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TITLE 30ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
PART 1TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
CHAPTER 116CONTROL OF AIR POLLUTION BY PERMITS FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION OR MODIFICATION
SUBCHAPTER FSTANDARD PERMITS
RULE §116.620Installation and/or Modification of Oil and Gas Facilities

      (i) 98% by weight minimum destruction efficiency shall be achieved by a destruction device or equivalent; or

      (ii) 95% by weight minimum control efficiency shall be achieved by a vapor recovery system or equivalent.

(c) Inspection requirements.

  (1) Owners or operators who are subject to subsection (a)(7) or (8) of this section shall comply with the following requirements.

    (A) No component shall be allowed to have a VOC leak for more than 15 days after the leak is detected to exceed a VOC concentration greater than 10,000 parts per million by volume (ppmv) above background as methane, propane, or hexane, or the dripping or exuding of process fluid based on sight, smell, or sound for all components. The VOC fugitive emission components which contact process fluids where the VOCs have an aggregate partial pressure or vapor pressure of less than 0.5 psia at 100 degrees Fahrenheit are exempt from this requirement. If VOC fugitive emission components are in service where the operating pressure is at least 0.725 pounds per square inch (psi) (five kilopascals (Kpa)) below ambient pressure, then these components are also exempt from this requirement as long as the equipment is identified in a list that is made available upon request by the agency representatives, the EPA, or any other air pollution agency having jurisdiction. All piping and valves two inches nominal size and smaller, unless subject to federal NSPS requiring a fugitive VOC emissions leak detection and repair program or Chapter 115 of this title (relating to Control of Air Pollution from Volatile Organic Compounds), are also exempt from this requirement.

    (B) All technically feasible repairs shall be made to repair a VOC leaking process fugitive component within 15 days after the leak is detected. If the repair of a component would require a unit shutdown, the repair may be delayed until the next scheduled shutdown. All leaking components which cannot be repaired until a scheduled shutdown shall be identified for such repair by tagging. The executive director, at his discretion, may require early unit shutdown or other appropriate action based on the number and severity of tagged leaks awaiting shutdown.

    (C) New and reworked underground process pipelines containing VOCs shall contain no buried valves such that process fugitive emission inspection and repair is rendered impractical.

    (D) To the extent that good engineering practice will permit, new and reworked valves and piping connections in VOC service shall be so located to be reasonably accessible for leak-checking during plant operation. Valves elevated more than two meters above a support surface will be considered non- accessible and shall be identified in a list to be made available upon request.

    (E) New and reworked piping connections in VOC service shall be welded or flanged. Screwed connections are permissible only on piping smaller than two-inch diameter. No later than the next scheduled quarterly monitoring after initial installation or replacement, all new or reworked connections shall be gas-tested or hydraulically-tested at no less than normal operating pressure and adjustments made as necessary to obtain leak-free performance. Flanges in VOC service shall be inspected by visual, audible, and/or olfactory means at least weekly by operating personnel walk- through.

    (F) Each open-ended valve or line in VOC service, other than a valve or line used for safety relief, shall be equipped with a cap, blind flange, plug, or a second valve. Except during sampling, the second valve shall be closed.

    (G) Accessible valves in VOC service shall be monitored by leak-checking for fugitive emissions at least quarterly using an approved gas analyzer. For valves equipped with rupture discs, a pressure gauge shall be installed between the relief valve and rupture disc to monitor disc integrity. All leaking discs shall be replaced at the earliest opportunity, but no later than the next process shutdown. Sealless/leakless valves (including, but not limited to, welded bonnet bellows and diaphragm valves) and relief valves equipped with a rupture disc or venting to a control device are exempt from monitoring.

    (H) 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) are exempt from monitoring.

    (I) All other pump and compressor seals emitting VOC shall be monitored with an approved gas analyzer at least quarterly.

    (J) After completion of the required quarterly inspections for a period of at least two years, the operator of the oil and gas facility may request in writing to the Office of Permitting, Remediation, and Registration that the monitoring schedule be revised based on the percent of valves leaking. The percent of valves leaking shall be determined by dividing the sum of valves leaking during current monitoring and valves for which repair has been delayed by the total number of valves subject to the requirements. This request shall include all data that has been developed to justify the following modifications in the monitoring schedule.

      (i) After two consecutive quarterly leak detection periods with the percent of valves leaking equal to or less than 2.0%, an owner or operator may begin to skip one of the quarterly leak detection periods for the valves in gas/vapor and light liquid service.

      (ii) After five consecutive quarterly leak detection periods with the percent of valves leaking equal to or less than 2.0%, an owner or operator may begin to skip three of the quarterly leak detection periods for the valves in gas/vapor and light liquid service.

  (2) Owners or operators who are subject to subsection (a)(9) or (10) of this section shall comply with the following requirements.

    (A) No component shall be allowed to have a VOC leak for more than 15 days after the leak is found which exceeds a VOC concentration greater than 500 ppmv for all components except pumps and compressors and greater than 2,000 ppmv for pumps and compressors above background as methane, propane, or hexane, or the dripping or exuding of process fluid based on sight, smell, or sound. The VOC fugitive emission components which contact process fluids where the VOCs have an aggregate partial pressure or vapor pressure of less than 0.044 psia at 100 degrees Fahrenheit are exempt from this requirement. If VOC fugitive emission components are in service where the operating pressure is at least 0.725 psi (five Kpa) below ambient pressure, these components are also exempt from this requirement as long as the equipment is identified in a list that is made available upon request by agency representatives, the EPA, or any air pollution control agency having jurisdiction. All piping and valves two inches nominal size and smaller are also exempt from this requirement.

    (B) All technically feasible repairs shall be made to repair a VOC leaking process fugitive component within 15 days after the leak is detected. If the repair of a component would require a unit shutdown, the repair may be delayed until the next scheduled shutdown. All leaking components which cannot be repaired until a scheduled shutdown shall be identified for such repair by tagging. The executive director, at his or her discretion, may require early unit shutdown or other appropriate action based on the number and severity of tagged leaks awaiting shutdown.

    (C) New and reworked underground process pipelines containing VOCs shall contain no buried valves such that process fugitive emission inspection and repair is rendered impractical.

    (D) To the extent that good engineering practice will permit, new and reworked valves and piping connections in VOC service shall be so located to be reasonably accessible for leak-checking during plant operation. Valves elevated more than two meters above a support surface will be considered non- accessible and shall be identified in a list to be made available upon request.

    (E) New and reworked piping connections in VOC service shall be welded or flanged. Screwed connections are permissible only on piping smaller than two-inch diameter. No later than the next scheduled quarterly monitoring after initial installation or replacement, all new or reworked connections shall be gas-tested or hydraulically-tested at no less than normal operating pressure and adjustments made as necessary to obtain leak-free performance. Flanges in VOC service shall be inspected by visual, audible, and/or olfactory means at least weekly by operating personnel walk- through.

    (F) Each open-ended valve or line in VOC service, other than a valve or line used for safety relief, shall be equipped with a cap, blind flange, plug, or a second valve. Except during sampling, the second valve shall be closed.

Cont'd...

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