WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced June 13 that it will ensure portions of the agency’s 2016 New Source Performance Standards for the oil and natural gas industry do not take effect until after the agency goes through a reconsideration process.
The agency is proposing a two-year stay on certain requirements within the rule, namely the fugitive emissions, pneumatic pump and professional engineer certification requirements. EPA is doing so because it wants to reconsider alleged issues associated with the requirements. With the stay in place, sources would not need to comply with the requirements.
The EPA noted that, after the final rule was implemented in 2016, the agency received a multitude of petitions urging a review and reconsideration of certain aspects of the rule. Earlier this month, EPA issued a 90-day administrative stay of these requirements by using its Clean Air Act authority.
The proposed rule will go before public comment for 30 days after being published in the Federal Register, along with a second proposed rule involving a three-month stay. This is to ensure no overlap between the current 90-day stay and the two-year stay.