New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 20 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Chapter 2 - AIR QUALITY (STATEWIDE)
Part 50 - OIL AND GAS SECTOR - OZONE PRECURSOR POLLUTANTS
Section 20.2.50.7 - DEFINITIONS
Universal Citation: 20 NM Admin Code 20.2.50.7
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
In addition to the terms defined in 20.2.2 NMAC - Definitions, as used in this Part, the following definitions apply.
A. Definitions beginning with the letter "A": "Auto-igniter" means a device that automatically attempts to relight the pilot flame of a control device in order to combust VOC emissions, or a device that will automatically attempt to combust the VOC emission stream.
B. Definitions beginning with the letter "B": "Bleed rate" means the rate in standard cubic feet per hour at which gas is continuously vented from a pneumatic controller.
C. Definitions beginning with the letter "C":
(1)
"Calendar year" means a year beginning January 1 and ending
December 31.
(2)
"Centrifugal
compressor" means a machine used for raising the pressure of natural gas
by drawing in low-pressure natural gas and discharging significantly
higher-pressure natural gas by means of a mechanical rotating vane or impeller.
A screw, sliding vane, and liquid ring compressor is not a centrifugal
compressor.
(3)
"Closed vent
system" means a system that is designed, operated, and maintained to
route the VOC emissions from a source or process to a process stream or control
device with no loss of VOC emissions to the atmosphere during
operation.
(4)
"Commencement
of operation" means for an oil and natural gas well site, the date any
permanent production equipment is in use and product is consistently flowing to
a sales line, gathering line or storage vessel from the first producing well at
the stationary source, but no later than the end of well completion
operation.
(5)
"Component" means a pump seal, flange, pressure relief device
(including thief hatch or other opening on a storage vessel), connector or
valve that contains or contacts a process stream with hydrocarbons, except for
components where process streams consist solely of glycol, amine, produced
water, or methanol.
(6)
"Connector" means flanged, screwed, or other joined fittings used
to connect pipeline segments, tubing, pipe components (such as elbows,
reducers, "T's" or valves) to each other; or a pipeline to a piece of
equipment; or an instrument to a pipe, tube, or piece of equipment. A common
connector is a flange. Joined fittings welded completely around the
circumference of the interface are not considered connectors for the purpose of
this Part.
(7)
"Construction" means fabrication, erection, or installation of a
stationary source, including but not limited to temporary installations and
portable stationary sources, but does not include relocations or like-kind
replacements of existing equipment.
(8)
"Control device" means air
pollution control equipment or emission reduction technologies that thermally
combust, chemically convert, or otherwise destroy or recover air contaminants.
Examples of control devices may include but are not limited to open flares,
enclosed combustion devices (ECDs), thermal oxidizers (TOs), vapor recovery
units (VRUs), fuel cells, condensers, catalytic converters (oxidative,
selective, and non-selective), or other emission reduction equipment. A control
device may also include any other air pollution control equipment or emission
reduction technologies approved by the department to comply with emission
standards in this Part. A VRU or other equipment used primarily as process
equipment is not considered a control device.
D. Definitions beginning with the letter "D":
(1)
"Department" means the New Mexico environment
department.
(2)
"Design
value" means the 3-year average of the annual fourth-highest daily
maximum 8-hour average ozone concentration.
(3)
"Downtime" means the period
of time when equipment is not in operation.
(4)
"Drilling" or "drilled"
means the process to bore a hole to create a well for oil and/or natural gas
production.
(5)
"Drill-out"means the process of removing the plugs placed during
hydraulic fracturing or refracturing. Drill-out ends after the removal of all
stage plugs and the initial wellbore cleanup.
E. Definitions beginning with the letter "E":
(1)
"Enclosed combustion device" means a combustion device where waste
gas is combusted in an enclosed chamber solely for the purpose of destruction.
This may include, but is not limited to, an enclosed flare or
combustor.
(2)
"Existing" means constructed or reconstructed before the effective
date of this Part.
F. Definitions beginning with the letter "F":
(1)
"Flowback" means the process
of allowing fluids and entrained solids to flow from a well following
stimulation, either in preparation for a subsequent phase of treatment or in
preparation for cleanup and placing the well into production. The term flowback
also means the fluids and entrained solids flowing from a well after drilling
or hydraulic fracturing or refracturing. Flowback ends when all temporary
flowback equipment is removed from service. Flowback does not include
drill-out.
