Air Proposal For Fracking Reduction emissions of methane, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and air toxics from hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of natural gas resources highlight EPA's suite of proposed amendments to air regulations for the oil and natural gas industry. In 2009, about 1.1 million wells were producing oil and natural gas in the United States. The proposal includes four air regulations: a new source performance standard (NSPS) for VOCs; an NSPS for sulfur dioxide; an air toxics standard for oil and natural gas production; and an air toxics standard for natural gas transmission and storage. EPA's existing NSPS for VOCs were issued in 1985 and address only VOC leak detection and repair at new and modified natural gas process processing plants, meaning significant sources of VOC emissions in the oil and gas industry currently are not subject to nationwide regulation, according to EPA.
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