Public comment is being accepted on proposed changes to the air quality permit process for oil and gas wells in Utah. For several years, oil and gas permits have made up over half of the minor source permit requests submitted to the Division of Air Quality and the proposed changes are said to provide a more streamlined permitting approach to the process and use of DAQ’s resources. One of the changes is being called a ‘permit by rule’ which eliminates several administrative steps and will save sources the cost of obtaining a permit because compliance officers will not inspect individual permit sites but instead offer a more general oversight as long as requirements are met. The proposed plan is available to view at
www.deq.utah.gov
. The comment period on the proposed changes is open through November 15th.
