Definitions

1  In this regulation:

"Act" means the Environmental Management Act;

"acid gas" means a mixture of gases, composed primarily of hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide, that is removed from natural gas;

"battery" means a device in which is stored the liquids obtained from one or more wells before those liquids are processed for market or delivered to market or are otherwise disposed of, and may include equipment or other devices for separating the liquids into oil, natural gas and water;

"compressor" means a device used to maintain or increase the pressure of the natural gas in a pipeline;

"compressor station" means a facility where one or more compressors are located;

"dehydrator" means a device designed and used to remove water from natural gas;

"drilling rig" means a device used to drill and service wells;

"drilling rig site" means the land on which a drilling rig operates or has operated and includes remote drilling fluid sumps and other facilities associated with the drilling rigs;

"driver" means a gas turbine or internal combustion engine used to power a compressor, electricity generator or oil pump;

"electricity generator" means a device that converts mechanical power from a driver into electricity;

"equipment" means an air compressor, air conditioner, analyzer, battery, compressor, dehydrator, drilling rig, driver, electricity generator, fan, flare, laboratory, line heater, meter, oil pump, pig, pig receiver, pipeline, portable pump, treater, utility heater, well equipment or well head separator;

"facility" means one or more of the following situated at a single location:

(a) a compressor station;

(b) a drilling rig site;

(c) an oil pumping station;

(d) a processing plant;

(e) a collection of one or more pieces of equipment;

"flare" means a device in which waste gases are combusted;

"flare pit" means an earthen containment area in which waste gases and liquids are combusted;

"gas sweetening unit" means a processing plant that extracts one or both of hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide from natural gas;

"high sulphur gas" means natural gas that contains more than 1% by volume hydrogen sulphide;

"hydrostatic pipeline testing" means the practice of filling a pipeline with water for the purpose of testing the structural integrity of the pipeline under pressure;

"invert cuttings" means a mixture of hydrocarbon-based drilling fluid and rock or other solid material removed from the inside of a well bore;

"line heater" means a device that is used primarily to heat natural gas or oil flowing in a pipeline;

"low sulphur gas" means natural gas that contains not more than 1% by volume hydrogen sulphide;

"natural gas" has the same meaning as in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act;

"oil" means petroleum as that term is defined in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act;

"oil pumping station" means a facility at which one or more oil pumps are located, but does not include an oil refinery or a facility at which refined oil products are pumped;

"ozone depleting substance" has the same meaning as in the Ozone Depleting Substances and Other Halocarbons Regulation;

"pig" means a plug-like device that passes through a pipeline for the purpose of cleaning or inspecting the pipeline;

"pig receiver" means a device, attached to a pipeline, that is used to remove a pig from a pipeline;

"pipeline" means a pipeline used to convey oil or natural gas;

"processing plant" means a facility that extracts hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide, helium, ethane or natural gas liquids from natural gas;

"produced water" means any water that is brought to the surface with the natural gas or oil from a well;

"sour production liquid" means any liquid produced from a well if the hydrogen sulphide content of the gas produced with the liquid is greater than 10 parts per million by volume;

"substantive change" includes

(a) a change in the name of the operator,

(b) a change in equipment resulting in an increase or decrease of more than 25% in the estimated mass emissions of sulphur dioxide or oxides of nitrogen from a facility as compared to the corresponding emissions reported on the last registration report or revised registration report submitted to a director, or

(c) any other change in the operation of a facility that results in one or more of the conditions set out in section 2 (1) (a), (b) and (c) no longer applying to that facility;

"sweet natural gas" means natural gas that contains less than 230 milligrams of total sulphur per cubic metre of natural gas;

"total sulphur" means the total mass of sulphur contained in natural gas, including elemental sulphur and all sulphur in compounds, expressed as elemental sulphur;

"treater" means a thermal device specifically designed and used for separating natural gas and water from crude oil;

"vehicle" means a tank truck or a tank trailer as defined in the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (Canada);

