Section 115.172 - Exemptions(a) The following exemptions apply to the equipment specified in § 115.170 of this title (relating to Applicability) that is subject to this division. Records to support exemption qualification must be kept in accordance with the requirements in § 115.180 of this title (relating to Recordkeeping Requirements). Additional requirements apply where specified. (1) Boilers and process heaters are exempt from the testing requirements of § 115.179 of this title (relating to Approved Test Methods and Testing Requirements) and the monitoring requirements of § 115.178 of this title (relating to Monitoring and Inspection Requirements) if:(A) a vent gas stream from equipment subject to this division is introduced with the primary fuel or is used as the primary fuel; or(B) the boiler or process heater has a design heat input capacity equal to or greater than 44 megawatts or 149.6 million British thermal units per hour.(2) Any pneumatic pump at a well site that operates fewer than 90 days per calendar year is exempt from the requirements of this division.(3) Except for the control requirements in § 115.175(b) or (c) of this title (relating to Storage Tank Control Requirements), any storage tank that meets one of the following conditions is exempt from the requirements in this division: (A) a storage tank with the potential to emit of less than 6.0 tons per year of volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions, which must be calculated in accordance with § 115.175(c)(2) of this title;(B) a storage tank with uncontrolled actual VOC emissions of less than 4.0 tons per year, which must be calculated in accordance with § 115.175(c)(1) of this title;(C) a process vessel such as a surge control vessel, bottom receiver, or knockout vessel;(D) a pressure vessel designed to operate in excess of 29.7 pounds per square inch absolute and designed to operate without emissions to the atmosphere; and(E) a vessel that is skid-mounted or permanently attached to something that is mobile (such as trucks, railcars, barges, or ships) and is intended to be located at a site for less than 180 consecutive days.(4) Fugitive emission components at a natural gas processing plant that contact a process fluid that contains less than 1.0% VOC by weight are exempt from the requirements of this division.(5) All pumps and compressors, other than those specified in § 115.173 and § 115.174 of this title (relating to Compressor Control Requirements and Pneumatic Controller and Pump Controller Requirements, respectively), that are equipped with a shaft sealing system that prevents or detects emissions of VOC from the seal are exempt from the fugitive monitoring requirements of § 115.177 of this title (relating to Fugitive Emission Component Requirements). These seal systems may include, but are not limited to, dual pump seals with barrier fluid at higher pressure than process pressure, seals degassing to vent control systems kept in good working order, or seals equipped with an automatic seal failure detection and alarm system.(6) At a natural gas processing plant, components that are insulated, making them inaccessible to monitoring with a hydrocarbon gas analyzer, are exempt from the hydrocarbon gas analyzer monitoring requirements of § 115.177 and § 115.178 of this title. Inspections using audio, visual, and olfactory means must still be conducted in accordance with the appropriate requirements of § 115.177 and § 115.178 of this title.(7) At a natural gas processing plant, sampling connection systems, as defined in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §63.161 (as amended January 17, 1997 (62 FR 2788)), that meet the requirements of 40 CFR § 63.166(a) and (b) (as amended June 20, 1996 (61 FR 31439)) are exempt from the requirements of this division, except from the recordkeeping requirement in § 115.180(2) of this title.(8) Fugitive emission components located at a well site with one or more wells that produce on average 15-barrel equivalents or less per day are exempt from the requirements of this division, except from the recordkeeping requirement in § 115.180(2) of this title.(b) Equipment used only for materials outside the product stream from a crude oil or natural gas production well or after the point of custody transfer to a crude oil or natural gas distribution or storage segment is exempt from the requirements of this division.(c) After the appropriate compliance date in § 115.183 of this title (relating to Compliance Schedules) and upon the date that the wet seals on a centrifugal compressor subject to subsection (a) of this section are retrofitted with a dual mechanical or other equivalent dry seal control system, the compressor no longer meets the applicability of this division.(d) After the appropriate compliance date in § 115.183 of this title, if changes are made to a pneumatic pump or controller are such that the pump or controller does not meet the appropriate definitions in this division, the requirements of § 115.174(a) or (b) of this title no longer apply. The change in applicability status must be documented in accordance with the recordkeeping requirements in § 115.180 of this title. For example, a pneumatic controller converted to a solar-powered controller no longer meets the applicability of a pneumatic controller regulated by this division.30 Tex. Admin. Code § 115.172
Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 46, Number 29, July 16, 2021, TexReg 4344, eff. 7/21/2021