1、Natural Gas Processing Plant Practices for Protection of the EnvironmentAPI RECOMMENDED PRACTICE 50SECOND EDITION, DECEMBER 1995REAFFIRMED, JANUARY 2013Natural Gas Processing Plant Practices for Protection of the EnvironmentExploration and Production DepartmentAPI RECOMMENDED PRACTICE 50SECOND EDITI
2、ON, DECEMBER 1995REAFFIRMED, JANUARY 2013SPECIAL NOTESAPI publications necessarily address problems of a general nature. With respect to par-ticular circumstances, local, state, and federal laws and regulations should be reviewed.API is not undertaking to meet the duties of employers, manufacturers,
3、 or suppliers towarn and properly train and equip their employees, and others exposed, concerning healthand safety risks and precautions, nor undertaking their obligations under local, state, or fed-eral laws.Information concerning safety and health risks and proper precautions with respect topartic
4、ular materials and conditions should be obtained from the employer, the manufac-turer or supplier of that material, or the material safety data sheet.Nothing contained in any API publication is to be construed as granting any right, byimplication or otherwise, for the manufacture, sale, or use of an
5、y method, apparatus, orproduct covered by letters patent. Neither should anything contained in the publication beconstrued as insuring anyone against liability for infringement of letters patent.Generally, API standards are reviewed and revised, reaffirmed, or withdrawn at least ev-ery five years. S
6、ometimes a one-time extension of up to two years will be added to this re-view cycle. This publication will no longer be in effect five years after its publication dateas an operative API standard, or where an extension has been granted, upon republication.Status of the publication can be ascertaine
7、d from the API Exploration however,the Institute makes no representation, warranty, or guarantee in connection with this pub-lication and hereby expressly disclaims any liability or responsibility for loss or damageresulting from its use or for the violation of any federal, state, or municipal regul
8、ation withwhich this publication may conflict.API standards are published to facilitate the broad availability of proven, sound engi-neering and operating practices. These standards are not intended to obviate the need for ap-plying sound engineering judgment regarding when and where these standards
9、 should beutilized. The formulation and publication of API standards is not intended in any way toinhibit anyone from using any other practices.Any manufacturer marking equipment or materials in conformance with the markingrequirements of an API standard is solely responsible for complying with all
10、the applicablerequirements of that standard. API does not represent, warrant, or guarantee that such prod-ucts do in fact conform to the applicable API standard.Copyright 1995 American Petroleum InstituteiiiCONTENTSPage0 INTRODUCTION . 11 SCOPE . 12 REFERENCES 12.1 Standards 12.2 Other References 13
11、 DEFINITIONS . 34 REGULATORY COMPLIANCE 44.1 Introduction 44.2 Environmental Agencies 44.3 Environmental Laws and Regulations 44.4 Notification and Reporting . 84.5 Environmental Training and Review 95 SURFACE AND GROUNDWATER . 95.1 Introduction 95.2 NPDES Introduction 95.3 Subsurface Disposal . 105
12、.4 Spill Prevention 115.5 Sanitary Systems 136 AIR EMISSIONS . 136.1 Introduction 136.2 General . 136.3 Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) 136.4 Ozone Nonattainment Area 146.5 Permitting, NSPS Requirements, and Standard Exemptions . 146.6 Air Toxics . 156.7 National Emissions Standards fo
13、r Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPS) 156.8 Emission Units . 157 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT 167.1 Introduction 167.2 General Waste Management Guidance 177.3 RCRA Waste Characterization . 177.4 Disposal Topics 188 RELEASE REPORTING . 198.1 Introduction 198.2 Scope 198.3 Clean Water Act 198.4 The Comprehen
14、sive Environmental Response, Compensation, andLiability Act (CERCLA) 208.5 EPCRA (SARA Title III) 218.6 Exempted/Permitted Releases 218.7 Process Upsets 218.8 Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) 21iv9 SITE CLOSURE AND RESTORATION 219.1 Introduction 219.2 Preplanning . 219.3 Site Restoration 229.4 Prop
15、erty Transfer 23Tables1Ozone Nonattainment Criteria . 142Common Hazardous Pollutants for Gas Plants . 15vFOREWORDRP 50, First Edition was issued January 1975 (Reissued May 1982).These recommended practices were prepared by the API Subcommittee on Gas PlantPractices for Protection of the Environment.
