| (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. (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. (K) A directed maintenance program shall be used and consist of the repair and maintenance of VOC fugitive emission components assisted simultaneously by the use of an approved gas analyzer such that a minimum concentration of leaking VOC is obtained for each component being maintained. Replaced components shall be remonitored within 30 days of being placed back into VOC service. (3) For owners and operators who are subject to the applicable parts of subsection (a)(11) of this section, auditory and visual checks for SO2 and H2S leaks within the operating area shall be made every day. Immediately, but no later than eight hours upon detection of a leak, operating personnel shall take the following actions: (A) isolate the leak; and (B) commence repair or replacement of the leaking component; or (C) use a leak collection/containment system to prevent the leak until repair or replacement can be made if immediate repair is not possible. (d) Approved test methods. (1) An approved gas analyzer used for the VOC fugitive inspection and repair requirement in subsection (c) of this section, shall conform to requirements listed in 40 CFR §60.485(a) and (b). (2) Tutweiler analysis or equivalent shall be used to determine the H2S content as required under subsections (a) and (e) of this section. (3) Proper operation of any condenser used as a VOC emissions control device to comply with subsection (a)(5) of this section shall be tested to demonstrate compliance with the minimum control efficiency. Sampling shall occur within 60 days after start-up of new or modified facilities. The permittee shall contact the Engineering Services Section, Office of Compliance and Enforcement 45 days prior to sampling for approval of sampling protocol. The appropriate regional office in the region where the source is located shall also be contacted 45 days prior to sampling to provide them the opportunity to view the sampling. Neither the regional office nor the Engineering Services Section, Office of Compliance and Enforcement personnel are required to view the testing. Sampling reports which comply with the provisions of the "TNRCC Sampling Procedures Manual," Chapter 14 ("Contents of Sampling Reports," dated January 1983 and revised July 1985), shall be distributed to the appropriate regional office, any local programs, and the Engineering Services Section, Office of Compliance and Enforcement. (e) Monitoring and recordkeeping requirements. (1) If the operator elects to install and maintain ambient H2S property line monitors to comply with subsection (a)(11) of this section, the monitors shall be approved by the Engineering Services Section, Office of Compliance and Enforcement office in Austin, and shall be capable of detecting and alarming at H2S concentrations of ten ppmv. Operations personnel shall perform an initial on-site inspection of the facility within 24 hours of initial alarm and take corrective actions as listed in subsection (c)(3)(A) - (C) of this section within eight hours of detection of a leak. (2) The results of the VOC leak detection and repair requirements shall be made available to the executive director or any air pollution control agency having jurisdiction upon request. Records, for all components, shall include: (A) appropriate dates; (B) test methods; (C) instrument readings; (D) repair results; and (E) corrective actions. Records of flange inspections are not required unless a leak is detected. (3) Records for repairs and replacements made due to inspections of H2S and SO2 components shall be maintained. (4) Records shall be kept for each production, processing, and pipeline tank battery or for each storage tank if not located at a tank battery, on a monthly basis, as follows: (A) tank battery identification or storage tank identification, if not located at a tank battery; (B) compound stored; (C) monthly throughput in barrels/month; and (D) cumulative annual throughput, barrels/year. (5) A plan shall be submitted to show how ongoing compliance will be demonstrated for the efficiency requirements listed in subsection (b)(1)(D) of this section. The demonstration may include, but is not limited to, monitoring flowrates, temperatures, or other operating parameters. (6) Records shall be kept on at least a monthly basis of all production facility flow rates (in standard cubic feet per day) and total sulfur content of process vents or flares or gas processing streams. Total sulfur shall be calculated in long tons per day. (7) Records shall be kept of all ambient property line monitor alarms and shall include the date, time, duration, and cause of alarm, date and time of initial on-site inspection, and date and time of corrective actions taken. (8) All required records shall be made available to representatives of the agency, the EPA, or local air pollution control agencies upon request and be kept for at least two years. All required records shall be kept at the plant site, unless the plant site is unmanned during business hours. For plant sites ordinarily unmanned during business hours, the records shall be maintained at the nearest office in the state having day-to-day operations control of the plant site. |
