LONG-TERM PLAN FOR THE RESERVATION AIR PROGRAM (2016)

LONG-TERM PLAN FOR THE RESERVATION AIR PROGRAM

Prepared by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Approved by the

Southern Ute Indian Tribe/State of Colorado

Environmental Commission

Table of Contents

I.

INTRODUCTION. .................................................................................................. 1

II.

AIR POLLUTION PROGRAMS. ........................................................................... 2

A.

B.

C.

TITLE V OPERATING PERMIT PROGRAM. .................................................. 2

NSPS AND NESHAP. ......................................................................................... 2

MINOR SOURCE PROGRAM. .......................................................................... 3

III.

POSSIBLE FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS. .......................................................... 3

IV.

RESERVATION AIR PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT........................................... 4

V.

REGIONAL AIR QUALITY PLANNING. ............................................................ 4

A.

B.

LOCAL CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION ....................................... 4

EMISSION INVENTORY DEVELOPMENT .................................................... 4

VI.

CONCLUSION. ....................................................................................................... 5

HISTORY ........................................................................................................................... 6

LONG-TERM PLAN FOR THE RESERVATION AIR PROGRAM

I.

INTRODUCTION.

This long-term plan for the Reservation Air Program was prepared in accordance

with the Intergovernmental Agreement Between the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the

State of Colorado Concerning Air Quality Control on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation

dated December 13, 1999 (IGA). In particular, section VIII. A. (g) of the IGA provides

that it is the responsibility of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe to develop a long-term plan,

for approval by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe/State of Colorado Environmental

Commission (Commission), for improving and maintaining air quality within the exterior

boundaries of the Southern Ute Indian Reservation, which also takes into account regional

planning in the La Plata and Archuleta County region. Section VII.(d) of the IGA provides

that it is the Commission’s duty to review and approve the long-term plan that is initially

prepared by the Tribe. The “Reservation Air Program” refers to the single air quality

program applicable to all lands within the exterior boundaries of the Southern Ute Indian

Reservation, the establishment of which program is the purpose of the IGA. The exterior

boundaries of the Southern Ute Indian Reservation (Reservation) were confirmed by

Congress in the Act of May 21, 1984, Pub. L. No. 98-290, 98 Stat. 201, 202 (found at

“Other Provisions” note to 25 U.S.C.S. § 668).

The Reservation is situated in the northern end of the San Juan Basin which is a

geologic structural basin that is one of the largest sources of natural gas in the world. The

majority of the gas produced on the Reservation is coalbed methane from the Fruitland

Formation, but natural gas is also produced from the conventional sandstone reservoirs of

the Pictured Cliffs Formation, the Mesa Verde Group, and the Dakota Sandstone. The oil

and gas industry’s production and processing facilities constitute the majority of the

Reservation’s stationary air pollution sources and range from small gas well pads to large

natural gas treating and processing plants.

Since the early 1980’s the Tribe has maintained an active air quality monitoring

program which, while not under the Commission’s authority, serves important purposes

related to the Tribe’s and Commission’s air quality objectives such as comparing the

Reservation’s ambient air quality to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

and revealing air quality trends. The Tribe maintains two air quality monitoring stations.

These stations measure ambient concentrations of certain criteria air pollutants, track

metrological parameters, record visibility degradation, identify exceedances of National

Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), and provide data and information for use in

establishing long-term air quality management goals. The Tribe continues to explore

options for expanding its monitoring program including fielding a mobile monitoring

station to assess background concentrations of criteria pollutants and methane.

This long-term plan describes the rules and regulations the Commission has either

adopted or plans to adopt so that the Reservation Air Program will serve its intended

purpose as the single air quality program applicable to all lands within the exterior

boundaries of the Reservation. To that end, this long-term plan focuses first on those rules

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and regulations EPA administers on reservations and second on any additional rules and

regulations determined necessary to improve and maintain the Reservation’s air quality.

II.

AIR POLLUTION PROGRAMS.

