DEP Agrees with Council that Certain Marcellus Operators Were Not Included in Emissions Inventory Request

On January 3, 2012 the Council submitted a letter to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) questioning why many midstream operators were left off a list of Marcellus shale owners and operators who received requests for emissions inventory information. As mentioned at a recent Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee meeting, the Council's letter drew attention to a flaw in the method of obtaining the names of owners and operators in the shale in that DEP only looked at companies who owned wells. The Council recently received a letter from Secretary Krancer acknowledging the same issue.  

The letter, attached below, states: "My staff has reviewed the list of six companies that you provided and agree that certain midstream compressor owners and operators were not included in DEP's mass mailing of initial notifications and should have been...While we recognize that this first time effort to develop an emissions inventory for the unconventional natural gas industry will be very challenging the emissions inventories...will be based on the most accurate information available to the department at the time."

At the AQTAC meeting the Council encouraged the EPA a full review of all owners and operators not owning wells to ensure that letters are sent to all appropriate companies and a complete and accurate inventory is submitted to the EPA in December 2012.