Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is providing notice that the emergency certified final-omitted rulemaking to control volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from conventional oil and gas sources is final and effective as of today, December 2, 2022.  

On November 30, the Environmental Quality Board adopted the emergency certified final-omitted rulemaking. On December 1, the rulemaking was deposited in and filed with the Legislative Reference Bureau. The rulemaking is final and effective upon this notice.

Under the federal Clean Air Act (CAA), Pennsylvania has until December 16 to submit to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a State Implementation Plan, including regulations covering VOC emissions for all required oil and gas sources. 

Governor Tom Wolf determined that this emergency certified final-omitted rulemaking is necessary to ensure the commonwealth complies with the CAA and with Pennsylvania’s Air Pollution Control Act. The emergency rulemaking was undertaken after the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee voted to review the final-omitted version of the regulation, causing a delay in the regulatory process that would extend beyond the December 16 deadline.

The regulatory documents are available at http://www.irrc.state.pa.us/docs/3363/AGENCY/3363FO.pdf and https://www.dep.pa.gov/PublicParticipation/EnvironmentalQuality/Pages/2022-Meetings.aspx