This is the view of the Illegal gas flare at the Rupert well site up above to the west of Richwood, Nicholas County, west Virginia. A temporary gas flare is only allowed to flare for 30 days in one year. As of yesterday, the company, BRC Operating Company, LLC, a "daughter" company of Bluescape Resources Company, LLC, had been flaring continuously for 86 days. That means that a theoretical fine of $560,000 could be levied by the state of West Virginia...
The following is the text of the notice of violation that was sent to Bluescape on October 26th, 2011, two weeks after inspectors visited the site on Oct. 12th. The actions were initiated by members of STUN (STand Up Now), a group of concerned local individuals located in Richwood.
Division of Air Quality
www.dep.wv.gov
Phone: (304) 926-0475 Fax: (304) 926-0479
October 26, 2011
CERTIFIED MAIL
Article # 91 710821333936 15552457
Bluescape Resources Company LLC c/o Mr. Don Campo, Chief Operations Officer 200 Crescent Court Suite 200 Dallas, TX 75201
RE: NOTICE OF VIOLATION (NOV) MWV Rupert Well Flare Site
Dear Mr. Campo:
On October 12, 2011, personnel from the Division of Air Quality (DAQ) conducted an inspection of the Bluescape Resources Company LLC, MWV Rupert Well Flare Site (Company) located nearFenwick,
WV.
The DAQ has determined the natural gas well flare located at the MWV Rupert Well Flare Site does not meet the requirements as a temporary flare stack under 45CSR6, specifically, Section 6.1.
This determination is based on the flare stack operating continuously since August 28, 2011, which exceeds the maximum number of cumulative days of operation allowed within a twelve (12) consecutive month period in
accordance with Section 6.1 of 45CSR6. Therefore, the Company has violated 45CSR6, in particular, Section 6.1 for not obtaining a permit in accordance with the provisions of W.Va. Code §22-5-1 et seq. and 45CSR13 (Rule 13).
You should be aware that for each violation your Company may be subject to civil and/orcriminal penalties and further action or remedies as provided by West Virginia Code §§ 22-5-6, which may include imposition of a
civil penalty of up to ten thousand ($10,000) dollars per day for each violation.
A written response to this Notice of Violation is required from your Company within ten (10) days after receipt. The following information must be in your response to the Notice of Violation:
(1) A detailed explanation of the cause(s) of the condition(s) leading to the cited violation or a description of the action(s) being taken or to be taken to ascertain the cause(s) for noncompliance.
(2) A statement of how long the condition(s) has existed.
(3) A detailed explanation of the remedial measures that have been taken and will be taken to address the causes of noncompliance.
For any remedial measure(s) not yet taken, provide expected date(s) for completion. If all remedial measures have been completed, provide the date that the Company believes that compliance with airquality requirements
was achieved.
Please be aware that any person who knowingly misrepresents any material fact in an application, record, report, plan, or other document filed or required to be maintained under the provisions of West Virginia Code
22-5-1, et seq., or any rules promulgated thereunder, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than twenty-five thousand ($25,000)dollars or imprisoned in the county jail not more than six months or
both fined and imprisoned.
Furthermore, any person who knowingly violates any provision of West Virginia Code22-51, etseq., any permit or any rule or order issued pursuant to that article is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than twenty-five thousand ($25,000.00)
dollars for each day of such violation or imprisoned in the county jail not more than one year or both fined and imprisoned.
Further, please note that for purpose of the foregoing, violations on separate days are separate offenses.
The Division looks forward to your timely written response to this Notice of Violation.
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Here is Bluescape's response:
November 8, 2011
John Benedict, Director, Division of Air QualityWV Department of Environmental Protection
601 5th Street
Charleston, West Virginia 25304
Notice of Violation
The Noticeof Violation states: The DAQ has determined the natural gas well flare located at the MWV Rupert Well Flare Site does not meet the requirements as a temporary flare stack under 45CSR6, specifically, Section 6.1. This determination is based on the flare stack operating continuously since August 28, 2011, which exceeds the maximum number of cumulative days of operation allowed within a twelve (12) consecutive month period in accordance with Section 6.1 of 45 CSR6.Therefore, the Company has violated 45CSR6, in particular, Section 6.1 for not obtaining a permit in accordance with the provisions of W. Va. Code §22-5-1 et seq. and 45CSR13 (Rule 13).The NOV requires BRC to make a written response within ten (10) days after receipt.
The MWV Rupert Well Flare Site (the "Site") consists of a series of three natural gas wells that flow to a single flare stack. The Site is located in a remote part of Nicholas County, and to date no natural gas pipelines have been installed on or in the vicinity of the Site. BRC installed the three wells on the Site to determine whether the acreage that it has leased from MeadWestvaco Corp. are economically viable. If the wells, and
others planned in the surrounding area of Nicholas County, are proven to have sufficient productivity to be economically viable, then BRC will work to install a natural gas pipeline to allow the production from these reserves to reach a commercial market. The Site is the first location in Nicholas County to test the viability of the natural gas reserves in the area. Because no pipeline exists in the area, BRC must flare the natural gas that is produced by the three wells at the Site.(2) A statement of how long the conditionts) has existed.
The first of the three wells at the Site began producing methane around noon on August 29, 2011. The second and third wells began production on August 31, 2011, and September 3, 2011, respectively. Initial production was very low, and has increased to the current production levels over the past two months.
(3) A detailed explanation of the remedial measures that have been taken and will be taken to address the causes of non compliance. For any remedial measure(s) not yet taken, provide expected date(s) for completion. If all remedial measures have been completed, provide the date that the Company believes that compliance with air quality requirements was achieved.
BRC is preparing a permit application pursuant to 45 CSR 13, which will be submitted by November 15, 2011. The application is based upon standard AP-42 emission factors for industrial flares and natural gas combustion. BRC believes that these emission factors are likely to grossly overestimate the emissions of CO and NOx from the flare, as the gas being burned in the flare is almost entirely methane and therefore likely to burn cleanly. If more appropriate emission factors were available, it is possible that BRC would not require a permit pursuant to 45 CSR 13 for the flare. In the absence of appropriate emission factors, BRC is submitting the permit application for the emissions from the
flare.Executive VP + Chief Operating Officer
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Still awaiting the next exciting instalment.. and as far as Bluescape is concerned, the radar's still running guys!
Any such meeting between DEP and Bluescape should be open to--and attended by--the public!
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, BRC has written documentation from DEP of their earlier consultation and DEP's response. Sure they do....
ReplyDeleteAnd if "BRC cannot shut in the wells or the flare without suffering irreparable financial damage and harm", why don't they specifically quantify the financial damage?
ReplyDelete