The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comments on a permit they are finalizing concerning the regulation of air around natural gas production sites.
The drilling and fracturing phases are regulated by the federal government and “considered temporary and exempt from air pollution permit regulations,” according to an Ohio EPA press release.
The Ohio EPA is looking to regulate “a variety of emissions sources” at shale gas production sites including “internal combustion engines, turbine-powered generators, dehydration systems, storage tanks, flares and unpaved roadways.”
The permit is meant to provide some state level oversight over the fracking process but is meant to be easy to apply for at the same time. Once the permit is finalized, “applicants will apply for and receive the permit in as little as two weeks.”
A draft of the permit is available online at epa.ohio.gov/shale.aspx. Any public comments about the permit may be submitted to Ohio EPA Division of Air Pollution Control.
-Will Drabold
