Energy and Environment Monitor
WVDEP Division of Air Quality’s Draft General Permit G80A for Natural Gas Facilities Is Now Available for Public Comment
February 6, 2015
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ) has made the draft of its new General Permit G80-A available for public comment. The permit will regulate “Prevention and Control of Air Pollution in regard to the Construction, Modification, Relocation, Administrative Update and Operation of Natural Gas Production, Compressor and/or Dehydration Facilities,” and will streamline air quality permitting for the natural gas industry by incorporating all applicable air quality regulations into a single general permit. The G80-A general permit will replace three existing general permits: G30-D, G35-A, and G70-A. Currently, the G30 and G35 general permits cover natural gas compressor facilities, and the G70 general permit covers oil and natural gas production facilities designed and operated for the purpose of oil and natural gas production located at the well site. General Permit G80-A will cover natural gas production, compressor, and/or dehydration facilities, as well as additional facilities and devices that are not currently covered by any general permit. The G80-A permit will incorporate state and federal regulatory changes that are not reflected in the current general permits.
Once the final General Permit G80-A is issued later this year, DAQ will no longer grant new registrations under the G30, G35, or G70 general permits. Any facility that is currently operating under one or more of these three general permits may continue to operate pursuant to those permits, but no future registrations, modifications, or administrative updates will be allowed. If a facility wishes to modify an existing registration under the G30, G35, or G70 general permit, the facility will have to apply for coverage under the G80-A permit. In the interim, DAQ is still processing applications for the G30, G35, and G70 permits until the G80-A permit is issued.
The draft G80-A general permit and associated documents are available on DAQ’s web site at: http://www.dep.wv.gov/daq/Pages/default.aspx. Public comments can be submitted to DAQ via email at DEPG80A@wv.gov until March 30, 2015. DAQ will hold a public meeting regarding the permit on March 16, 2015 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at WVDEP headquarters in Charleston, WV. The public meeting will also be live-streamed via YouTube.
This article was authored by Jennifer L. Hughes, Jackson Kelly PLLC. For more information on the author, click here.