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Show L'..L:n v..:Jon I L-,''\.) . r, , (' \.)i;"1') UNITED STATES ENVtRONMENiAL PROTECTION AGENCY , le':J UU,J < t'" t,' . .,. ' _ P'tJ.- WSHINGTON. D.C. 20460 RECEIVED NOV 2 6 1993 Mr. H. Michael Assistant Chief Dorsey Compliance Monitoring/Enforcement Office of Waste Managem.ent . Division of Environmental Protection 1356 Hansford street Charleston, West Virginia 25301-1401 l'lAZARDOUS WAS1E. Dear Mr. BRANCH Dorsey: I am responding to' your Auqust 30, 1993, request to clarify certain issues, regarding o'il and gas wastes. I understand that you have corre5pondd and have had extensive conversations with Mike Fitzpatrick of my staff regarding the March 22, 1993, ',-Federal Re-gister (:FR) notice that clarifies t.he scope of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtite C hazardous ,waste exemption for oil and gas exploration and I further understand thar at the invitation production wastes. of David Flannery (representing the Appalachian producers), Mike visited certain sites in West Virginia with you and industry . representatives to gather information relative have raised. your letters raised three am responding to the issues you issues that were raised in and conversations 'with him. I believe that you have I which will address below. principal issues, I to the The first issue concerns the application of the language in the. March 22, 99J', FR notice that addresses gas plants to natural gas compressor stations in West Virginia. The scenario used for defining the scope of the exeption in the regulatory determination and subsequent FR clarification does not precisely correspond to the typical natural gas production process used in It has been our position that Appalachian states.. while natural I gas exploration and production (E&P) occurs' at the wellhead, up through the gas plant, and at natural gas storage fields, E&P does not include transportation of gas once it has left the gas plant, compressor stations located downstream from the gas plant, or manufacturing activities. since the Subtitle C exemption applies only to E&P activities, solid wastes generated from these transportation, compression or manufacturing activities would not be exept from subtitle C regulation. The FR notice did not intend to imply, however, that astcs from all compressor stations' are outside the E&P exemptioni only those wastes !ro compressor stations that are part of transportation are subject to Subtitle C. In EPA's opinion, those compressor stations on main trunk pipelines handling any © Printed 011 Recycled Paper 1"-,' |
