Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 115 - CONTROL OF AIR POLLUTION FROM VOLATILE ORGANIC › Subchapter D - PETROLEUM REFINING, NATURAL GAS PROCESSING, AND PETROCHEMICAL PROCESSES › Division 3 - FUGITIVE EMISSION CONTROL IN PETROLEUM REFINING, NATURAL GAS/GASOLINE PROCESSING, AND PETROCHEMICAL PROCESSES IN OZONE NONATTAINMENT AREAS › Section 115.357 - Exemptions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
For all affected persons in the Beaumont-Port Arthur,
						Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso, and Houston-Galveston-Brazoria areas, as defined in
						§
											115.10 of
						this title (relating to Definitions), the following exemptions apply.
(1) Components that contact a process fluid
					 containing volatile organic compounds (VOC) having a true vapor pressure equal
					 to or less than 0.044 pounds per square inch absolute (psia) (0.3 kilopascals )
					 at 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) are exempt from the instrument
					 monitoring (with a hydrocarbon gas analyzer) requirements of §
											115.354(1)
					 and (2) of this title (relating to Monitoring
					 and Inspection Requirements) if the components are inspected by visual, audio,
					 and/or olfactory means according to the inspection schedules specified in
					 §
											115.354(1)
					 and (2) of this title.
(2) Conservation vents or other devices on
					 atmospheric storage tanks that are actuated either by a vacuum or a pressure of
					 no more than 2.5 pounds per square inch gauge (psig), pressure relief valves
					 equipped with a rupture disk or venting to a control device, components in
					 continuous vacuum service, and valves that are not externally regulated (such
					 as in-line check valves) are exempt from the requirements of this division,
					 except that each pressure relief valve equipped with a rupture disk must comply
					 with §
											115.352(9)
					 and §
											115.356(3)(C)
					 of this title (relating to Control Requirements and Recordkeeping
					 Requirements).
(3) Compressors in
					 hydrogen service are exempt from the requirements of §
											115.354
					 of this title if the owner or operator demonstrates that the percent hydrogen
					 content can be reasonably expected to always exceed 50.0% by volume.
(4) All pumps and compressors that are
					 equipped with a shaft sealing system that prevents or detects emissions of VOC
					 from the seal are exempt from the monitoring requirement of §
											115.354
					 of this title. These seal systems may include, but are not limited to, dual
					 pump seals with barrier fluid at higher pressure than process pressure, seals
					 degassing to vent control systems kept in good working order, or seals equipped
					 with an automatic seal failure detection and alarm system. Submerged pumps or
					 sealless pumps (including, but not limited to, diaphragm, canned, or magnetic
					 driven pumps) may be used to satisfy the requirements of this
					 paragraph.
(5) Reciprocating
					 compressors and positive displacement pumps used in natural gas/gasoline
					 processing operations are exempt from the requirements of this division except
					 §
											115.356(3)(C)
					 of this title.
(6) Components at a
					 petroleum refinery or synthetic organic chemical, polymer, resin, or
					 methyl-tert-butyl ether manufacturing process, that contact a process fluid
					 that contains less than 10% VOC by weight and components at a natural
					 gas/gasoline processing operation that contact a process fluid that contains
					 less than 1.0% VOC by weight are exempt from the requirements of this division
					 except §
											115.356(3)(C)
					 of this title.
(7) Plant sites
					 covered by a single account number with less than 250 components in VOC service
					 are exempt from the requirements of this division except §
											115.356(3)(C)
					 of this title.
(8) Components in
					 ethylene, propane, or propylene service, not to exceed 5.0% of the total
					 components, may be classified as non-repairable beyond the second repair
					 attempt at 500 parts per million by volume (ppmv). These components will remain
					 in the fugitive monitoring program and be repaired no later than 15 calendar
					 days after the concentration of VOC detected via Method 21 in 40 Code of
					 Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 60, Appendix A-7 (October 17, 2000) exceeds
					 10,000 ppmv. For the purposes of this division, components that contact a
					 process fluid with greater than 85% ethylene, propane, or propylene by weight
					 are considered in ethylene, propane, or propylene service, respectively. If the
					 owner or operator elects to use the alternative work practice in §
											115.358
					 of this title (relating to Alternative Work Practice), this exemption may not
					 be claimed for any component that is monitored according to the alternative
					 work practice unless the owner or operator demonstrates the leak concentration
					 does not exceed 10,000 ppmv using Method 21 and the owner or operator continues
					 to monitor the component using both the alternative work practice and Method 21
					 according to the frequency specified in §
											115.358
					 of this title.
(9) The following
					 valves are exempt from the requirements of §
											115.352(4)
					 of this title:
(A) pressure relief
					 valves;
(B) open-ended valves or
					 lines in an emergency shutdown system that are designed to open automatically
					 in the event of an emissions event;
(C) open-ended valves or lines containing
					 materials that would autocatalytically polymerize or would present an
					 explosion, serious overpressure, or other safety hazard if capped or equipped
					 with a double block and bleed system; and
(D) valves rated greater than 10,000
					 psig.