(2)
"Flowback
vessel" means a vessel that contains flowback.
G. Definitions beginning with the letter "G".
(1)
"Gathering and boosting station" means a facility, including all
equipment and compressors, located downstream of a well site that collects or
moves natural gas prior to the inlet of a natural gas processing plant; or
prior to a natural gas transmission pipeline or transmission compressor station
if no gas processing is performed; or collects, moves, or stabilizes crude oil
or condensate prior to an oil transmission pipeline or other form of
transportation. Gathering and boosting stations may include equipment for
liquids separation, natural gas dehydration, and tanks for the storage of water
and hydrocarbon liquids.
(2)
"Glycol dehydrator" means a device in which a liquid glycol
absorbent, including ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, or triethylene glycol,
directly contacts a natural gas stream and absorbs water.
H. Definitions beginning with the letter "H":
(1)
"High-bleed pneumatic controller" means a continuous bleed
pneumatic controller that is designed to have a continuous bleed rate that
emits in excess of 6 standard cubic feet per hour (scfh) of natural gas to the
atmosphere.
(2)
"Hydraulic
fracturing" means the process of directing pressurized fluids containing
any combination of water, proppant, and any added chemicals to penetrate tight
formations, such as shale, coal, and tight sand formations, that subsequently
requires flowback to expel fracture fluids and solids.
(3)
"Hydraulic refracturing"
means conducting a subsequent hydraulic fracturing operation at a well that has
previously undergone a hydraulic fracturing operation.
(4)
"Hydrocarbon liquid" means
any naturally occurring, unrefined petroleum liquid and can include oil,
condensate, and intermediate hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbon liquid does not include
produced water.
I. Definitions beginning with the letter "I":
(1)
"Inactive well site" means a
well site where the well is not being used for beneficial purposes, such as
production or monitoring, and is not being drilled, completed, repaired or
worked over.
(2)
"Injection
well site" means a well site where the well is used for the injection of
air, gas, water or other fluids into an underground stratum.
(3)
"Intermittent pneumatic
controller" means a pneumatic controller that is not designed to have a
continuous bleed rate but is designed to only release natural gas above de
minimis amounts to the atmosphere as part of the actuation cycle.
J. Definitions beginning with the letter "J".
K. Definitions beginning with the letter "K".
L. Definitions beginning with the letter "L":
(1)
"Liquid unloading" means the
removal of accumulated liquid from the wellbore that reduces or stops natural
gas production.
(2)
"Liquid
transfer" means the unloading of a hydrocarbon liquid from a storage
vessel to a tanker truck or tanker rail car for transport.
(3)
"Local distribution company
custody transfer station" means a metering station where the local
distribution company receives a natural gas supply from an upstream supplier,
which may be an interstate transmission pipeline or a local natural gas
producer, for delivery to customers through the local distribution company's
intrastate transmission or distribution lines.
(4)
"Low-bleed pneumatic controller"
means a continuous bleed pneumatic controller that is designed to have a
continuous bleed rate that emits less than or equal to 6 scfh of natural gas to
the atmosphere.
M. Definitions beginning with the letter "M".
N. Definitions beginning with the letter "N". "non-porous" means multi-use items such as metal, glass and plastic;
(1)
"Natural gas-fired heater" means an enclosed device using a
controlled flame and with a primary purpose to transfer heat directly to a
process material or to a heat transfer material for use in a process.
(2)
"Natural gas processing
plant" means the processing equipment engaged in the extraction of
natural gas liquid from natural gas or fractionation of mixed natural gas
liquid to a natural gas product, or both. A Joule-Thompson valve, a dew point
depression valve, or an isolated or standalone Joule-Thompson skid is not a
natural gas processing plant.
(3)
"New" means constructed or reconstructed on or after the effective
date of this Part.
(4)
"Non-emitting controller" means a device that monitors a process
parameter such as liquid level, pressure, or temperature and sends a signal to
a control valve in order to control the process parameter and does not emit
natural gas to the atmosphere. Examples of non-emitting controllers include but
are not limited to instrument air or inert gas pneumatic controllers, electric
controllers, mechanical controllers and Routed Pneumatic Controllers.
