Utah Oil and Natural Gas Regulations

Utah will be responsible for submitting a plan to the EPA outlining how existing oil and natural gas sources (constructed before December 6, 2022) will come into compliance with the emission guidelines provided in OOOOc. This will include a compliance plan to have all affected facilities be in compliance three years after submission of the plan to the EPA. 

The plan must include the following elements:

1. Compliance schedules for each designated facility or logical grouping of designated facilities. 
2. Standards of performance for designated facilities that are at least as stringent as the emission guidelines contained in 40 CFR part 60, subpart OOOOc. Standards for performance for designated facilities must apply at all times, including periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction.
3. Performance testing, monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements. 
4. Documentation of meaningful engagement
5. Public hearing 
6. Provision for state progress reports to the EPA.
7. Identification of enforceable state mechanisms that are selected for implementing the emission guidelines.
8. Demonstration of Utah’s legal authority to carry out the Clean Air Act section 111(d) state or tribal plan. 

• Dec. 6, 2022: Rule applicable to facilities in operation prior to this date. 
• Dec. 2, 2023: EPA issued final rule
• October to December 2024: Stakeholder feedback period
• February 2025: DAQ tentative timeline for draft OOOOc rules for advanced rulemaking notice
• June 2025: DAQ tentative timeline to propose rules to Air Quality Board for public comment
• September/October 2025: DAQ tentative timeline to present rules to Air Quality Board for final adoption
• November/December 2025: DAQ tentative timeline to present State Plan to Air Quality Board for public comment
• March 2026: DAQ tentative timeline to present State Plan to Air Quality Board for final adoption
• March 8, 2026: State Plan due to EPA
• March 9, 2029: All designated facilities in compliance

The EPA’s website contains useful information about the oil and gas rules. A link to EPA’s website is below, along with links to the final rule, rule requirements summary, presentations, and an overview video.

• EPA Website on Oil and Gas
• EPA Documents
  • Final Rule and Regulatory Text
  • Table of Covered Sources by Site: EPA’s 2012, 2016 and 2023 Rules (pdf)
  • Summary of Requirements: Final New Source Performance Standards and Emissions Guidelines (pdf)
• EPA Overview Presentation
  • EPA’s Final Rule for Oil and Natural Gas Operations (pdf)
• EPA Presentation for Small Business and Industry
  • Slides from Training for Small Businesses/Industry (pdf)
• Small Entity Compliance Guide
  •  Small Entity Compliance Guide
• EPA Overview Video
  • The EPA Overview Video gives a broad overview of the final rule.

Utah is one of the largest producers of oil and natural gas in the nation, ranking ninth in oil production. Oil and natural gas production results in the release of air pollutants in the form of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), methane and other hazardous air pollutants. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are emitted from cars, trucks and engines associated with oil and natural gas operations. When VOCs and NOx are emitted, through a photochemical reaction it contributes to the formation of ozone pollution. The majority of oil and natural gas exploration and production occurs in the northeastern corner of Utah in the Uinta Basin, which is currently not attaining the 2015 ozone standard under the Clean Air Act.

The Division of Air Quality regulates the oil and natural gas industry through Utah’s state administrative rules. There are air permitting rules and a series of rules that regulate sources via a permit by rule approach. There are also requirements for oil and natural gas sources under EPA federal regulations where applicable. In particular, there are Standards of Performance for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Facilities commonly referred to as Subpart OOOO. These standards were first introduced in 2012 and were updated in 2016, Subpart OOOOa, with some adjustments occurring in following years.