Regulatory Developments

Proposal Looks to Add NGP to Toxics Release Inventory

In a proposal that will likely be viewed by the new administration as another attack by the Obama administration on fossil fuels, the EPA is seeking to add natural gas processing (NGP) facilities to the industrial sectors that must report under Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), better known as the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).

The proposal responds to a 2012 petition the EPA received from about 20 organizations requesting that the oil and gas (O&G) extraction sector be added to the scope of industrial sectors subject to TRI reporting. The request comprised seven O&G subsectors, including NGP. The EPA responded by saying it would consider only NGP for TRI reporting.

Should the proposal as written be made final, covered NGP facilities will need to provide the EPA with a Form R report annually by July 1. Form R calls for detailed information about releases of TRI-listed chemicals, other waste management quantities, and pollution prevention and recycling. Certain facilities may come into compliance by submitting a less detailed Form A certification.

Basis for Proposal

According to the Agency, “at least” 282 of the 517 NGP facilities in the lower 48 states would meet the two key qualifying factors for TRI reporting: 10 or more full-time employee equivalents (i.e., at least 20,000 hours worked per year), and the manufacture (which includes import), processing, or otherwise use of at least 1 of the 594 individually listed TRI chemicals or 31 TRI chemical categories.

Using information from Canada’s National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI), a program analogous to TRI that already covers NGP facilities, the EPA estimates that NGP facilities in the United States manufacture, process, or otherwise use more than 21 different TRI-listed chemicals, including n-hexane, hydrogen sulfide, toluene, benzene, xylene, and methanol.

Also, based on information submitted to Canada’s NPRI and information developed by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the EPA expects that TRI reporting by U.S. NGP facilities would provide significant release and waste management data.

“Therefore, the addition of NGP facilities to TRI would meaningfully increase the information available to the public and further the purposes of EPCRA section 313,” says the Agency.

Sector Description

The facilities proposed for TRI addition are categorized under both standard industrial classification (SIC) Code 1321 (Natural Gas Liquids) and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code 211112 (Natural Gas Liquid Extraction). TRI regulations currently use the 2012 set of NAICS codes.

The EPA describes NGP facilities as stationary surface facilities that receive raw natural gas from many nearby wells. The facilities prepare natural gas (composed primarily of methane) to industrial or pipeline specifications and extract heavier liquid hydrocarbons from the raw or field natural gas. During this process, natural gas liquids (i.e.,heavier hydrocarbons than methane) and contaminants (e.g.,hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen) are separated from the natural gas stream, resulting in processed pipeline-quality natural gas. Natural gas liquids are fractionated on-site into isolated streams (e.g.,ethane, propane, butanes, natural gasoline) or shipped off-site for subsequent fractionation or other processing. Hydrogen sulfide is often either disposed through underground injection or reacted into sulfuric acid or elemental sulfur, while carbon dioxide and nitrogen may be emitted to the atmosphere. The processed pipeline-quality natural gas is transferred to consumers via intra- and interstate pipeline networks. Natural gas liquids are primarily used as feedstocks by petrochemical manufacturers or refineries.

The EPA notes that NGP facilities that primarily recover sulfur from natural gas already file TRI reports because they are part of a manufacturing sector that was originally subjected to reporting by Congress.

EPCRA provides the EPA with the authority to add or delete sectors for TRI reporting. The most significant action occurred in 1997 when the Agency added metal mining, coal mining, electric utilities, commercial hazardous waste treatment, chemicals and allied products-wholesale, petroleum bulk plants and terminals-wholesale, and solvent recovery services to the list of TRI reporting sectors.

EPA’s proposal was published in the January 6, 2017, FR.

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