N.M. Admin. Code § 19.15.28.8 - VENTING AND FLARING OF NATURAL GAS

A. Venting or flaring of natural gas from a natural gas gathering system that constitutes waste as defined in 19.15.2 NMAC and is prohibited. The operator has a general duty to maximize the gathering of natural gas by minimizing the waste of natural gas through venting and flaring. The operator may vent or flare natural gas only as authorized in Subsection B of 19.15.28.8 NMAC. In all circumstances, the operator shall flare rather than vent natural gas except when flaring is technically infeasible or would pose a risk to safe operations or personnel safety and venting is a safer alternative than flaring.

B. The operator shall not flare or vent natural gas except:

(1) during an emergency or malfunction; or

(2) during the following activities unless prohibited by applicable state and federal law, rule, or regulation for the emission of hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds:

(a) repair and maintenance, including blowing down and depressurizing equipment to perform repair or maintenance;

(b) normal operation of a gas-activated pneumatic controller or pump;

(c) normal operation of dehydration units and amine treatment units;

(d) normal operation of compressors, compressor engines, and turbines;

(e) normal operation of valves, flanges, and connectors that are not the result of inadequate equipment design or maintenance;

(f) normal operation of a storage tank or other low-pressure production vessel, but not including venting from a thief hatch that is not properly closed or maintained on an established schedule;

(g) gauging or sampling a storage tank or other low-pressure vessel;

(h) loading out liquids from a storage tank or other low-pressure vessel to a transport vehicle;

(i) normal operations of valves, flanges or connectors that are not the result of inadequate equipment design or maintenance;

(j) blow down to repair a gathering pipeline;

(k) pigging a gathering pipeline;

(l) purging a gathering pipeline; or

(m) commissioning of pipelines, equipment, or facilities only for as long as necessary to purge introduced impurities from the pipeline or equipment.

C. Performance standards.

(1) The operator shall take all reasonable actions to prevent and minimize leaks and releases of natural gas from a natural gas gathering system and shall implement an operations plan to minimize the waste of natural gas for each non-contiguous natural gas gathering system. The plan should include procedures to reduce leaks and releases, such as a routine maintenance program, cathodic protection, corrosion control, liquids management and integrity management. The operator shall file its operations plan with the division:

(a) for a natural gas gathering system placed into service after May 25, 2021, within 60 days following the date the natural gas gathering system is placed into service;

(b) for a natural gas gathering system in place on or before May 25, 2021, within 90 days following May 25, 2021; and

(c) for a natural gas gathering system to which the operator added a new gathering pipeline during the calendar year or changed the operations plan, an updated operations plan no later than March 31 of the following year.

(2) During scheduled maintenance, replacement, or repair of a new or existing natural gas gathering system, the operator shall not vent natural gas during blowdown and shall route natural gas to a portable flare stack which complies with the flare stack standards, inspection, and recordkeeping requirements in Subsection E of 19.15.27.8 NMAC.

(3) During unscheduled maintenance, replacement or repair of a new or existing natural gas gathering system, to the extent that it is technically feasible and would not pose a risk to safe operations or personnel safety, the operator shall not vent natural gas during blowdown and shall route natural gas to a portable flare stack which complies with the flare stack standards, inspection and recordkeeping in Subsection E of 19.15.27.8 NMAC.

(4) The operator shall conduct a weekly AVO inspection of the compressors, dehydrators and treatment facilities associated with a natural gas gathering system to confirm those components are operating properly and there are no leaks or releases except as allowed in Subsection B of 19.15.28.8 NMAC.

(a) During an AVO inspection the operator shall inspect all components, including flare stacks, thief hatches, closed vent systems, pumps, compressors, pressure relief devices, valves, lines, flanges, connectors, and associated piping to identify defects, leaks, and releases by:

(i) comprehensive external visual inspection;

(ii) listening for pressure and liquid leaks; and

(iii) smelling for unusual and strong odors.

(b) The operator shall make and keep a record of an AVO inspection for no less than five years and make such records available for inspection by the division upon request.

(c) Subject to the division's prior written approval, the operator may use a remote or automated monitoring technology to detect leaks and releases in lieu of an AVO inspection.

(5) The operator shall perform an annual monitoring of the entire length of a gathering pipeline using an AVO technique, ALARM technology, aerial visual inspections, or other valid method to detect leaks and releases. The operator shall record and, upon the division's request, report the date and time of the monitoring, the method and technology used. The operator shall retain records of monitoring for at least five years. Personnel conducting inspections shall be knowledgeable on the methods and technology being used.

(6) For facilities constructed after May 25, 2021, facilities shall be designed to minimize waste.

(7) Operators have an obligation to minimize waste and shall resolve emergencies as quickly and safely as is feasible.

D. Reporting to affected upstream operators.

(1) No less than 14 days prior to the date of scheduled maintenance, replacement or repair of a natural gas gathering system, the operator shall provide written notification to each upstream operator whose natural gas is gathered by the system of the date and expected duration that the system will not gather natural gas.

(2) As soon as possible but no more than 12 hours after discovery of an emergency or malfunction, or the need for unscheduled maintenance of a natural gas gathering system, the operator shall provide verbal notification to each upstream operator whose natural gas is gathered by the system of the date and expected duration that the system will not gather natural gas, and shall provide written confirmation of the verbal notification, including the date, time, person, and telephone number to whom verbal notification was given no later than 24 hours after discovery.

(3) The operator shall make and keep a record of each notification for no less than five years and make such records available for inspection by the division upon request.

