New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 6 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION › Chapter III - AIR RESOURCES › Subchapter A - PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF AIR CONTAMINATION AND AIR POLLUTION › Part 203 - Oil and Natural Gas Sector › Subpart 203-1 - Emissions from Oil and Natural Gas Activities General Provisions › Section 203-1.3 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) For the purpose
					 of this Part, the general definitions of Parts 200 and 201 of this Title apply
					 unless they are inconsistent with subdivision 203-1.3(b).
(b) For the purpose of this Part, the
					 following definitions also apply:
(1)
					 "Centrifugal compressor" means equipment that increases the pressure of natural
					 gas by centrifugal action through an impeller.
(2) "Centrifugal compressor seal" means a wet
					 or dry seal around the compressor shaft where the shaft exits the compressor
					 case.
(3) "City gate" means a point
					 or measuring where custody transfer occurs between a natural gas transmission
					 system pipeline company/operator and a distribution system
					 company/operator.
(4) "Component"
					 is meant to include but is not limited to; a valve, fitting, flange,
					 threaded-connection, process drain, stuffing box, pressure-vacuum valve,
					 pressurerelief device, pipes, seal fluid system, diaphragm, hatch, sight-glass,
					 meter, open-ended line, well casing, natural gas actuated pneumatic device,
					 natural gas actuated pneumatic pump, or reciprocating compressor rod packing or
					 compressor seals.
(5) "Condensate"
					 means liquid hydrocarbons that were originally in the gaseous phase in the
					 reservoir and liquids recovered by surface separation from natural
					 gas.
(6) "Continuous bleed" means
					 the continuous venting of natural gas from a gas actuated pneumatic device to
					 the atmosphere by design.
(7)
					 "Critical component" means any component that would require the shutdown of a
					 critical process unit if that component was shutdown or disabled.
(8) "Critical process unit" means a process
					 unit or group of components at such unit that must remain in service because of
					 their importance to the overall process. A critical process unit is required to
					 continue to operate, has no equivalent equipment to replace it, cannot be
					 bypassed, and for which it is technically infeasible to repair leaks from that
					 process unit without shutting it down and opening the process unit to the
					 atmosphere.
(9) "Emulsion" means
					 any mixture of crude oil, condensate, or produced water with varying quantities
					 of natural gas entrained in the liquids.
(10) "Equipment" means any stationary or
					 portable machinery, object, or contrivance covered by this Part.
(11) "Fuel gas" means gas generated at a
					 petroleum refinery or petrochemical plant and that is combusted separately or
					 in any combination with any type of gas.
(12) "Fuel gas system" means any system that
					 supplies natural gas as a fuel source to on-site natural gas actuated equipment
					 other than a vapor control device.
(13) "Hoop stress" means the stress in a pipe
					 wall, acting circumferentially in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal
					 axis of the pipe and produced by the pressure of the fluid in the
					 pipe.
(14) "Intermittent bleed"
					 means the intermittent venting of natural gas from a gas actuated pneumatic
					 device to the atmosphere by design.
(15) "Leak or fugitive leak" means the
					 unintentional release of emissions at a rate greater than or equal to the leak
					 thresholds specified in this Part.
(16) "Leak detection and repair" or "LDAR"
					 means the inspection of components to detect leaks of VOC and CH4 and the
					 repair of those components with leak rates above the standards and within the
					 timeframes specified in this Part.
(17) "Metering Station" means a station
					 designed for the continuous measurement of the quantity of natural gas being
					 transported in a pipeline and may include simultaneous analysis of natural gas
					 quality.
(18) "Natural gas" means a
					 naturally occurring mixture or process derivative of hydrocarbon and
					 non-hydrocarbon gases. Its constituents include the greenhouse gases CH4 and
					 carbon dioxide, and may include natural gas liquids.
(19) "Natural gas gathering and boosting
					 station" means all equipment and components associated with moving natural gas
					 to a natural gas processing plant, or transmission pipeline, or distribution
					 pipeline.
(20) "Natural gas
					 transmission compressor station" means all equipment and components located
					 within a facility fence line associated with moving natural gas from production
					 fields or natural gas processing plants through natural gas transmission
					 pipelines, or within natural gas underground storage fields.
(21) "Natural gas transmission pipeline"
					 means a pipeline, other than a gathering line, that:
(i) transports gas from a gathering line or
					 storage facility to a distribution center or storage facility, or directly to a
					 large volume user that is not downstream from a distribution center;
					 or
(ii) operates at a hoop stress
					 of twenty (20) percent or more of specific minimum yield strength; or
(iii) transports gas within a storage
					 field.
(22) "Natural gas
					 underground storage" or "Reservoir" means all equipment and components,
					 including the surface components of underground storage wells, associated with
					 the temporary subsurface storage of natural gas in any underground reservoir,
					 natural or artificial cavern or geologic dome, sand or stratigraphic trap,
					 whether or not previously occupied by or containing oil or natural
					 gas.
(23) "Non-associated gas"
					 means natural gas that is not produced as a byproduct of crude oil production
					 and may or may not be produced with condensate.