16、 This standard is under administration of theAmerican Petroleum Institute Exploration however,the Institute makes no representation, warranty, or guarantee in connection with this pub-lication and hereby expressly disclaims any liability or responsibility for loss or damageresulting from its use or
17、for the violation of any federal, state, or municipal regulation withwhich this publication may conflict.Suggested revisions are invited and should be submitted to the director of the Explo-ration and Production Department, American Petroleum Institute, 1220 L Street, N.W.,Washington, D.C. 20005.0 I
18、ntroductionIt is important that environmental issues relating to pro-cesses and equipment be given high priority in the initialplanning or modification of natural gas processing plants.The selection of certain processes or equipment can have asignificant impact on emissions and waste generation,ther
19、eby affecting permitting, regulatory compliance, moni-toring, and disposal.This publication is intended to assist gas plant operatorsin understanding their environmental responsibilities. It isintended to be used primarily by environmental, engineer-ing, and operations personnel and management invol
20、ved inbuilding, maintaining, modifying, and operating gas pro-cessing plants.There are numerous federal, state, and local environ-mental statutes, rules, and regulations that deal directly orindirectly with environmental issues that may impact gasprocessing plant operations. Site-specific permits, n
21、otifica-tion, and documentation may be required.1 ScopeOperations within the scope of this standard include nat-ural gas processing and associated gas compression facili-ties. The publication coverage begins with initial plantplanning, permitting, and construction and ends with plantclosure and site
22、 restoration procedures. General guidelinesare provided to be used at gas plant locations to develop site-specific environmental programs.This standard does not address safety or operational is-sues except where environmental, safety, and operational is-sues are intertwined. Process design and equip
23、ment selectionare not addressed in detail. This publication does not specif-ically address requirements of process safety management(refer to 29 CFR Part 1910.119) that must be considered ingas plant design and operations.2 References2.1 STANDARDSThe following standards contain provisions which,thro
24、ugh reference in this text, constitute provisions of thisstandard. All standards are subject to revision, and users areencouraged to investigate the possibility of applying themost recent editions of the standards indicated below.APIEnvironmental Guidance Document: Onshore Solid WasteManagement in E
25、xploration and Production OperationsBull D16 Suggested Procedure for Development ofSpill Prevention, Control, and Countermea-sure PlansBull E1 Generic Hazardous Chemical Category Listand Inventory for the Oil and Gas Explo-ration and Production IndustryBull E2 Bulletin on Management of Naturally Occ
26、ur-ring Radioactive Materials (NORM) in Oiland Gas ProductionBull E4 Environmental Guidance Document: Re-lease Reporting for the Oil and Gas Explo-ration and Production Industry as Requiredby the CWA, CERCLA, and SARA Title IIIGPA18162-70 LP-Gas Loading Practices Manual8166-70 Manual for Driver-Atte
27、nded Loading of LP-Gas2.2 OTHER REFERENCESThere are numerous federal regulations and laws that maybe applicable to gas processing plant operations. These reg-ulations and laws should be carefully studied to determinetheir impact on and applicability to specific operations. Thefollowing are some of t
28、he major regulations and laws thatapply.2.2.1 RegulationsEPA240 Code of Federal Regulations Part 5140 Code of Federal Regulations Part 5240 Code of Federal Regulations Part 6040 Code of Federal Regulations Subchapter C, Part 6140 Code of Federal Regulations Part 11040 Code of Federal Regulations Par
29、t 11240 Code of Federal Regulations Part 116.440 Code of Federal Regulations Part 12240 Code of Federal Regulations Part 14440 Code of Federal Regulations Part 146.540 Code of Federal Regulations Part 1471Natural Gas Processing Plant Practices for Protection of the Environment1Gas Processors Associa
30、tion, 6526 East 60th Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74145.2Environmental Protection Agency. The Code of Federal Regulations andFederal Register are available from U.S. Government Printing Office,Washington, D.C. 20402.2 API RECOMMENDED PRACTICE 5040 Code of Federal Regulations Subpart C, Parts 261.20throug
31、h 261.2440 Code of Federal Regulations Part 30240 Code of Federal Regulations Part 302.440 Code of Federal Regulations Part 35553 Federal Register 25446, July 6, 1988DOT344 Code of Federal Regulations Part 192OSHA429 Code of Federal Regulations Part 1910.11929 Code of Federal Regulations Part 1910.1
32、2029 Code of Federal Regulations Part 1910.100029 Code of Federal Regulations Part 1910.12002.2.2 Legislative5Clean Air Act (as amended) (CAA)Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAA-90)National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)Clean Water Act (as amended) (CWA)Safe Drinking Water Act (as amended)
33、(SDWA)Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (as amended)(RCRA)Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,and Liability Act (as amended) (CERCLA)Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-KnowAct (EPCRA) (SARA Title III)National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90
