All terms used in this part shall have the same meaning given in the Clean Air Act, unless as defined in this section. Terms defined here only apply to this part.
Act means the Clean Air Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq.
Administrator means the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the Administrator's authorized representative.
Affected facility means, for the purposes of the regulatory compliance exemption of this part, affected facilities, as defined in part 60, subpart A of this chapter, that are subject to methane emissions requirements pursuant to part 60 of this chapter.
Applicable facility means a facility within one or more of the following industry segments, as those industry segment terms are defined in § 98.230 of this chapter. In the case where operations from two or more industry segments are co-located at the same part 98 reporting facility, operations for all co-located segments constitute a single applicable facility under this part:
(1) Offshore petroleum and natural gas production.
(2) Onshore petroleum and natural gas production.
(3) Onshore natural gas processing.
(4) Onshore natural gas transmission compression.
(5) Underground natural gas storage.
(6) Liquefied natural gas storage.
(7) Liquefied natural gas import and export equipment.
(8) Onshore petroleum and natural gas gathering and boosting.
(9) Onshore natural gas transmission pipeline.
Carbon dioxide equivalent or CO2e means the number of metric tons of CO2 emissions with the same global warming potential as one metric ton of another greenhouse gas and is calculated using equation A-1 in § 98.2(b) of this chapter.
Designated facility means, for purposes of the regulatory compliance exemption of this part, designated facilities, as defined in § 60.21a(b) of this chapter, subject to methane emissions requirements pursuant to a State, Tribal, or Federal plan implementing part 60 of this chapter.
Deviation means, for the purposes of the regulatory compliance exemption of this part, the same meaning as defined in part 60, subparts OOOOb and OOOOc of this chapter.
Facility applicable emissions means the annual methane emissions, as calculated in § 99.21, associated with a Waste Emissions Charge (WEC) applicable facility that are either equal to, below, or exceeding the waste emissions threshold for the WEC applicable facility prior to consideration of any applicable exemptions.
Facility ID number means the identification number assigned to a facility by the EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP).
Gas to oil ratio (GOR) means the ratio of the volume of gas at standard temperature and pressure that is produced from a volume of oil when depressurized to standard temperature and pressure.
Gathering and boosting site means a single gathering compressor station as defined in this section, centralized oil production site as defined in this section, gathering pipeline site as defined in this section, or other fence-line site within the onshore petroleum and natural gas gathering and boosting industry segment.
Gathering and boosting system means a single network of pipelines, compressors and process equipment, including equipment to perform natural gas compression, dehydration, and acid gas removal, that has one or more connection points to gas and oil production or one or more other gathering and boosting systems and a downstream endpoint, typically a gas processing plant, transmission pipeline, Local gas distribution company (LDC) pipeline, or other gathering and boosting system.
Gathering and boosting system owner or operator means any person that holds a contract in which they agree to transport petroleum or natural gas from one or more onshore petroleum and natural gas production wells or one or more other gathering and boosting systems to a downstream endpoint, typically a natural gas processing facility, another gathering and boosting system, a natural gas transmission pipeline, or a distribution pipeline, or any person responsible for custody of the petroleum or natural gas transported.
Global warming potential or GWP means the ratio of the time-integrated radiative forcing from the instantaneous release of one kilogram of a trace substance relative to that of one kilogram of a reference gas (i.e., CO2). GWPs for each greenhouse gas are provided in Table A-1 of part 98, subpart A of this chapter.
Greenhouse gas or GHG means the air pollutants carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
Natural gas means a naturally occurring mixture or process derivative of hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon gases found in geologic formations beneath the earth's surface, of which its constituents include, but are not limited to, methane, heavier hydrocarbons, and carbon dioxide. Natural gas may be field quality, pipeline quality, or process gas.
Net WEC emissions means the sum of WEC applicable emissions from facilities with the same WEC obligated party as calculated pursuant to § 99.22 using equation B-8 of this part. If the conditions specified in § 99.7(b)(1)(iv) apply for a reporting year, a single WEC obligated party may have multiple net WEC emissions totals for that reporting year.
Net WEC emissions after transfers means the total quantity of methane emissions subject to charge for a WEC obligated party. If the WEC obligated party is not eligible to, or elects not to, transfer or receive negative net WEC emissions pursuant to § 99.23, the net WEC emissions after transfers are determined pursuant to § 99.22. If the WEC obligated party transfers or receives negative net WEC emissions pursuant to § 99.23, the net WEC emissions after transfers reflect such transfers subject to the requirements of § 99.23.
Nonproduction sector means facilities in the onshore natural gas processing, the liquefied natural gas storage, the liquefied natural gas import and export equipment, and the onshore petroleum and natural gas gathering and boosting industry segments as those industry segments are defined in § 98.230 of this chapter.