(24) "Oil" means crude petroleum oil and all
					 other hydrocarbons, regardless of API gravity, that are produced at the
					 wellhead in liquid form by ordinary production methods and that are not the
					 result of condensation of gas.
(25)
					 "Optical gas imaging or OGI" means using an instrument, such as a thermal
					 infrared camera, that makes emissions visible that may otherwise be invisible
					 to the naked eye.
(26) "Pigging"
					 means using devices or instruments known as 'pigs' to perform various cleaning,
					 clearing, maintenance, inspection, dimensioning, process and pipeline testing
					 operations on new and existing pipelines.
(27) "Pneumatic device" means an automation
					 device that uses natural gas or compressed air to control a process.
(28) "Pneumatic pump" means a device that
					 uses natural gas or compressed air to power a piston or diaphragm in order to
					 circulate or pump liquids.
(29)
					 "Portable pressurized separator" means a pressure vessel, that can be moved
					 from one location to another without having to be dismantled, and is capable of
					 separating and storing crude oil, condensate, or produced water at the
					 temperature and pressure of the separator required for sampling.
(30) "Portable tank" means a tank that can be
					 moved from one location to another without having to be dismantled.
(31) "Pressure vessel" means any hollow
					 container used to hold gas or liquid and rated, as indicated by an ASME
					 pressure rating stamp, and operated to contain normal working pressures of at
					 least 15 pounds per square inch, gauge (psig) without continuous vapor loss to
					 the atmosphere.
(32) "Production"
					 means all activities associated with the production or recovery of emulsion,
					 crude oil, condensate, produced water, or natural gas at facilities to which
					 this Part applies.
(33) "Produced
					 water" means water recovered from an underground reservoir as a result of crude
					 oil, condensate, or natural gas production that may be recycled, disposed, or
					 re-injected into an underground reservoir.
(34) "Reciprocating natural gas compressor"
					 means equipment that increases the pressure of natural gas by positive
					 displacement of a piston in a compression cylinder that is powered by an
					 internal combustion engine or electric motor.
(35) "Reciprocating natural gas compressor
					 rod packing" means a seal comprised of a series of flexible rings in machined
					 metal cups that fit around the reciprocating compressor piston rod to limit the
					 amount of compressed natural gas that vents into the atmosphere.
(36) "Reciprocating natural gas compressor
					 seal" means any device or mechanism used to limit the amount of natural gas
					 that vents from a compression cylinder into the atmosphere.
(37) "Regulating Station" means a station
					 that is placed along a pipeline to reduce the pressure of the gas to the
					 appropriate operating pressure for each system.
(38) "Sales Gas" means the raw natural gas,
					 after processing to remove liquid petroleum gas, condensate and carbon dioxide.
					 Sales Gas usually consists mainly of CH4 and ethane.
(39) "Separator" means a tank used to
					 physically separate the oil, gas, and water produced simultaneously from a
					 well.
(40) "Separator and tank
					 system" means the first separator in a crude oil or natural gas production
					 system and any tank or sump connected directly to the first
					 separator.
(41) "Storage Vessel"
					 means any container constructed primarily of non-earthen materials used for the
					 purpose of storing, holding, or separating emulsion, crude oil, condensate, or
					 produced water and that is designed to operate below a normal operating
					 pressure of 15 psig.
(42)
					 "Successful repair" means tightening, adjusting, or replacing equipment or a
					 component for the purpose of stopping or reducing fugitive leaks below the
					 minimum leak detection threshold or emission flow rate standard specified in
					 this Part.
(43) "Total Hydrocarbon"
					 means organic compounds of hydrogen and carbon whose densities, boiling points,
					 and freezing points increase as their molecular weights increase. Although
					 composed of only two elements, hydrocarbons exist in a variety of compounds,
					 because of the strong affinity of the carbon atom for other atoms and for
					 itself.
(44) "Vapor collection
					 system" means equipment and components installed on compressors, pressure
					 vessels, separators, tanks, or sumps including piping, connections, and
					 flow-inducing devices used to collect and route emission vapors to a
					 processing, sales gas, or fuel gas system, or to a vapor control
					 device.
(45) "Vapor control device"
					 means equipment used to reduce hydrocarbon emissions.
(46) "Vapor control efficiency" means the
					 ability of a vapor control device to reduce emissions, expressed as a
					 percentage, that can be estimated by calculation or by measuring the total
					 hydrocarbon concentration or mass flow rate at the inlet and outlet of the
					 vapor control device.
(47) "Vent or
					 venting" means the intentional or automatic release of natural gas into the
					 atmosphere from components, equipment, or activities described in this
					 Part.
(48) "Well" means a boring in
					 the earth for the purpose of the following:
(i) Exploring for or producing oil or
					 gas.
(ii) Injecting fluids or gas
					 for stimulating oil or gas recovery.
(iii) Re-pressuring or pressure maintenance
					 of oil or gas reservoirs.
(iv)
					 Disposing of oil field waste gas or liquids.
(v) Injection or withdrawal of gas from an
					 underground storage facility.
(49) "Well Site" means the well pad and
					 access roads, equipment storage and staging areas, vehicle turnarounds, and any
					 other areas directly or indirectly impacted by activities involving a
					 well.