Federal Action: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering a discretionary redesignation of certain Permian Basin counties in southeast New Mexico and West Texas as ozone nonattainment areas under the 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). EPA has not yet formally initiated this process.
Importance: An ozone nonattainment redesignation would immediately increase the time and expense of obtaining air permits for some projects. Operators must obtain air permits before constructing or modifying (expanding) oil and gas facilities. If the area is redesignated, burdensome “nonattainment New Source Review” permitting requirements will apply to new “major sources” and major modifications of existing major sources.
Read the entire article here: Federal Issue Brief – Potential Permian Basin Ozone Nonattainment Area
Please contact Chris Colclasure at ccolclasure@bwenergylaw.com for more information.
