EPA Issues Two Final Rules Amending the 2012 and 2016 New Source Performance Standards

On August 13, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued final policy amendments to the 2012 and 2016 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and final technical amendments to the 2016 NSPS in an effort to reduce regulation and provide greater compliance savings to the oil and gas industry. 

The final policy amendments eliminate the transmission and storage segment from regulation under the NSPS, including emission limits for those segment sources, and remove production and processing segment standards on methane emissions. 

The final technical amendments to the 2016 NSPS rework reporting requirements for fugitive emissions, incorporate state requirements for alignment with EPA requirements, allow repair deferral if a repair within 30 days is not technically feasible, allow for a wider range of emission monitoring technology, and provide for other technical changes.

The pre-publication versions of the final policy amendments, final technical amendments, regulatory impact analysis, and facts sheets can be found here.