"volatile organic carbon" means any organic compound that is capable of being part of atmospheric photochemical reactions but does not include methane, ethane, methyl chloroform, methylene chloride or ozone depleting substances;

"well" has the same meaning as in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act;

"well equipment" means any valves, flare stacks, pumps, meters or other associated devices located immediately adjacent to the well bore;

"well completion or workover liquids" means fluids that are injected into a well for the purpose of maintaining or increasing the flow of oil or gas from the well;

"well testing" means producing and combusting natural gas at a well for the purpose of determining production and reserve characteristics of the well or the oil or gas reservoir into which the well is drilled;

"well head separator" means a device designed and used for separating gases and liquids produced from a well without the use of heat.

(2)  Anything that under this regulation is required to be approved,

(a) must be approved in writing, and

(b) may be made subject to the conditions or requirements the person authorized to give the approval considers necessary or advisable.

[am. B.C. Reg. 321/2004, s. 16 (a) to (f).]

 Application

2  (1)  This regulation does not apply to the following facilities:

(a) a facility that removes from natural gas or discharges to the environment 30 tonnes or more of total sulphur in any 15 day period;

(b) a facility that discharges 4 tonnes or more of volatile organic carbon compounds to the environment in any 15 day period;

(c) a facility containing any of the following equipment if that equipment is powered by drivers the aggregate output of which, in respect of any one of the following types of equipment, is more than 3 000 kilowatts of power:

(i)  compressors;

(ii)  oil pumps;

(iii)  electricity generators;

(d) facilities that are located in or on a tidal body of salt water.

(2)  All authorizations under this regulation are subject to the provisions of the Hazardous Waste Regulation unless specifically indicated otherwise in this regulation.

(3)  Despite any other provision of this regulation, if a director is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the release of a substance is causing pollution, the director may, at any time, make an order under section 83 of the Act.

(4)  Despite subsection (1) (a), this regulation applies to all discharges authorized by section 4 (g) or (j), 6 (1) (d) or 7 (5).

(5)  The standard conditions for all measurements of gaseous volume referred to in this regulation are a temperature of 15° Celsius and a pressure of 101 kilopascals, on a dry basis.

(6)  All references to power in this regulation are references to power as measured at the driver output shaft.

[am. B.C. Reg. 321/2004, s. 16 (e), (g) and (h).

 General requirements

3  The owner or operator of a piece of equipment or a facility referred to in sections 4 or 6 (1) must ensure that the one hour average ambient ground level concentration of hydrogen sulphide due to the discharge of air contaminants from that equipment or facility does not, at the perimeter of the property on which the equipment or facility is located, exceed 10 parts per billion by volume.

 Authorizations for small operations

4  Subject to sections 3 and 8, the owners or operators of the following equipment or facilities are authorized to discharge air contaminants from it or them:

(a) batteries;

(b) compressor stations with less than 600 kilowatts of total power;

(c) oil pumping stations with less than 600 kilowatts of total power;

(d) electricity generators with less than 600 kilowatts of total power;

(e) dehydrators, treaters or line heaters that combust

(i)  low sulphur gas, or

(ii)  high sulphur gas and are rated at less than 150 kilowatts;

(f) drilling rigs used for exploration, testing and production of oil and gas;

(g) equipment or facilities that vent to the air, for the purpose of maintenance of the equipment or facilities,

(i)  natural gas that contains less than 230 milligrams of total sulphur per cubic metre of natural gas, or

(ii)  natural gas that contains at least 230 milligrams of total sulphur per cubic metre of natural gas if the natural gas is combusted in a flare or equivalent;

(h) pig receivers;

(i) well equipment and well head separators, except that owners or operators are not, subject to paragraph (j), authorized to discharge air contaminants from flares used for well testing;

(j) flares used for well testing if the natural gas combusted

(i)  is low sulphur gas, or

(ii)  is high sulphur gas with less than 5 percent by volume of hydrogen sulphide and is discharged to the air through a flare stack that has a minimum height of 12 metres;

(k) laboratories, analyzers, meters, utility heaters, air compressors, portable pumps, fans and air conditioners, if

(i)  the quantity of discharge is less than 1 cubic metre per second, or

(ii)  the period of discharge is less than 30 days per year.

