Unless specifically defined in the Texas Clean Air Act (Texas
Health and Safety Code, Chapter 382) or in §§3.2, 101.1,
or 115.10 of this title (relating to Definitions, respectively), the
terms in this division have the meanings commonly used in the field
of air pollution control. The following meanings apply in this division
unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Centrifugal compressor--A piece of equipment for
raising the pressure of natural gas by drawing in low-pressure natural
gas and discharging significantly higher-pressure natural gas by means
of mechanical rotating vanes or impellers. Screw, sliding vane, and
liquid ring compressors are not centrifugal compressors.
(2) Closure device--A piece of equipment that covers
an opening in the roof of a fixed roof storage tank and either can
be temporarily opened or has a component that provides a temporary
opening. Examples of closure devices include, but are not limited
to, thief hatches, pressure relief valves, pressure-vacuum relief
valves, and access hatches.
(3) Difficult-to-monitor--Equipment that cannot be
inspected without elevating the inspecting personnel more than two
meters above a support surface.
(4) Fugitive emission components--Except for vents
as defined in §101.1 of this title (relating to Definitions)
and sampling systems, equipment as defined in subparagraphs (A) and
(B) of this paragraph that has the potential to leak volatile organic
compounds (VOC) emissions.
(A) At a natural gas processing plant, equipment considered
fugitive components include, but are not limited to, any pump, pressure
relief device, open-ended valve or line, valve, flange, or other connector
that is in VOC service or wet gas service, and any closed vent system
or control device not subject to another section in this division
that specifies one or more instrument monitoring requirements for
the system or device. A compressor or sampling connection system that
is exempt from the fugitive monitoring requirements in §115.352
and §115.354 of this title (relating to Fugitive Emission Control
in Petroleum Refining, Natural Gas/Gasoline Processing, and Petrochemical
Processes in Ozone Nonattainment Areas) on or before December 31,
2022 is excluded as a fugitive monitoring component under this subparagraph.
(B) At a well site or gathering and boosting station
from equipment considered fugitive emissions components include, but
are not limited to, valves, compressors, connectors, pressure relief
devices, open-ended lines, flanges, instruments, meters, or other
openings that are not on a storage tank subject to §115.175 of
this title (relating to Storage Tank Control Requirements), and any
closed vent system or control device not subject to another section
in this division that specifies one or more instrument monitoring
requirements for the system or device. A compressor seal at a gathering
and boosting station that is addressed in §115.173 of this title
(relating to Compressor Control Requirements) is not included as a
fugitive emission component.
(5) Gathering and boosting station--Any permanent combination
of one or more compressors that collects natural gas from well sites
and moves the natural gas at increased pressure into gathering pipelines
to a natural gas processing plant or into the pipeline. The combination
of one or more compressors located at a well site, or located at an
onshore natural gas processing plant, is not a gathering and boosting
station.
(6) Heavy liquid service--An equipment is in heavy
liquid service if the weight percent evaporated is 10.0% or less at
302 degrees Fahrenheit (150 degrees Celsius) as determined by ASTM
Method D86-96.
(7) Light liquid service--A piece of equipment contains
a liquid that meets the following conditions.
(A) The vapor pressure of one or more of the organic
components is greater than 1.2 inches water at 68 degrees Fahrenheit
(0.3 kilopascals at 20 degrees Celsius).
(B) The total concentration of the pure organic components
having a vapor pressure greater than 1.2 inches water at 68 degrees
Fahrenheit (0.3 kilopascals at 20 degrees Celsius) is equal to or
greater than 20.0% by weight.
(C) The fluid is a liquid at operating conditions.
(D) An equipment is in light liquid service if the
weight percent evaporated is greater than 10.0% at 302 degrees Fahrenheit
(150 degrees Celsius) as determined by ASTM Method D86-96.
(8) Natural gas processing plant--any processing site
engaged in the extraction of natural gas liquids from field gas, fractionation
of mixed natural gas liquids to natural gas products, or both. A Joule-Thompson
valve, a dew point depression valve, or an isolated or standalone
Joule-Thompson skid is not a natural gas processing plant.
(9) Pneumatic controller--An automated instrument that
is actuated by a compressed gas and is used to maintain a process
condition such as liquid level, pressure, pressure differential and
temperature. When actuated by natural gas, pneumatic controllers are
characterized primarily by their emission characteristics.
(A) Continuous bleed pneumatic controllers receive
a continuous flow of pneumatic natural gas supply and are used to
modulate flow, liquid level, or pressure. Gas is vented continuously
at a rate that may vary over time. Continuous bleed controllers are
further subdivided into two types based on their bleed rate, which
for the purposes of this section means the rate at which natural gas
is continuously vented from a pneumatic controller and measured in
standard cubic feet per hour (scfh):
(i) low bleed controllers have a bleed rate of less
than or equal to 6.0 scfh; and
(ii) high bleed controllers have a bleed rate of greater
than 6.0 scfh.
(B) Intermittent bleed or snap-acting pneumatic controllers
release natural gas only when they open or close a valve or as they
throttle the gas flow.
(C) Zero-bleed pneumatic controllers do not bleed natural
gas to the atmosphere. These pneumatic controllers are self-contained
devices that release gas to a downstream pipeline instead of to the
atmosphere.
(10) Pneumatic pump--A positive displacement pump powered
by pressurized natural gas that uses the reciprocating action of flexible
diaphragms in conjunction with check valves to pump a fluid.
(11) Reciprocating compressor--A piece of equipment
that increases the pressure of a natural gas by positive displacement,
employing linear movement of the driveshaft.
(12) Rod packing--A series of flexible rings in machined
metal cups that fit around the reciprocating compressor piston rod
to create a seal limiting the amount of compressed natural gas that
escapes to the atmosphere, or other mechanism that provides the same
function.
(13) Route to a process--The emissions are:
(A) conveyed via a closed vent system to any enclosed
portion of a process where it is predominantly recycled or consumed
in the same manner as a material that fulfills the same function in
the process or is transformed by chemical reaction into materials
that are not regulated materials or incorporated into a product; or
(B) recovered.
(14) Storage tank--A tank, stationary vessel, or a
container that contains an accumulation of crude oil, condensate,
intermediate hydrocarbon liquids, or produced water, and that is constructed
primarily of non-earthen materials.
(15) Unsafe-to-monitor--Equipment that exposes monitoring
personnel to an imminent or potential danger as a consequence of conducting
an inspection.
(16) Vapor recovery unit--A device that transfers hydrocarbon
vapors to a fuel liquid or gas system, a sales liquid or gas system,
or a liquid storage tank.
(17) Well site--A parcel of land with one or more surface
sites, which means sites with any combination of one or more graded
pad sites, gravel pad sites, foundations, platforms, or the immediate
physical location upon which equipment is physically affixed, that
are constructed for the drilling and subsequent operation of one or
more oil, natural gas, or injection wells. The meaning of "site" and
"sites" in this definition is limited to this division.
(18) Wet gas service--A piece of equipment which contains
or contacts the field gas before the extraction step at a gas processing
plant process unit.
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