Federal, State and Local Enforcement
Description
The presentation will highlight recent federal environmental enforcement trends and update state and local enforcement developments.
Date
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Time
1:30PM
Location
Room 416B
Calculating Project Increases
Description
Do you find Major New Source Review applicability confusing? Have you noticed that even the initial step of trying to figure out project increases (much less the rest of the program) already starts to descend into a confusing mess? When it comes to calculating project increases these days, the “devil is in the details”. This presentation will provide background and suggested approaches on the new the EPA guidelines along with insight on some states’ decision on implementation.
Date
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Time
11:30AM
Location
Room 412
Auditing in the New Decade: Creating Value by Reducing Environmental Liabilities and Risks
Description
Environmental liabilities pose significant risks in mergers, acquisitions, and ongoing concerns. Our presenters will discuss practical strategies for stakeholders, owners, or operators to leverage audit protections to strengthen their financial position.
Date
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Time
11:00AM
Location
Room 616A
Are You Ready? Contingency Planning for the RMP Amendments and Litigation
Description
The RMP Amendments impose several burdensome obligations, including reporting up to the Board of Directors. EPA’s attempt to repeal or narrow the amendments will likely be tied up in litigation in the DC Circuit, but in the meantime, compliance deadlines are soon approaching. In the midst of this uncertainty, this session will discuss the DC Circuit litigation, enforcement trends, and planning for the amendments.
Date
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Time
11:00AM
Location
Room 416B
It's Not Dead, It's Mostly Dead - CD Termination
Description
What is the process for terminating a consent decree with EPA and the Department of Justice? Is the process improved in this Administration or are terminations still stalled by disagreements over terms and what does "done" mean? This presentation will walk through the current overview of PRI CDs that have been terminated and lessons learned for those still open and for future agreements.
Date
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Time
10:30AM
Location
Room 416B
ZEVAC® - Reducing gas released during routine operations & maintenance
Description
Intentional release of natural gas during routine operations and maintenance has been identified by the US House Pipeline Safety Bill as an area to implement best-available technology for capturing released gas. Make ZEVAC® your BAT/BACT for reducing or eliminating release activity, as it was designed specifically to handle high frequency, low volume events keeping the gas safely in the piping system. Look to ZEVAC® to reduce or eliminate emissions throughout the value chain, whether you’re upstream, gathering, transmission, storage or distribution. For NGL operators, ZEVAC® Q is an industry first compressor technology capable of handling both liquid and vapor phase. Q is a safe alternative to thermal controls and flaring.
Date
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Time
10:30AM
Location
Room 617
Texas Ozone Nonattainment Area Reclassification & Potential Implications on Your Operations
Description
In ALL4’s presentation, we will discuss the September 23, 2019 USEPA reclassification of the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) and Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) nonattainment areas to serious nonattainment for the 2008 eight-hour ozone NAAQS. We will share the potential impacts on facilities located in the HGB and DFW areas including but not limited to: - Updates to major source nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) potential to emit (PTE) thresholds; - Construction and operating permits implications (New Source Review and Title V Operating Permits); - Permit by Rule (PBR) and Standard Permit authorization registration and/or certification of emissions via E-permitting mechanism; and - Timeline for demonstrating compliance.
Date
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Time
1:00PM
Location
Room 412
Launcher and Receiver Consent Decree
Description
MPLX LP, through its subsidiaries MarkWest Liberty Midstream & Resources, L.L.C. and Ohio Gathering Company, L.L.C., has entered into a first-of-its-kind agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Department of Justice to implement design and operating improvements at pipeline launcher and receiver stations. As a result of these best management practices, emissions from these operations are expected to be reduced by as much as 85 percent. As part of the agreement, we are sharing our proprietary designs for “pig ramps” to minimize liquid loss during pig retrieval and information on the installation of depressure systems to reduce the pressure in the launcher/receiver chamber prior to opening.
Date
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Time
10:00AM
Location
Room 617
Benzene Fence-line Emissions at Refineries: What Legal Standard Applies?
Description
With refinery fence-line data now publicly available, EPA, states and private parties appear to be aggressively mining the data to determine whether any concerns exist. In particular, EPA appears to be taking the position that 9 mg/yr standard is only the starting point for analysis and that other agencies’ legal standards should inform risk and compliance. What standard should refineries aim to hit with benzene emissions?
Date
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Time
1:00PM
Location
Room 416B
What to Aggregate: Geographic and Temporal Considerations in Identifying Major Modifications
Description
Our presenters will discuss implications of defining your project, both spatially and temporally, for PSD permitting providing some information and insight on aggregation issues and strategies to facilitate project aggregation reviews. The Clean Air Act imposes PSD preconstruction permitting requirements on new major sources or modifications at existing major sources. Determination of “major” in both of these contexts relies on defining the scope of your project, both spatially and temporally. With “aggregation” being informed by state and federal guidance, policy, and case interpretations, project reviews and roles have become quite complex and pose risk to project schedules and economics. This presentation will provide some information insight on aggregation issues and strategies to facilitate project aggregation reviews.
Date
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Time
10:00AM
Location
Room 616B
Oil & Gas Enforcement Update
Date
Friday, February 21, 2020
Time
8:30AM
Location
Room 616B
Flare CD Updates
Description
Coming soon.
Date
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Time
2:00PM
Location
Room 416B
Conforming to ASTM-D7036: Self-Declaration vs. Third-Party Accreditation
Description
Confidence in test data is paramount to acceptance, and both users and customers want assurance of quality. In general, testing bodies that choose accreditation rather than self-declaration demand a higher quality of work to maintain that accreditation and strive to produce more reliable results. In turn, customers have greater confidence in the accuracy and validity of the data from these testing bodies. Accreditation also provides the industry with confidence that a testing body is subject to regular oversight as a motivator to continually improve their operations. The ongoing verification of compliance ensures that the testing body’s results are consistently dependable and defensible.
Date
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Time
2:30PM
Location
Room 417A
Downstream Environmental Enforcement Updates
Description
This presentation will provide an overview of recent environmental enforcement developments in the Trump administration. The presentation will review EPA's new National Compliance Initiatives, regulatory changes under the Clean Air Act, and other pending changes under Acting Administrator Wheeler's EPA. The presentation also will focus on technological developments and how they are changing compliance and enforcement.
Date
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Time
11:30AM
Location
Room 416B