 Authorizations for transport of sour liquids

5  (1)  A person must not offer sour production liquid for transport unless the owners and operators of vehicles used to transport the liquid comply with subsections (2) and (3).

(2)  Subject to section 8 and subsection (3) of this section, the owners or operators of vehicles used for transporting sour production liquids are authorized to discharge air contaminants from tanks mounted on vehicles.

(3)  After May 31, 1997

(a) during transportation, tanks mounted on vehicles must be

(i)  operated with a control device such that the concentration of hydrogen sulphide at any vents or outlets is less than 10 parts per million by volume, or

(ii)  sealed to prevent the release of gas, and

(b) during the loading of tanks mounted on vehicles,

(i)  any tank vents must be operated with a control device such that the concentration of hydrogen sulphide at any vent or outlet is less than 10 parts per million by volume, or

(ii)  any discharge from the tank vents must be combusted in a flare stack or a similar combustion system.

 Registration and authorization of operations

6  (1)  Subject to sections 3, 8 and 9 and subsections (2) and (3) of this section, the owners or operators of the following facilities are authorized to discharge air contaminants from those facilities:

(a) a facility at which drivers are located if

(i)  the total rated power of all drivers used for any set of compressors, electricity generators or oil pumps is greater than 600 kilowatts and less than 3 000 kilowatts of total power,

(ii)  after February 26, 1997, the cumulative discharge of nitrogen oxides (NO_x as NO₂) from the facility does not increase unless all drivers at the site meet the requirements of subparagraph (iii), and

(iii)  the air contaminants discharged from all drivers installed after February 26, 1997 comply with the following requirements:

(b) a facility containing dehydrators, line heaters or treaters that combust high sulphur gas and are rated individually at 150 kilowatts or more;

(c) a processing plant;

(d) a facility used for well testing if

(i)  the natural gas combusted contains at least 5% by volume of hydrogen sulphide,

(ii)  the natural gas combusted is discharged to the air through a flare stack that has a minimum height of 12 metres,

(iii)  a director is notified in writing, before the test, of the location of the test, the proposed flare stack height and the expected volume and hydrogen sulphide content of the natural gas to be combusted, and

(iv)  the well test is carried out in accordance with any conditions specified by the director.

(2)  The owners or operators of facilities referred to in subsection (1) (a) to (c) must provide, to a director, a registration report for each facility by submitting on a form provided by the director, the information set out in Schedule 1.

(3)  The form required under subsection (2) must be submitted to the director within 60 days after the facility starts to operate.

(4)  The owner or operator of a facility who submits a registration report as set out in subsections (2) and (3) must, if there is a substantive change to the information provided by that person in the registration report, notify a director within 60 days after the change by submitting a revised report that shows the correct information.

[am. B.C. Reg. 321/2004, s. 16 (e), (i) and (j).]

 Requirements for discharges from specific operations

7  (1)  Despite sections 3 to 14, 18, 19 and 37 of the Hazardous Waste Regulation and subject to section 8 of this regulation, the owners or operators of equipment or facilities are authorized to discharge produced water or well completion or workover liquids from equipment or facilities to an underground formation in accordance with section 97 of the Drilling and Production Regulation under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act.

