Section 6.2.1”.

EPA ACTION

- The submitted Rule 4401 will incorporate revisions to Section 6.2.4

, that correct the deficiency identified in the limited disapproval on January 26, 2010

, into the

SIP. The submitted rule fulfills the relevant CAA requirements as discussed

above. Therefore, EPA staff recommen ds full approval of Rule 4401 pursuant to CAA §110(k)(3).

Because of the recommendation for full approval, EPA staff also recommends simultaneously issuing an interim final determination to defer the imposition of sanctions pending EPA’s final approval o f Rule 4401. The issuance of the interim final determination to defer sanctions is based on a finding that it is more likely

than not that Rule 4401 fulfills the relevant CAA §110 and part D requirements of

the CAA

. EPA staff believes relief from sanctions should be provided as quickly as possible.

REFERENCES

–5

1. SJVUAPCD Rule 4401

- Steam Enhanced Crude Oil Production Wells , as submitted on J uly 28, 2011

2.

. SJVUAPCD Rule 4401

- Steam Enhanced Crude Oil Production Well s, as given limited approval a nd limited disapproval on January 26, 2010.

3. SJVUAPCD “Final Draft Staff Report For Draft Amendments to Rule 4401 (Steam

- Enhanced Crude Oil Production Wells)

, May 19. 2011.

4. EPA Technical Support Document, Rule 4401, Steam

- Enhanced Crude Oil

Production Wells, June 2009.