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EPA issues air permit for Shell’s Kulluk drilling platform for Beaufort Sea exploration program
On June 18, just two days before Shell announced the cancellation of its 2008 Beaufort Sea drilling program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an air quality permit for Shell’s Kulluk floating drilling platform. (See related story on page 1 of this issue.) The Kulluk is Shell’s primary drilling vessel for the Beaufort Sea and would have been used for the 2008 drilling.
However, since the permit has no expiry date, the permit would cover Kulluk Beaufort Sea drilling activities in future years.
Lengthy process The issue of the permit comes after a lengthy process in which the North Slope Borough and several environmental organizations have challenged the validity of the permit. And many of the questions raised about the permit have centered on the question of why the Kulluk is being granted a minor permit, rather than having to go through the much more complex procedure of applying for a major permit.
A core point in this minor vs. major permitting issue is the question of what constitutes a single industrial facility for permitting purposes — EPA has determined that the Kulluk should be considered to be a separate “stationary source” of air emissions at each separate exploration well location. Aggregating the emissions from multiple well locations would trigger that major permitting requirement.
“We believe that our existing record fully supports our decision to issue Shell a minor air quality permit for exploratory drilling activities in the Beaufort Sea, as well as our determination that each planned well site constitutes a separate stationary source for the purposes of determining New Source Review applicability,” EPA said in response to comments on the stationary source issue.
EAB appeal Shell originally applied for air quality permits for both the Kulluk and the drillship Frontier Discoverer in December 2006 and EPA issued a permit for each of these vessels in June 2007. But organizations objecting to the permits appealed to EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board. In Sept. 2007 the Environmental Appeals Board ordered EPA to provide a clear rationale for disaggregating emissions from different drill sites — EPA had classified drill sites more than 500 meters apart as separate emissions sources and the board asked for “on the record” evidence for that rule.
On Feb. 13 EPA issued a new proposed air quality permit for the Kulluk (Shell has not planned to use the Frontier Discoverer in 2008) — the new final permit consists of that proposed permit, with modifications resulting from public comments. EPA addressed the Environmental Appeals Board order by defining the moored hull of the Kulluk at each well site as a separate emissions source.
The new permit goes into effect on July 21 unless it is appealed. EPA must also complete required consultations regarding polar bears, under the terms of the Endangered Species Act, for the permit to become effective.
—Alan Bailey
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