(2)  Subject to subsection (3) and section 8 of this regulation, the owners or operators of equipment or facilities are authorized to discharge on to land owned or leased by them, on to land immediately adjacent to land owned or leased by them or on to sites approved by a director, the following wastes:

(a) water-based bentonite drilling muds or drilling sump liquids discharged from drilling rig sites if

(i)  the drilling sump is constructed and is subsequently decommissioned in accordance with the "British Columbia Oil and Gas Handbook" issued by the Oil and Gas Commission continued under the Oil and Gas Commission Act,

(ii)  the concentrations of contaminants in the resultant drilling mud and soil mixture do not exceed the numerical criteria for agricultural land set out in Table 1 of the British Columbia Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection document titled "Criteria for Managing Contaminated Sites in British Columbia", and

(iii)  the requirements of General Order 293/95 made under the Agricultural Land Commission Act are complied with for any land in the Agricultural Land Reserve onto which the discharge is to be made;

(b) water used in hydrostatic pipeline testing, accumulated liquids in flare pits and surface runoff from sites associated with equipment and facilities identified in sections 4 and 6, if

(i)  the liquid is not allowed to enter a surface watercourse or surface water body and is not discharged in a location where it could reasonably be expected to enter a surface watercourse or surface water body,

(ii)  the liquid quality does not exceed the values for the following discharge parameters:

(iii)  the pH of the liquid is between 6.5 and 8.5,

(iv)  the written consent of the owner of the land to which the discharge is to occur is obtained before the discharge occurs,

(v)  the liquid is discharged at such a rate that there is no accumulation of effluent on the surface of the ground,

(vi)  the discharge does not cause erosion or result in measurable downward and outward movement of soil, rocks, snow, ice, mud or debris on an unstable slope,

(vii)  the discharge is limited to

(A)  the period between May 1 and October 1 in each calendar year, and

(B)  times when the soil to which the liquid is discharged is not frozen, saturated with water or covered with ice or snow, and

(viii)  in the case of accumulated liquids in flare pits, a director is notified 5 days before the discharge;

(c) invert cuttings if

(i)  prior written notification of any proposed discharge is provided to a director and the discharge is carried out in accordance with the director's requirements,

(ii)  the invert cuttings are not a hazardous waste as defined in the Hazardous Waste Regulation and do not contain more than 3% oil,

(iii)  the requirements of General Order 293/95 made under the Agricultural Land Commission Act are complied with for any land in the Agricultural Land Reserve onto which the discharge is to be made,

(iv)  the discharge is limited to

(A)  the period between May 1 and October 1 in each calendar year, and

(B)  times when the soil to which the invert cuttings are discharged is not frozen, saturated with water or covered with ice or snow,

(v)  the discharge is contained within the boundaries of the land or sites onto which the invert cuttings are authorized to be discharged,

(vi)  the invert cuttings are managed in accordance with the requirements for landfarming in section 6, "Wells and Test Holes", of the "British Columbia Oil and Gas Handbook", issued by the Oil and Gas Commission continued under the Oil and Gas Commission Act,

(vii)  the concentrations of contaminants in the resultant invert cutting and soil mixture do not exceed the numerical criteria for inorganic substances set out in Column 2 of Table 1 of the British Columbia Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection document titled "Criteria for Managing Contaminated Sites in British Columbia",

(viii)  the invert cuttings are mixed with the receiving soil to a depth of not more than 150 mm,

(ix)  the pH of the mixture of soil and invert cuttings described in subparagraph (vii) is, during treatment, maintained between 6.5 and 8.5,

(x)  the total volume of invert cuttings discharged at any one site does not exceed 1 000 cubic metres, and

(xi)  the written consent of the owner of the land to which the discharge is to occur is obtained before the discharge occurs.

(3)  The owners and operators who are authorized to discharge the wastes referred to in subsection (2) (b) or (c) must

(i)  analyse the discharge for the parameters listed in subsection (2) (b) (ii) or subsection (2) (c) (ii), (iii) and (vi), as the case may be, before each discharge and record that analysis,

(ii)  record the volume of discharge after each discharge,

(iii)  retain, for a period of 5 years, all records specified in subparagraphs (i) and (ii), and

(iv)  make those records available for inspection by an officer.