E. Measurement or estimation of vented and flared natural gas.

(1) The operator shall measure or estimate the volume of natural gas that it vents, flares or beneficially uses regardless of the reason or authorization for such venting or flaring.

(2) The operator shall install equipment to measure the volume of natural gas flared from a natural gas gathering system.

(3) Measuring equipment shall conform to an industry standard such as American Petroleum Institute (API) Manual of Petroleum Measurement Standards (MPMS) Chapter 14.10 Measurement of Flow to Flares.

(4) Measuring equipment shall not be designed or equipped with a manifold that allows the diversion of natural gas around the metering element except for the sole purpose of inspecting and servicing the measuring equipment.

(5) If metering is not practicable due to circumstances such as low flow rate or low pressure venting and flaring, the operator shall estimate the volume of vented or flared natural gas using a methodology that can be independently verified.

F. Reporting of vented or flared natural gas.

(1) Venting or flaring caused by an emergency, a malfunction, or of long duration.

(a) The operator shall notify the division of venting or flaring that exceeds 50 MCF in volume and either results from an emergency or malfunction or lasts eight hours or more cumulatively within any 24-hour period from a single event by filing a form C-129 in lieu of a C-141, except as provided by Subparagraph (d) of Paragraph (1) of Subsection G of 19.15.27.8 NMAC, with the division as follows:

(i) for venting or flaring that equals or exceeds 50 MCF but is less than 500 MCF from a single event, notify the division in writing by filing a form C-129 no later than 15 days following discovery or commencement of venting or flaring; or

(ii) for venting or flaring that equals or exceeds 500 MCF or otherwise qualifies as a major release as defined in 19.15.29.7 NMAC from a single event, notify the division verbally or by e-mail as soon as possible and no later than 24 hours following discovery or commencement of venting or flaring and provide the information required in form C-129. No later than 15 days following the discovery or commencement of venting or flaring, the operator shall file a form C-129 that verifies, updates, or corrects the verbal or e-mail notification; and

(iii) no later than 15 days following the termination of venting or flaring, notify the division by filing a form C-129.

(b) The operator shall provide and certify the accuracy of the following information in the form C-129:

(i) operator's name;

(ii) name and type of facility;

(iii) equipment involved;

(iv) compositional analysis of vented or flared natural gas that is representative of the natural gas gathering system;

(v) date(s) and time(s) that venting or flaring was discovered or commenced and terminated;

(vi) measured or estimated volume of vented or flared natural gas;

(vii) cause and nature of venting or flaring;

(viii) steps taken to limit the duration and magnitude of venting or flaring; and

(ix) corrective actions taken to eliminate the cause and recurrence of venting or flaring.

(c) At the division's request, the operator shall provide and certify additional information by the specified date.

(d) The operator shall file a form C-141 instead of a form C-129 for a release which includes liquid during venting or flaring that is or may be a major or minor release under 19.15.29.7 NMAC.

(2) Monthly reporting of vented and flared natural gas. For each natural gas gathering system at which venting or flaring occurred, the operator shall separately report the volume of vented natural gas and the volume of flared natural gas for each month in each category listed below. Beginning October 1, 2021, the operator shall gather data for quarterly reports in a format specified by the division and submit by February 15, 2022 for the fourth quarter of 2021 and May 15, 2022 for the first quarter of 2022. Beginning April 2022, the operator shall submit a form C-115B monthly on or before the 15th day of the second month following the month in which it vented or flared natural gas. The operator shall specify whether it estimated or measured each reported volume. In filing the initial report, the operator shall provide the methodology (measured or estimated using calculations and industry standard factors) used to report the volumes on the form, and shall report changes in the methodology on future forms. The operator shall make and keep records of the measurements and estimates, including records showing how it calculated the estimates, for no less than five years and make such records available for inspection by the division upon request. The categories are:

(a) emergency;

(b) non-scheduled maintenance or malfunction, including the abnormal operation of equipment;

(c) routine repair and maintenance, including blowdown and depressurization;

(d) beneficial use, including pilot and purge gas, fired equipment and engines;

(e) gathering pipeline blowdown and purging;

(f) gathering pipeline pigging;

(g) storage tanks;

(h) venting as a result of normal operation of pneumatic controllers and pumps;

(i) improperly closed or maintained thief hatches; and

(j) other surface waste as defined in Subparagraph (b) of Paragraph (1) of Subsection W of 19.15.2.7 NMAC that is not described above.

(3) Upon submittal of the C-115B report, the division will compile and publish on the division's website an operator's vented and flared natural gas information for each month on a volumetric and gas capture percentage basis.

(a) To calculate the lost natural gas on a volumetric basis, the operator shall sum the volume of natural gas reported under Subparagraphs (b), (c), (e), (f), (g), (i) and (j) of Paragraph (2) of Subsection F of 19.15.28.8 NMAC.

(b) To calculate the natural gas captured on a percentage basis, the operator shall deduct the volume of lost gas calculated in Subparagraph (a) of Paragraph (3) of Subsection F of 19.15.28.8 NMAC from the total volume of natural gas gathered and divide by the total volume of natural gas gathered.

(4) Upon the New Mexico environment department's request, the operator shall promptly provide a copy of any form filed pursuant to 19.15.28 NMAC.

Notes

N.M. Admin. Code § 19.15.28.8

Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXII, Issue 10, May 25, 2021, eff. 5/25/2021, Amended by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXIII, Issue 04, February 22, 2022, eff. 2/22/2022