O. Definitions beginning with the letter "O":
(1)
"Occupied area" means the following:
(a) a building or structure used as a place
of residence by a person, family, or families, and includes manufactured,
mobile, and modular homes, except to the extent that such manufactured, mobile,
or modular home is intended for temporary occupancy or for business
purposes;
(b) indoor or outdoor
spaces associated with a school that students use commonly as part of their
curriculum or extracurricular activities;
(c) five-thousand (5,000) or more square feet
of building floor area in commercial facilities that are operating and normally
occupied during working hours; and
(d) an outdoor venue or recreation area, such
as a playground, permanent sports field, amphitheater, or similar place of
outdoor public assembly.
(2)
"Operator" means the person
or persons responsible for the overall operation of a stationary
source.
(3)
"Optical gas
imaging (OGI)" means an imaging technology that utilizes a
high-sensitivity infrared camera designed for and capable of detecting
hydrocarbons.
(4)
"Owner" means the person or persons who own a stationary source or
part of a stationary source.
P. Definitions beginning with the letter "P":
(1)
"Permanent pit or pond" means a pit or pond used for collection,
retention, or storage of produced water or brine and is installed for longer
than one year.
(2)
"Pneumatic
controller" means a device that monitors a process parameter such as
liquid level, pressure, or temperature and uses pressurized gas (which may be
released to the atmosphere during normal operation) and sends a signal to a
control valve in order to control the process parameter. Controllers that do
not utilize pressurized gas are not pneumatic controllers.
(3)
"Pneumatic diaphragm pump"
means a positive displacement pump powered by pressurized gas that uses the
reciprocating action of flexible diaphragms in conjunction with check valves to
pump a fluid. A pump in which a fluid is displaced by a piston driven by a
diaphragm is not considered a diaphragm pump. A lean glycol circulation pump
that relies on energy exchange with the rich glycol from the contactor is not
considered a diaphragm pump.
(4)
"Potential to emit (PTE)" means the maximum capacity of a
stationary source to emit any air pollutant under its physical and operational
design. Any physical or operational limitation on the capacity of a source to
emit an air pollutant, including air pollution control equipment and
restrictions on the hours of operation or on the type or amount of material
combusted, stored or processed, shall be treated as part of its design if the
limitation is federally enforceable. The PTE for nitrogen dioxide shall be
based on total oxides of nitrogen.
(5)
"Pre-production operations"
means the drilling through the hydrocarbon bearing zones, hydraulic
fracturing or refracturing, drill-out, and flowback of an oil and/or natural
gas well.
(6)
"Produced
water" means a liquid that is an incidental byproduct from well
completion and the production of oil and gas.
(7)
"Produced water management
unit" means a recycling facility or a permanent pit or pond that is a
natural topographical depression, man-made excavation, or diked area formed
primarily of earthen materials (although it may be lined with man-made
materials), which is designed to accumulate produced water and has a design
storage capacity equal to or greater than 50,000 barrels.
Q. Definitions beginning with the letter "Q". "Qualified Professional Engineer" means an individual who is licensed by a state as a professional engineer to practice one or more disciplines of engineering and who is qualified by education, technical knowledge, and experience to make the specific technical certifications required under this Part.
R. Definitions beginning with the letter "R":
(1)
"Reciprocating compressor" means a piece of equipment that
increases the pressure of process gas by positive displacement, employing
linear movement of a piston rod.
(2)
"Reconstruction" means a
modification that results in the replacement of the components or addition of
integrally related equipment to an existing source, to such an extent that the
fixed capital cost of the new components or equipment exceeds fifty percent of
the fixed capital cost that would be required to construct a comparable
entirely new facility.
(3)
"Recycling facility" means a stationary or portable facility used
exclusively for the treatment, re-use, or recycling of produced water and does
not include oilfield equipment such as separators, heater treaters, and
scrubbers in which produced water may be used.
(4)
"Responsible official" means
one of the following:
(a) for a corporation:
president, secretary, treasurer, or vice-president of the corporation in charge
of a principal business function, or any other person who performs similar
policy or decision-making functions for the corporation, or a duly authorized
representative.
(b) for a
partnership or sole proprietorship: a general partner or the proprietor,
respectively.
(5)
"Routed pneumatic controller" means a pneumatic controller of any
type that releases natural gas to a process, sales line, or to a combustion
device instead of directly to the atmosphere.
