The Proposed Sand Hill Compressor Station Identical to the Battle Run Facility in Ohio County, WV

Ohio County, WV, May 21, 2012 – According to the Wheeling Intelligencer, as a sign the company plans to soon begin pumping large amounts of natural gas through the Ohio Valley, Chesapeake Energy is building another compressor station in the Sand Hill area. “The Battle Run (near The Highlands) and Sand Hill sites will be identical, with the same equipment inventory, and will be subject to the new EPA rules calling for the reduction of volatile organic compounds,” said Stacey Brodak, Chesapeake’s senior director of corporate development.

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Chesapeake, in a legal advertisement, is seeking an air quality permit from the DEP for the “potential to discharge” the following amounts of these materials on an annual basis from the operations at the compressor station: carbon dioxide, 93,800 tons; nitrogen oxides, 82.96 tons; carbon monoxide, 16.87 tons; methane, 86.64 tons; carbon dioxide equivalent, 95,667 tons; benzene, 0.33 tons; and formaldehyde, 3.22 tons.

There will also be various amounts of volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, acetaldehyde, acrolein, ethylbenzene, methanol, n-hexane, toluene, xylenes and nitrous oxide.

“It is vitally important to understand that the emissions listed in the legal notice are not only representative of a conservative ‘potential to emit’ level typical of the air permitting process, they’re also a ‘not to exceed’ level,” Brodak said. “The listed levels are not necessarily indicative of the actual annual emissions of the facility.”

A recent statement from EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson read, “Methane, when released directly to the atmosphere, is a potent greenhouse gas – more than 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide.” Jackson said the first phase of the stricter standards for air emissions will last until January 2015. From now until then, owners and operators must either flare their emissions or use emissions reduction technology called “green completions,” which she said are already widely used at gas wells. In 2015, all new fractured wells will be required to use green completions.

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Below is notification to the public of a proposed “general permit”  for natural gas compressor facilities.  The circumstances pertaining to various compressor stations are quite unique, with regards to location, terrain, capacity, and proximity of residential – commercial – industrial sites.  Therefore, it is important that each proposed facility be independently evaluated; so this general permit approach is not as environmentally sound as many citizens would like.  Duane Nichols

 NOTICE OF COMMENT PERIOD FOR PROPOSED OPERATING PERMIT  

The WV Division of Air Quality is providing notice to the general public of its preliminary
determination to issue a General Operating Permit (R30-NGGP-2012) to operate Natural Gas Compressor Facilities.  Facilities are designed and operated for the purpose of gathering, dehydrating, transmitting, processing or compressing Natural Gas.  Facilities will include some or all of the following equipment:
Indirect Heat Exchangers, Engines, Turbines, Storage Vessels, Glycol
Dehydration Units and Mobile Glycol Reclaimer.

 This notice solicits comments from the public and affected state(s)
concerning the above preliminary determination and provides an opportunity for
such parties to review the basis for the proposed approval and the “draft”
permit.  
    
All written comments submitted by the public and affected state(s)
pursuant to this notice must be received by the DAQ within thirty (30) days of
the date of publication of this notice. Copies of the DAQ Fact Sheet and

Draft/Proposed Permit may be downloaded from the DAQ’s web site at the following address:
http://www.dep.wv.gov/daq, then Permitting, Title V Guidance, Natural Gas
General Permit (R30-NGGP-2012). Copies of the Permit Application, DAQ Fact
Sheet, and Draft/Proposed Permit are available for public review at the
following location between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.:

            WV Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Air Quality
            601 57th Street SE, Charleston, WV  25304
            Contact: U.K.Bachhawat, (304) 926-0499, Ext 1256

Tagged as: air quality permits, compressor stations, drilling, fracking, greenhouse gases, marcellus shale, methane