(4)  After March 1, 1997, the owners and operators of pigs and pig receivers must collect and contain all effluent and solid wastes produced during pipeline pigging.

(5)  Despite sections 3 to 14, 18, 19 and 37 of the Hazardous Waste Regulation, owners or operators of equipment or facilities may discharge from the equipment or facility acid gas by means of underground injection provided that the discharge is approved by the Minister of Employment and Investment under section 100 of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act.

[am. B.C. Regs. 109/2002, s. 1; 321/2004, s. 16 (e), (g) and (k) to (n).]

 Additional information

8  (1)  A person who discharges or proposes to discharge waste into the environment under this regulation must provide information required by a director, in a manner and within a time specified by the director, including but not limited to environmental reports, ambient air monitoring data, ambient air modelling predictions or environmental impact assessments, that in the opinion of the director are required to ascertain whether the discharges are causing or may cause any adverse effects.

(2)  Owners and operators of equipment or facilities must ensure that the sampling and analytical methods used to determine compliance with this regulation are approved by the director.

[am. B.C. Reg. 321/2004, s. 16 (e).]

 Fees

9  The owners or operators of facilities who are authorized to discharge contaminants under section 6 must pay each year to the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations, in a manner and on a date specified by the director, a fee as set out in Schedule 2.

 Offence and penalty

10  A person commits an offence and is liable to a fine of not more than $10 000 if the person

(a) fails to submit information required to be submitted under this regulation,

(b) submits false information in any report required under this regulation, or

(c) falsifies any record required to be kept under this regulation.

I  Facility operator:

A Facility or well nameme

B Full name of operator

C Head office

1 Address

2 Telephone Number

3 FAX number

4 Contact name

D Local office

1 Address

2 Telephone Number

3 FAX number

4 Contact name

II  Type of facility:

A a facility containing compressors, oil pumps or electricity generators:

1 type of facility: facility that contains compressors, oil pumps or electricity generators

2 type of driver (for each driver): gas turbine, conventional reciprocal, lean burn reciprocal or electric

3 number of drivers

4 driver power in kilowatts (for each driver)

5 total gas throughput in cubic metres per year (for compressor stations)

6 annual average hydrogen sulphide content of the fuel used to power the drivers in percent by volume if greater than 1.0 percent by volume

7 estimated total annual oxides of nitrogen emissions in tonnes of nitrogen dioxide equivalent

8 expected maximum total hours of operation

B a facility containing dehydrators, line heaters or treaters:

1 type of facility: facility that contains dehydrators, line heaters or treaters

2 total gas throughput in cubic metres per year

3 heat input in kilowatts

4 annual average hydrogen sulphide content of fuel used by the equipment at the facility in percent by volume if greater than 1.0 percent by volume

5 amount of fuel consumed in cubic metres per year

6 estimated total annual sulphur dioxide emission rate in tonnes

C processing plant:

1 type of facility: gas sweetening unit or other (specify)

2 total natural gas throughput in cubic metres per year

3 heat input in kilowatts

4 annual average hydrogen sulphide content of the inlet natural gas to the facility

5 amount of fuel consumed in cubic metres per year

6 estimated total annual sulphur dioxide emission rate in tonnes

III  Description of the facility (attach a site plan that shows the locations of all discharge points, including discharge points for air contaminants, effluents and refuse, and all buildings or watercourses within 500 metres of the discharge points)

IV  Location of the facility:

A Legal description specifying either the Township/Range, District Lot or NTS Map Co-ordinates, and

B the latitude and longitude in degrees, minutes and seconds using the North American Datum - 1983.

1  The annual fee in dollars for a facility containing compressors, oil pumps or electricity generators must be calculated in accordance with the following formula:

where

2  The annual fee in dollars for a facility containing dehydrators, line heaters or treaters or a facility at which well testing is conducted must be calculated in accordance with the following formula:

where:

3  The annual fee in dollars for a processing plant must be calculated in accordance with the following formula:

where: