For both our upstream and downstream members, the airsheds along he Uintah Basin as well as the Wasatch Front (technically broken into two – northern and southern Wasatch Front areas) were declared in non-attainment of the 2015 ozone standard (70 ppb for an 8 hour average) effective August 3, 2018. Areas classified as marginal nonattainment must either attain the standard or be bumped up to moderate attainment by the third year after designation. However, because the August 2021 deadline falls in the middle of an ozone season, there is ongoing debate as to whether a marginal area must effectively attain by the end of the 2020 ozone season. Based on current data (and if we are not able to demonstrate attainment “but for” background emissions, see below), both the Wasatch Front and the Uintah Basin are anticipated to bump up to marginal.
Approximately two-thirds of currently producing oil and gas wells — ninety percent of the gas production and half of the oil production in the Uintah Basin — are located in Indian Country (2.39 MB) where the tribe and EPA have regulatory authority. Because EPA views the Uintah Basin as a single airshed and ozone nonattainment area, the design value for determining nonattainment-area classification is triggered by air-quality data from the monitor with the highest ozone values — in this case, the Ouray monitor in Indian Country. The state’s monitors in Roosevelt and Vernal also see exceedances of the standard during the wintertime ozone events, although not at levels as high as those found at the tribal monitors.
The EPA has reported that it is working on its Advanced Notice for Proposed Rulemaking to create an emissions banking/credit program. EPA anticipates rollout in the spring. They also confirmed that work on the revised Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) for Oil and Gas on Indian lands (which includes the Uintah and Ouray Reservation) and reservation-specific FIP (that would reflect current BACT requirements by the state for oil and gas operations on state lands) are priority items currently under development. UPA will be watching for when the ANP and FIPs are publicly available.
Utah, along with other western states, has elevated background ozone, often in high-elevation, rural areas far from manmade pollution sources. This background ozone comes from wildfires, stratospheric intrusions, and domestic and intercontinental ozone transport. EPA has indicated that it will work closely with Utah to find ways to comply with the new standard while potentially taking into account exceedances caused by background ozone.
To address the background issue specifically and the ozone attainment challenges more generally, UPA and the Utah Mining Association (UMA) and evaluating potential ways to work collaboratively. UPA’s goal is to work jointly to demonstrate attainment of the standard “but for” the international emissions (under Section 179B of the CAA) and/or a path toward attainment. Organization of this collaborative process is just beginning but please reach out to our Upstream Committee Chair (Spencer Kimball, EOG), Refinery Environmental Chair (Michelle Bujdoso, Marathon) or Rikki for more info.
Finally – a reminder that the Air Quality Board approved new rules for oil and gas sources in January 2018 to replace source-by-source permitting with a streamlined permit-by-rule approach. These rules also establish a registration process for all oil and gas sources in the state and their inclusion in the triennial emissions inventory.