a What are the exceptions to the equipment leak GHG and VOC standards for affected facilities at onshore natural gas processing plants?
40 C.F.R. § 60.5401a
in effect(a) You may comply with the following exceptions to the provisions of § 60.5400a(a) and (b).
(b)(1) Each pressure relief device in gas/vapor service may be monitored quarterly and within 5 days after each pressure release to detect leaks by the methods specified in § 60.485a(b) except as provided in §§ 60.5400a(c) and in paragraph (b)(4) of this section, and 60.482-4a(a) through (c) of subpart VVa of this part.
(2) If an instrument reading of 500 ppm or greater is measured, a leak is detected.
(3)(i) When a leak is detected, it must be repaired as soon as practicable, but no later than 15 calendar days after it is detected, except as provided in § 60.482-9a.
(ii) A first attempt at repair must be made no later than 5 calendar days after each leak is detected.
(4)(i) Any pressure relief device that is located in a nonfractionating plant that is monitored only by non-plant personnel may be monitored after a pressure release the next time the monitoring personnel are onsite, instead of within 5 days as specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section and § 60.482-4a(b)(1).
(ii) No pressure relief device described in paragraph (b)(4)(i) of this section may be allowed to operate for more than 30 days after a pressure release without monitoring.
(c) Sampling connection systems are exempt from the requirements of § 60.482-5a.
(d) Pumps in light liquid service, valves in gas/vapor and light liquid service, pressure relief devices in gas/vapor service, and connectors in gas/vapor service and in light liquid service that are located at a nonfractionating plant that does not have the design capacity to process 283,200 standard cubic meters per day (scmd) (10 million standard cubic feet per day) or more of field gas are exempt from the routine monitoring requirements of §§ 60.482-2a(a)(1), 60.482-7a(a), 60.482-11a(a), and paragraph (b)(1) of this section.
(e) Pumps in light liquid service, valves in gas/vapor and light liquid service, pressure relief devices in gas/vapor service, and connectors in gas/vapor service and in light liquid service within a process unit that is located in the Alaskan North Slope are exempt from the monitoring requirements of §§ 60.482-2a(a)(1), 60.482-7a(a), and 60.482-11a(a) and paragraph (b)(1) of this section.
(f) An owner or operator may use the following provisions instead of § 60.485a(e):
(1) Equipment is in heavy liquid service if the weight percent evaporated is 10 percent or less at 150 °Celsius (302 °Fahrenheit) as determined by ASTM Method D86-96 (incorporated by reference as specified in § 60.17).
(2) Equipment is in light liquid service if the weight percent evaporated is greater than 10 percent at 150 °Celsius (302 °Fahrenheit) as determined by ASTM Method D86-96 (incorporated by reference as specified in § 60.17).
(g) An owner or operator may use the following provisions instead of § 60.485a(b)(2): A calibration drift assessment shall be performed, at a minimum, at the end of each monitoring day. Check the instrument using the same calibration gas(es) that were used to calibrate the instrument before use. Follow the procedures specified in Method 21 of appendix A-7 of this part, Section 10.1, except do not adjust the meter readout to correspond to the calibration gas value. Record the instrument reading for each scale used as specified in § 60.486a(e)(8). For each scale, divide the arithmetic difference of the most recent calibration and the post-test calibration response by the corresponding calibration gas value, and multiply by 100 to express the calibration drift as a percentage. If any calibration drift assessment shows a negative drift of more than 10 percent from the most recent calibration response, then all equipment monitored since the last calibration with instrument readings below the appropriate leak definition and above the leak definition multiplied by (100 minus the percent of negative drift/divided by 100) must be re-monitored. If any calibration drift assessment shows a positive drift of more than 10 percent from the most recent calibration response, then, at the owner/operator's discretion, all equipment since the last calibration with instrument readings above the appropriate leak definition and below the leak definition multiplied by (100 plus the percent of positive drift/divided by 100) may be re-monitored.
Source: ecfr_bulkFetched: 7/26/2026
Source: eCFR APIURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-40.xml?part=60Fetched: 5/31/2026