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TITLE 30ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
PART 1TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
CHAPTER 115CONTROL OF AIR POLLUTION FROM VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
SUBCHAPTER DPETROLEUM REFINING, NATURAL GAS PROCESSING, AND PETROCHEMICAL PROCESSES
DIVISION 3FUGITIVE EMISSION CONTROL IN PETROLEUM REFINING, NATURAL GAS/GASOLINE PROCESSING, AND PETROCHEMICAL PROCESSES IN OZONE NONATTAINMENT AREAS
RULE §115.352Control Requirements

For 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), no person shall operate a petroleum refinery; a synthetic organic chemical, polymer, resin, or methyl-tert-butyl ether manufacturing process; or a natural gas/gasoline processing operation, as defined in §115.10 of this title, without complying with the following requirements.

  (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this section, no component may be allowed to have a volatile organic compound (VOC) leak for more than 15 calendar days after the leak is found that meets the following:

    (A) for all components except pump seals and compressor seals, a screening concentration greater than 500 parts per million by volume (ppmv) above background as methane, or the dripping or exuding of process fluid based on sight, smell, or sound;

    (B) for pump seals and compressor seals, a screening concentration greater than 10,000 ppmv above background as methane, or the dripping or exuding of process fluid based on sight, smell, or sound; and

    (C) if the owner or operator elects to use the alternative work practice in §115.358 of this title (relating to Alternative Work Practice), any leak detected as defined in §115.358 of this title, including any leak detected using the alternative work practice on a component that is subject to the requirements of this division (relating to Fugitive Emission Control in Petroleum Refining, Natural Gas/Gasoline Processing, and Petrochemical Processes in Ozone Nonattainment Areas) but not specifically selected for alternative work practice monitoring.

  (2) A first attempt at repair must be made no later than five calendar days after the leak is found and the component must be repaired no later than 15 calendar days after the leak is found, unless the repair of the component would require a unit shutdown that would create more emissions than the repair would eliminate. A component in gas/vapor or light liquid service is considered to be repaired when it is monitored with an instrument using Method 21 in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 60, Appendix A-7 (October 17, 2000) and shown to no longer have a leak after adjustments or alterations to the component. A component in heavy liquid service is considered to be repaired when it is inspected by audio, visual, and olfactory means and shown to no longer have a leak after adjustments or alterations to the component. For any component that the owner or operator monitors using the alternative work practice in §115.358 of this title, the component is considered repaired when the component is demonstrated to no longer have a leak after adjustments or alterations to the component by either screening using an optical gas imaging instrument as specified in §115.358 of this title or by the normal monitoring method required under this division. If the repair of a component within 15 days after the leak is detected would require a process unit shutdown that would create more emissions than the repair would eliminate, the repair may be delayed until the next scheduled process unit shutdown.

    (A) Delay of repair beyond a process unit shutdown will be allowed for a component if that component is isolated from the process and does not remain in VOC service.

    (B) Valves that can be safely repaired without a process unit shutdown may not be placed on the shutdown list.

    (C) Delay of repair will be allowed for pumps, compressors, or agitators if the repair is completed as soon as practicable, but not later than six months after the leak was detected, and the repair requires replacing the existing seal design with:

      (i) a dual mechanical seal system that includes a barrier fluid system;

      (ii) a system that is designed with no externally actuated shaft penetrating the housing; or

      (iii) a closed-vent system and control device that meets the requirements of §115.122(a)(2) of this title (relating to Control Requirements).

  (3) All leaking components, as defined in paragraph (1) of this section, that cannot be repaired until a process unit shutdown must be identified for such repair by tagging. The executive director may require an early process unit shutdown or other appropriate action based on the number and severity of tagged leaks awaiting a process unit shutdown.

  (4) No valves may be installed or operated at the end of a pipe or line containing VOC unless the pipe or line is sealed with a second valve, a blind flange, or a tightly-fitting plug or cap. The sealing device may be removed only while a sample is being taken or during maintenance operations, and when closing the line, the upstream valve must be closed first.

  (5) Construction of new and reworked piping, valves, and pump and compressor systems must conform to applicable American National Standards Institute, American Petroleum Institute, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, or equivalent codes.

  (6) New and reworked underground process pipelines must contain no buried valves such that fugitive emission monitoring is rendered impractical.

  (7) To the extent that good engineering practice will permit, new and reworked components must be so located to be reasonably accessible for leak-checking during plant operation. A difficult-to-monitor component is a component that cannot be inspected without elevating the monitoring personnel more than two meters above a permanent support surface or that requires a permit for confined space entry as defined in 29 CFR §1910.146 (December 1, 1998). Difficult-to-monitor components must be identified in a list to be made available upon request as specified in §115.356(5) of this title (relating to Recordkeeping Requirements).

  (8) New and reworked piping connections must be welded, flanged, or consist of pressed and permanently formed metal-to-metal seals. Screwed connections are permissible only on new piping smaller than two inches in diameter.

  (9) For pressure relief valves installed in series with a rupture disk, pin, second relief valve, or other similar leak-tight pressure relief component, a pressure gauge or an equivalent device or system must be installed between the relief valve and the other pressure relief component to monitor for leakage past the first component. When leakage is detected past the first component, that component must be repaired or replaced at the earliest opportunity, but no later than the next process unit shutdown. Equivalent devices or systems must be identified in a list to be made available upon request as specified in §115.356(5) of this title and must have been approved by the methods required by §115.353 of this title (relating to Alternate Control Requirements).

  (10) Any petroleum refinery; synthetic organic chemical, polymer, resin, or methyl-tert-butyl ether manufacturing process; or natural gas/gasoline processing operation in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area in which a highly-reactive volatile organic compound, as defined in §115.10 of this title, is a raw material, intermediate, final product, or in a waste stream is subject to the requirements of Subchapter H of this chapter (relating to Highly-Reactive Volatile Organic Compounds) in addition to the applicable requirements of this division.


Source Note: The provisions of this §115.352 adopted to be effective December 3, 1993, 18 TexReg 8538; amended to be effective May 27, 1994, 19 TexReg 3703; amended to be effective May 22, 1997, 22 TexReg 4213; amended to be effective May 16, 2002, 27 TexReg 4113; amended to be effective January 17, 2003, 28 TexReg 113; amended to be effective November 13, 2003, 28 TexReg 9835; amended to be effective December 23, 2004, 29 TexReg11705; amended to be effective June 24, 2010, 35 TexReg 5293

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