This section discusses the Commission’s plans for development and

implementation of Clean Air Act (CAA) and non-CAA air programs. Standards, rules, and

regulations for any new program will be developed and promulgated through rulemaking

in accordance with the Commission’s Procedural Rules.

A. TITLE V OPERATING PERMIT PROGRAM.

The 1990 CAA amendments authorized tribal governments to participate in CAA

implementation in the “same manner as a state.” Title V of the CAA (42 U.S.C. §7661),

created by the same amendments, requires states to implement a national operating permit

program. The operating permit program requires that large industrial sources, as well as

certain other sources, of air pollution obtain a permit that consolidates all applicable air

quality regulatory requirements for a facility into one document. The purpose of Title V

permits, sometimes called Part 70 permits because the implementing regulations for the

program are published at 40 CFR Part 70, is to make applicable air quality regulatory

requirements more transparent for industry thereby reducing violations of air pollution laws

and improving enforcement of those laws.

On November 12, 2008, the Commission adopted the Reservation Air Code (RAC),

which includes regulations for a Part 70 Program on the Reservation. On March 15, 2012,

EPA promulgated its approval, effective March 2, 2012, of the Tribe’s Part 70 Operating

Permit Program application, as well as the Tribe’s Treatment in the Same Manner as a State

application, authorizing the Tribe to administer the Commission’s Part 70 Program within

the exterior boundaries of the Reservation. In accordance with the Southern Ute Indian

Tribe’s Reservation Air Program Transition Plan from Federal Part 71 to Southern Ute

Indian Tribe Part 70 Operating Permit Program, all existing EPA-issued Part 71 permits

were successfully transitioned to Tribally-issued Part 70 permits by the March 2, 2015

deadline. . On September 17, 2014 the EPA approved the Tribe’s Compliance Monitoring

Strategy for inspection of Title V sources and on January 29, 2015 the Tribe finalized its

Enforcement Procedures and Penalty Policy Manual. Compliance inspections began in

October 2015.

B. NSPS AND NESHAP.

New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and National Emission Standards for

Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) are established by EPA under Sections 111 and 112

of the CAA, respectively. NSPS and NESHAP set the minimum standards for certain new,

modified, and existing sources of air pollution. On September 6, 2013, EPA delegated full

upfront approval to the Tribe to implement and enforce any NESHAP that the Commission

chooses to include by reference at Article II, Part 3 of the RAC. Additionally, on

September 6, 2013, EPA delegated authority for the Tribe to implement and enforce certain

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NSPS that were incorporated by reference into Article II, Part 2 of the RAC by the

Commission. Though the Tribe may enforce compliance of all requirements included in

the Title V permits it issues, the incorporation by reference of the applicable NSPS and

NESHAP into the RAC enable the Tribe and Commission to exercise authority with respect

to the incorporated standards and requirements without the risk of dual-enforcement of the

same by EPA and will reduce administrative burdens on owners and operators. The Tribe

and Commission plan to consider the incorporation of any new NSPS and NESHAP that

apply to Reservation sources into the Reservation Air Code.

C. MINOR SOURCE PROGRAM.

There had been a permitting gap that had allowed sources of air pollution in Indian

country to operate without first receiving a preconstruction permit as is required on any

state lands until July 1, 2011, when EPA published its final rule called Review of New

Sources and Modifications in Indian Country. This rule created Tribal Minor New Source

Review (TMNSR) regulations for the protection of air resources in Indian country. The

TMNSR rules require that a preconstruction permit be obtained prior to the construction of

any new source of air pollution, and for any modification at an existing source, where the

air pollutant emissions meet certain permitting thresholds. The EPA has extended the

permitting deadline for oil and natural gas sector sources under the TMNSR Program twice

since June 16, 2014. First, the deadline was moved from September 2, 2014 to March 2,

2016 and extended again to October 3, 2016 to allow additional time for the EPA to

implement the regulations for true minor sources in the oil and natural gas sector under a

proposed federal implementation plan (FIP). The FIP would be effective until replaced by

an EPA-approved tribal implementation program.