Onshore natural gas transmission pipeline owner or operator means, for interstate pipelines, the person identified as the transmission pipeline owner or operator on the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity issued under 15 U.S.C. 717f,or,for, the person identified as the owneror operator on the transmission pipeline's Statement of Operating Conditions under section 311 of the Natural Gas Policy Act,or for pipelines that fall under the “Hinshaw Exemption” as referenced in section 1(c) of the Natural Gas Act,15.S.C. 717-717 (w)(1994), the person identified as the owner or operator on blanket certificates issued under 18 CFR 284.224. If an intrastate pipeline is not subject to section 311 of the Natural Gas Policy Act (NGPA), the onshore natural gas transmission pipeline owner or operator is the person identified as the owner or operator on reports to the State regulatory body regulating rates and charges for the sale of natural gas to consumers.
Onshore petroleum and natural gas production owner or operator means the person or entity who holds the permit to operate petroleum and natural gas wells on the drilling permit or an operating permit where no drilling permit is issued, which operates a facility in the onshore petroleum and/or natural gas production industry segment (as that industry segment is defined in § 98.230(a)(2) of this chapter). Where petroleum and natural gas wells operate without a drilling or operating permit, the person or entity that pays the State or Federal business income taxes is considered the owner or operator.
Operator means, except as otherwise defined in this section, any person who operates or supervises a facility.
Owner means, except as otherwise defined in this section, any person who has legal or equitable title to, has a leasehold interest in, or control of an applicable facility, except a person whose legal or equitable title to or leasehold interest in the facility arises solely because the person is a limited partner in a partnership that has legal or equitable title to, has a leasehold interest in, or control of the facility shall not be considered an “owner” of the facility.
Parent company means the United States parent company.
Part 98 report means the annual report required under part 98 of this chapter for owners and operators of certain facilities under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems source category.
Petroleum means oil removed from the earth and the oil derived from tar sands and shale.
Production sector means facilities in the offshore petroleum and natural gas production and the onshore petroleum and natural gas production industry segments as those industry segments are defined in § 98.230 of this chapter.
Qualified Professional Engineer means an individual who is licensed by a State as a Professional Engineer to practice in one or more disciplines of engineering, is in good standing and who is qualified by education, technical knowledge, and experience to review and interpret the records required under this subpart.
Reporting year means the calendar year during which data are required to be collected for purposes of the annual WEC filing. For example, reporting year 2024 is January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024, and the annual WEC filing for reporting year 2024 is submitted to the EPA by August 31, 2025.
Standard temperature and pressure means 60 °F and 14.7 psia.
Transmission sector means facilities in the onshore natural gas transmission compression, the underground natural gas storage, and the onshore transmission pipeline industry segments as those industry segments are defined in § 98.230 of this chapter.
United States parent company(s) means the highest-level United States company(s), as reported under § 98.3 of this chapter for a WEC applicable facility, with an ownership interest in the facility as of December 31 of the year for which data are being reported.
Waste emissions threshold means the metric tons of methane emissions calculated by multiplying WEC applicable facility throughput by the industry segment-specific methane intensity thresholds established in CAA section 136(f) and the density of methane (0.0192 metric ton per thousand standard cubic feet).
WEC means waste emissions charge, the charge established in CAA section 136(c) on methane emissions that exceed certain thresholds.
WEC applicable emissions means the annual methane emissions, as calculated in § 99.21, associated with a WEC applicable facility that are either equal to, below, or exceeding the waste emissions threshold for the WEC applicable facility after consideration of any applicable exemptions.
WEC applicable facility means an applicable facility, as defined in this section, for which the owner(s) or operator(s) of the part 98 of this chapter reporting facility was (were) required to report GHG emissions under part 98, subpart W of this chapter of more than 25,000 metric tons CO2e for the reporting year.
WEC filing means the report and payment of applicable WEC obligation required to be submitted by a WEC obligated party under the requirements of this chapter. The WEC filing contains information regarding the WEC obligated party and WEC applicable facilities for the previous reporting year. For example, the WEC filing due on August 31, 2025 contains information regarding reporting year 2024, which is January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024.
WEC obligated party means the WEC applicable facility's owner or operator as defined in this section for the applicable industry segment as of December 31 of the reporting year or that became an owner or operator of the WEC applicable facility in a transaction occurring subsequent to the end of the reporting year (i.e., between January 1 and December 31 of the year following the reporting year) that resulted in the owner(s) or operator(s) of the facility as of December 31 of the reporting year ceasing to exist prior to the WEC filing date pursuant to § 99.5. In cases where a WEC applicable facility has more than one owner or operator, the WEC obligated party must be one of the owners or operators of the facility selected by an agreement binding on each of the owners and operators of the facility, following the provisions of § 99.4(b). Each WEC applicable facility must have only one WEC obligated party for a reporting year.
WEC obligation means the WEC charge amount resulting from the calculations in § 99.24.
Well identification (ID) number means the unique and permanent identification number assigned to a petroleum or natural gas well. If the well has been assigned a US Well Number, the well ID number required in this subpart is the US Well Number. If a US Well Number has not been assigned to the well, the well ID number is the identifier established by the well's permitting authority.
Well-pad site means all equipment on or associated with a single well-pad. Specifically, the well-pad site includes all equipment on a single well-pad plus all equipment associated with that single well-pad.
You means a WEC obligated party subject to this part.