EPA Issues Final Policy and Technical Amendments to the New Source Performance Standards for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry

NOTE: President Biden has signed a joint Congressional resolution disapproving the 2020 Policy Amendments that are referenced below. As of June 30, 2021, the 2020 Policy Amendments are no longer in effect.

• On August 13, 2020, EPA issued two final rules that will make it simpler and less burdensome for the oil and natural gas industry to comply with the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry. Combined, the two rules combined are expected to save the industry millions of dollars in compliance costs each year. The rules are:
  • Final policy amendments to the 2012 and 2016 NSPS, which remove the transmission and storage segment from the rule, rescind VOC and methane emissions standards for that segment, and rescind methane emissions standards for the production and processing segments; and
  • Final technical amendments to the 2016 NSPS, which make a number of changes to the rule to simplify compliance, including changes to the leaks monitoring and repair schedules for gathering and boosting compressor stations and low-production wells, changes to recordkeeping and reporting requirements (leaks are called “fugitive emissions” in the rule), and changes to incorporate several states’ requirements, among others. The following links exit the site
  • Final policy amendments
  • Final technical amendments 
  • Regulatory Impact Analysis (175 pp, 2 MB, 08-2020)
  • Fact sheets
    • Final technical amendments (7 pp, 257 K)