In an effort to minimized emissions and protect the air quality surrounding the Barnett Shale, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) announced this week that they are formally proposing new rules to amend current regulations regarding oil and gas facility equipment.  The new rules include updates in enforceable sampling, monitoring, record keeping and  technical and administrative requirements as they relate to air quality.

Bryan W. Shaw, Chairman of the TCEQ, had this to say about the new rules, “This is the latest step in our efforts to ensure safe air quality in areas where oil and gas production is ongoing.  The tremendous expansion of drilling in the Barnett Shale, in and around urban areas, required our agency to take a closer look at the potential impacts and protective measures that could be instituted to protect the public health around these operations.”

In addition to these new rules, the TCEQ recently finished phase one of their special inventory to determine emission source locations around the Barnett Shale oil and gas operations collecting data from companies to account for over 99% of 2009 production in the play.  Phase two will require more detailed data from the emission source locations that were located in phase one.  The TCEQ also added 2 new monitors in DISH and Eagle Mountain Lake and 1 new monitor is being installed in Flower Mound.  Along with those 3 new monitors and existing monitors in Dallas and Fort Worth, the TCEQ is determining locations for a monitor in Tarrant County and another somewhere else in the Barnett Shale.  The regional office has also added 7 new air inspectors to respond to complaints.

To learn more visit the Barnett Shale Regulatory, Environmental Info folder in the Unconventional Updates in DI’s DNA.

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Anne Leonard

In January 2015, Anne Leonard headed the team that launched the latest addition to DrillingInfo’s international publications, International Scout Frontier North America which covers the US Gulf of Mexico as well as Maritime and Arctic Canada. She has been reporting on exploration and production for more than 30 years. She began her career in Denver covering the Rocky Mountain Region, and has spent the last 10 years covering the international arena, with a particular focus on Latin America, Africa, Western Europe and the Far East. Anne received her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Nebraska.

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