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GAO-14-187R 1 (2014-01-09)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaahnt0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAO U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 January 9, 2014 Congressional Committees Air Emissions: Status of Regulatory Activities and Permitting on Alaska's Outer Continental Shelf Air emissions from certain oil and gas related operations on the outer continental shelf (OCS), such as from oil and gas exploration, development, and production, are subject to one of two different regulatory programs, depending on the location of the operation.1 Operations are regulated by either the Department of the Interior or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to a Congressional Research Service report,2 Interior and EPA's regulatory programs have fundamental differences, in part because they stem from different statutory authorities. Interior's authority is based on the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, as amended,3 which has a goal of offshore energy development and also requires Interior to issue and amend as necessary regulations for compliance with certain national ambient air quality standards to the extent that offshore energy activities significantly affect the air quality of any state. EPA's authority is based on the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,4 which focus on air quality.5 Interior has jurisdiction over air emissions from operations on the OCS in the western Gulf of Mexico and most of the central Gulf. Additionally, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012, amended the Clean Air Act to transfer regulatory authority for air emissions on the OCS off Alaska's north coast, including the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, from EPA to Interior.6 Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is responsible for reviewing and approving plans for exploration, development, and production activities; this process includes projections of air emissions. EPA has regulatory authority for air emissions from similar sources in all other portions of the OCS. In addition to moving regulatory authority over air emissions from EPA to Interior for the OCS off Alaska's north coast, the act also mandates GAO to report 1The OCS refers to the submerged lands outside the territorial jurisdiction of the states, but within U.S. jurisdiction and control. The portion of the North American continental edge that is federally designated as the OCS generally begins 3 geographical miles off the coastline and extends seaward to at least 200 nautical miles. 2CRS, Controlling Air Emissions from Outer Continental Shelf Sources: A Comparison of Two Programs-EPA and DOI. R42123 (Washington, D. C.: Nov. 26, 2012). 3Codified as amended at 43 U.S.C. §§ 1331-1356 (2013). 4pub. L. No. 101-549, Title VIII, § 801, 104 Stat. 2685 (1990), codified as amended at42 U.S.C. § 7627 (2013). 5For more information on EPA's and Interior's regulatory programs and statutory authorities, please see CRS, Offshore Oil and Gas Development: Legal Framework, RL33404 (Washington, D.C.: June 25, 2013). 6Pub.L. No. 112-74, Title IV, § 432(b)-(d), 125 Stat. 1048-49 (2011). The specific area for which the act transferred regulatory authority to Interior is the area offshore of the North Slope Borough of the State of Alaska. Id., 42 U.S.C. § 7627(a)(1), (b) (2013). GAO-14-187R OCS Air Emissions Page 1

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