The Tribe and Commission had been developing a preconstruction air permitting

program, called the Minor Source Program for the Southern Ute Indian Reservation

(MSP), whose scope also covered existing sources, thus accounting for those sources built

during the permitting gap. Development of the MSP was delayed to monitor the

development of the federal TMNSR regulations for true minor sources in the oil and natural

gas sector and to allow the Tribe to allocate resources to implement the Title V operating

permit program. The Tribe and Commission will re-evaluate minor source program

development following EPA issuance of the final rule for true minor sources in the oil and

natural gas sector. Thereafter, the Tribe and Commission may (1) suspend further MSP

development, or (2) re-start MSP development (e.g., explore the possibility of the Tribe

seeking EPA delegation for portions of the federal TMNSR program or developing a

Reservation-specific, tribal and Commission-only program).

III.

POSSIBLE FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS.

In addition to the above described programs, it is the Tribe’s and Commission’s

intention to consider other actions and development of other programs including: 1) a

pollutant specific voluntary program such as the EPA’s Ozone Advance or Methane

Challenge or a Tribal Implementation Plan (programs to reduce Volatile Organic

Compounds (VOC) and methane emissions), 2) harmonizing regulatory requirements and

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programs for the oil and gas industry operating within the Reservation boundaries that are

being implemented by other governmental agencies such as the Bureau of Land

Management, the EPA, and the State of Colorado (such as VOC and methane leak detection

and repair programs), 3) a Prevention of Significant Deterioration program, 4) partial

delegation of TMNSR compliance monitoring for synthetic minor Title V sources from

EPA, 5) the designation of the Reservation as its own air quality control region, or 6) any

program or rule deemed beneficial for the health of the Reservation’s residents or its

environment (such as a visible emissions rule).

IV.

RESERVATION AIR PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.

Development and implementation of the Reservation Air Program is unique in that

each component program must be reviewed and approved by several governmental entities.

It is the Tribe’s responsibility under the IGA to prepare initial program proposals and drafts

of program standards, rules, and regulations. Before recommendation to the Commission,

those programs must be reviewed by the State. Finally, after review and approval by the

Commission, the Tribe must apply to EPA and receive a delegation of authority to

administer certain CAA components of the Reservation Air Program. After the delegation

or approval of CAA programs, an implementation/transition phase may be necessary for

each approved program.

V.

REGIONAL AIR QUALITY PLANNING.

A. LOCAL CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION

It is the Tribe’s and Commission’s desire to continue development of the

Reservation Air Program in consultation and coordination with the area’s local

governments including La Plata and Archuleta counties and other air quality planning

groups, including the Four Corners Air Quality Group. In that regard, the Tribe and the

Commission will continue to consider these governmental and cooperative agencies’ plans

and initiatives and tribal staff will continue to monitor and participate in regional air quality

protection initiatives.

B. EMISSION INVENTORY DEVELOPMENT

The Tribe plans to continue development of comprehensive emissions inventories

for the Southern Ute Indian Reservation to aid in future air quality planning and program

development for maintaining compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality

Standards. In particular, the Tribe intends on improving upon previous program emission

estimations for un-permitted oil and natural gas sources, which may have overestimated

VOC and NOx emissions. Comprehensive emission inventories will be completed no less

than every three years and emission inventories of Title V sources will be completed

annually.

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VI.

CONCLUSION.

This Long-Term Plan for the Reservation Air Program sets forth the Tribe and

Commission’s plan for the development of the Reservation Air Program and their intention

for the Program to be developed in a manner that takes into account regional air quality

planning by local area governments and other groups. It is the intention of the Tribe and

Commission to review and update this plan once every five years.

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HISTORY



Long-Term Plan originally approved by Southern Ute Indian Tribe/State of

Colorado Environmental Commission on June 30, 2006.



Amended by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe/State of Colorado Environmental

Commission on June 5, 2013.



Amended by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe/State of Colorado Environmental

Commission and approved on June 8, 2016 and ratified on April 12, 2017.

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