34、)Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)Fishery Conservation and Management ActMigratory Bird Treaty ActWild and Scenic Rivers ActRivers and Harbors ActEndangered Species Act (ESA)Coastal Zone Management Act (CZM Act)2.2.3 Other Regulatory ReferencesEPAAP-42 Manuals Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission
35、Factors (Volumes 1 (2) any other surface water, ground water, drinking water supply, land surface or subsurface strata, or ambient air within the U.S. or the jurisdiction of the U.S. Refer to 40 CFR Part 302.3.4 fugitive emissions: Emissions that could not rea-sonably pass through a stack, chimney,
36、vent, or other func-tionally equivalent opening. Examples of fugitive emissionssources are valves, flanges, and seals.3.5 hazardous substances: Substances designatedunder CERCLA (40 CFR Part 302, Table 302.4). There arealso unlisted hazardous substances.3.6 navigable waters of the United States: Wat
37、ersas defined in Section 502(7) of the Federal Water PollutionControl Act (FWPCA), and includes: (1) all navigable wa-ters of the United States, as defined in judicial decisionsprior to passage of the 1972 Amendments to the FWPCA(Pub. L. 92-500), and tributaries of such waters; (2) inter-state water
38、s; (3) intrastate lakes, rivers, and streams fromwhich fish or shellfish are taken and sold in interstate com-merce; and (4) intrastate lakes, rivers, and streams that areutilized by interstate travelers for recreational and other pur-poses. Also refer to a more inclusive definition at 40 CFRPart 11
39、0.1.3.7 oil: 40 CFR Parts 110 and 112 define oil as oil ofany kind in any form, including, but not limited topetroleum, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuse, and oil mixed withwastes other than dredged spoil. Also refer to Section 100 ofthe Oil Pollution Act.3.8 prevention of significant deterioration (PSD)
40、major modification: A modification to an existing ma-jor source that produces a potential emission increase of aregulated pollutant in excess of a significant designated value(e.g., 40 tons per year for NOx; 100 tons per year for CO).3.9 prevention of significant deterioration (PSD)major source: A n
41、ew source of 28 specified categorieswhose potential emission for any criteria pollutant equals orexceeds 100 tons per year, or any other new source, includ-ing gas processing plants, whose potential emission for anyregulated pollutant equals or exceeds 250 tons per year.3.10 reconstruction: 40 CFR P
42、art 60 (CAA regula-tions) defines reconstruction as the replacement of compo-nents of an existing facility if the cost exceeds 50 percent ofthe cost required to construct a comparable new facility.3.11 release: 40 CFR 302 (CERCLA regulations) de-fines release as any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouri
43、ng,emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leach-ing, dumping, or disposing into the environment.3.12 stormwater: Defined by the EPA as stormwaterrunoff, snow melt runoff, and surface runoff and drainage.3.13 underground source of drinking water(USDW): An aquifer, or its portion, that
44、supplies any pub-lic water system or contains a sufficient quantity of water tosupply a public water system; and currently supplies drink-ing water for human consumption; and contains fewer than10,000 milligrams per liter of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS);and is not an exempted aquifer (40 CFR Part 14
45、4.3).Note: Some state agencies have lowered the TDS for USDW, and require-ments of individual states should be verified.3.14 volatile organic compounds (VOCs): Basi-cally the C3through C7+hydrocarbons. Compounds of car-bon or mixture of carbon compounds, excluding methane,ethane, and other non-regul
46、ated compounds. Examples ofVOCs that may be present in gas plant operations are:propane, butane, benzene, xylene, ethylbenzene, toluene,and so forth.4 Regulatory Compliance4.1 INTRODUCTIONCompliance with environmental laws, regulations, andpermit requirements is an integral part of gas plant opera-t
47、ions. However, interpretation of the environmental require-ments is often difficult and complex. In many instances,federal, state, and local regulations must be addressed. Issuesare further complicated when existing laws or regulations areamended or new laws and regulations are created. Gas plantope
48、rators must be aware of the environmental requirementsin order to develop the necessary compliance procedures. Inaddition, operators should be aware of the need to consultwith their respective environmental, construction, engineer-ing, or other groups, as necessary, to discuss environmentalissues re
49、lated to plant design, operation, or modification(equipment design, process changes, and so forth).4.2 ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCIESMany of the environmental requirements impacting plantoperations are regulated by the Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA). Additionally, each state has its own agency(for example, Department of Environmental Quality) to ad-minister and enforce state environmental regulations. Uponapproval by EPA, state agencies can administer and enforcespecified portions of the EPA regulations. EPA-approvedstate regulations must be at least as stringent as the corre-sponding EPA (
