In Permian, Citizen Reporters Track "Endless" Methane, H2S Leaks Because TCEQ Can't Or Won't
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We stopped at oil and gas industry sites where Wilson had previously documented methane emissions with an optical gas imaging camera, which makes otherwise invisible emissions visible. And though the infrared camera does not specify or quantify the gases being emitted, Wilson said, “If it’s coming out of oil and gas facilities, it is natural gas, which is methane.” “There are hitchhiker gases or VOCs that come with the methane too,” she added, explaining that identifying which compounds are present would require more precise air monitoring.
And while each fracking industry site is permitted to emit certain amounts of gases at various stages of production, Wilson can often identify clear violations, and when she does, she submits a complaint to the state. We also stopped at other sites where the smell of rotting eggs, a sign of the hazardous gas hydrogen sulfide, suggested more leaks were likely to be found.
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“We are out here recording methane emissions because no one else is doing it,” Wilson said. “The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) only monitors emissions in isolated cases, usually when we file regulatory complaints and push them to do it. So we are out here because the government isn't doing its job.” Andrea Morrow, TCEQ’s media relations manager, begs to differ. She told me during a call that the agency monitors emissions in numerous ways: “If we see something that is amiss on a fixed monitor, we check it out.” However, the agency has only four air monitors in the producing areas of the Texas Permian, despite the vast area, leaving some oil and gas sites well over 100 miles away from the nearest monitor. She added: “If we get complaints, that would be another driver,” and noted that the agency performs both regular and unannounced inspections at oil and gas sites.
Morrow couldn’t quantify how many unannounced inspections were done in the Permian Basin this year. The way the agency keeps records doesn’t work like that, she explained, but offered me a link to TCEQ’s Annual Enforcement Reports and the agency’s Air Monitoring Data page. Wilson acknowledges that TCEQ follows up on some of the complaints Earthworks files. “Some of the complaints have led to sites being shut down temporarily until a problem is fixed. Though in most instances after one part is fixed, another will fail and the leaks are endless,” she said.
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https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/11/14/methane-sharon-wilson-earthworks-permian-basin-fracking
