Council Appeals Permit Issued for the Greenzweig Compressor Station

 July 30, 2012 -Today the Clean Air Council filed a suit before the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing appealing Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's (PA DEP) issuance of Plan Approval 08-00030B to Angelina Gathering to expand their Greenzweig Compressor Station. The Station is located in Herrick Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania.

The plan approval allows Angelina Gathering to install and temporarily operate a 1,775 horsepower natural gas-fired reciprocating internal combustion engine at Greenzweig. The Council's primary concern is that PA DEP failed to aggregate nine wells that are controlled by Angelina Gathering's parent company and feed Greenzweig. In order to determine whether a source will be regulated as a major or minor source PA DEP must analyze the amount of emissions coming from the source and whether it crosses the major source threshold. The first step in this analysis is to determine what the "source" is comprised of.

EPA requires aggregation of operations which are controlled by the same company, are part of the same industry and are adjacent or contiguous. Relying merely on proximity, PA DEP concluded, without looking at the relationship between the wells and the station (as required by EPA), that the wells should not be aggregated with Greenzweig. If the wells were aggregated, the source would trip major source thresholds which would require additional pollution controls, pollution offsets, hearings, cumulative pollution analysis and additional recordkeeping, monitoring and reporting requirements.

The suit also addresses an improper hazardous air pollution calculation which led to improper emissions limitations. Finally, PA DEP is required to respond to all significant comments regarding a permit and failed to respond to many comments. 

The appeal is attached below.