S. Definitions beginning with the letter "S":
(1)
"Small business facility" means, for the purposes of this Part, a
source that is independently owned or operated by a company that is a not a
subsidiary or a division of another business, that employs no more than 10
employees at any time during the calendar year, and that has a gross annual
revenue of less than $250,000. Employees include part-time, temporary, or
limited-service workers.
(2)
"Stabilized" means, when used to refer to stored condensate, that
the condensate has reached substantial equilibrium with the atmosphere and that
any emissions that occur are those commonly referred to within the industry as
"working and breathing losses."
(3)
"Standalone tank battery" means a tank battery that is not
designated as associated with a well site, gathering and boosting station,
natural gas processing plant, or transmission compressor station.
(4)
"Startup" means the setting
into operation of air pollution control equipment or process
equipment.
(5)
"Stationary
source" or "source" means any building, structure,
equipment, facility, installation (including temporary installations),
operation, process, or portable stationary source that emits or may emit any
air contaminant. Portable stationary source means a source that can be
relocated to another operating site with limited dismantling and
reassembly.
(6)
"Storage
vessel" means a single tank or other vessel that is designed to contain
an accumulation of hydrocarbon liquid or produced water and is constructed
primarily of non-earthen material including wood, concrete, steel, fiberglass,
or plastic, which provide structural support. A well completion vessel that
receives recovered liquid from a well after commencement of operation for a
period that exceeds 60 days is considered a storage vessel. A storage vessel
does not include a vessel that is skid-mounted or permanently attached to a
mobile source and located at the site for less than 180 consecutive days, such
as a truck or railcar; a process vessel such as a surge control vessel, bottom
receiver, or knockout vessel; a pressure vessel designed to operate in excess
of 204.9 kilopascals (29.72 psi) without emissions to the atmosphere; or a
floating roof tank complying with 40 CFR Part 60 , Subpart Kb.
T. Definitions beginning with the letter "T":
(1)
"Tank battery" means a storage vessel or group of storage vessels
that receive or store crude oil, condensate, or produced water from a well or
wells for storage. The owner or operator shall designate whether a tank battery
is a standalone tank battery or is associated with a well site, gathering and
boosting station, natural gas processing plant, or transmission compressor
station. The owner or operator shall maintain records of this designation and
make them available to the department upon request. A tank battery associated
with a well site, gathering or boosting station, natural gas processing plant,
or transmission compressor station is subject to the requirements in this Part
for those facilities, as applicable. Tank battery does not include storage
vessels at saltwater disposal facilities or produced water management
units.
(2)
"Temporarily
abandoned well site" means an inactive well site where the well's
completion interval has been isolated. The completion interval is the reservoir
interval that is open to the borehole and is isolated when tubing and
artificial equipment has been removed and a bottom plug has been set.
(3)
"Transmission compressor
station" means a facility, including all equipment and compressors, that
moves pipeline quality natural gas at increased pressure from a well site or
natural gas processing plant through a transmission pipeline for ultimate
delivery to the local distribution company custody transfer station,
underground storage, or to other industrial end users. Transmission compressor
stations may include equipment for liquids separation, natural gas dehydration,
and tanks for the storage of water and hydrocarbon liquids.
U. Definitions beginning with the letter "U".
V. Definitions beginning with the letter "V": "Vessel measurement system" means equipment and methods used to determine the quantity of the liquids inside a vessel (including a flowback vessel) without requiring direct access through the vessel thief hatch or other opening.
W. Definitions beginning with the letter "W":
(1)
"Wellhead only facility" means a well site that does not contain
any production or processing equipment other than artificial lift natural gas
driven pneumatic controllers and emergency shutdown device natural gas driven
pneumatic controllers.
(2)
"Well workover" means the repair or stimulation of an existing
production well for the purpose of restoring, prolonging, or enhancing the
production of hydrocarbons.
(3)
"Well site" means the equipment under the operator's control
directly associated with one or more oil wells or natural gas wells upstream of
the natural gas processing plant or gathering and boosting station, if any. A
well site may include equipment used for extraction, collection, routing,
storage, separation, treating, dehydration, artificial lift, combustion,
compression, pumping, metering, monitoring, and product piping. A well site
does not include an injection well site.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Mexico may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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