Government

摘要

Natural gas transmission companies are very unhappy with the EPA's decision to tighten industry air emission limits. A consent decree signed by the EPA requires the agency to revise both New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for the natural gas industry, including for pipelines, by the end of February.Those are two separate EPA regulatory programs. The upcoming February NSPS rule will regulate transmission pipelines for the first time and require emission reductions from pneumatic controllers and centrifugal and reciprocating compressors. The transmission NESHAP, established in 1999, would be revised to include "small" glycol gas dehydrators. Both regulatory programs seek to reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from numerous pipeline sources.Lisa Beal, vice president, Environment and Construction Policy, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, says VOC emissions from pipelines are insignificant. She calls the EPA decision to subject transmission pipelines to NSPS standards "questionable and not adequately supported." She adds, "It appears that the proposed NSPS is a thinly veiled attempt to regulate transmission and storage greenhouse gas emissions."