Dec 3, 2017 3 min read

State officials are planning to put new permitting requirements in place early next year for many new and modified natural-gas industry facilities in an effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Department of Environmental Protection officials outlined the revisions – which agency Secretary Patrick McDonnell said make Pennsylvania the first state in the country to set a threshold for emissions of methane, a major contributor to climate change – during a webinar Thursday. The new provisions include changes to the air-quality permit covering processing plants, compressor stations and other midstream facilities, and to the permit-exemption process currently in place for new unconventional well sites.

DEP officials said they expect to put the new requirements in place in the first quarter of 2018.

Under the provisions, the agency also plans to create a new permit for unconventional well sites and remote pigging stations – facilities where pressure is used to force a round or projectile-shaped device called a “pig” through a pipeline to clear condensate and other collected liquids – which aren’t located at unconventional well sites, compressor stations, processing plants or transmission facilities, and whose emissions don’t fall under the threshold for an exemption.

“The permit provisions provide clear, sensible and implementable methods to reduce methane emissions that contribute to climate change, reduce pollutants that impact human health and reduce the waste of Pennsylvania’s natural resources,” said George Hartenstein, DEP deputy secretary for waste, air, radiation and remediation.

Environmentalists hailed the announcement as a move that will cut down on methane pollution from new natural gas facilities.

“There is much more work to be done, including finalizing these permit requirements and moving quickly to address pollution from the tens of thousands of existing oil and gas facilities in Pennsylvania. But today is a big step in the right direction,” said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund.

Provisions in the new permits will require owners or operators of natural gas facilities to conduct quarterly leak-detection and repair inspections at new well sites and non-exempt remote pigging stations, with an “off-ramp” for companies to switch to twice-yearly inspections if less than two percent of a facility’s equipment components are leaking during two consecutive inspections. As with current standards, implementing the new requirements will rely on self-reported data on emissions at well sites and other facilities.

“Emissions are reported annually from the oil and gas industry as well as other industries,” Hartenstein said. “That will still be required. In addition, the permits really establish the operating conditions and controls that are required, so DEP will be inspecting well sites to make sure that the appropriate controls are in place, and that the appropriate monitoring, for instance, on leak detection and repair, are being performed properly.”

David Spigelmyer, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, questioned the scientific basis for the proposed methane limit, saying in a statement the industry he represents “has a long and clear record of utilizing best practices and cutting-edge technologies to capture methane. These continuous improvements make good economic, environmental and business sense, and independent data reflects our collective successes.”