Air Permitting a New Oil and Gas Well Site in Texas: PBR 106.352, Standard Permits, and NSPS

Air permitting a new Texas well site comes down to one decision: which TCEQ authorization covers the site. For most production sites, that is the Oil and Gas Handling and Production Facilities permit by rule, 30 TAC 106.352. If the site cannot meet the PBR's limits, it moves up to the TCEQ's oil and gas standard permit or a case-by-case New Source Review permit. On top of the state authorization sit the federal NSPS Quad O rules, which turn on when the equipment was built. This guide walks through the sequence, using the rule text rather than rules of thumb.

Step 1: Build the emissions inventory

Every permitting decision rests on an accurate inventory of what the site will emit. Before equipment mobilizes, catalog every source: process equipment (separators, heater treaters, dehydrators, engines), storage tanks, control devices (flares, vapor recovery units, combustors), loading operations, and fugitive components such as valves and connectors. Use that inventory to calculate the site's potential to emit for VOCs, sulfur compounds, NOx, CO, particulate matter, and hazardous air pollutants. If the inventory is wrong, the authorization built on it is wrong, so this is the step to get right.

Step 2: Choose the TCEQ authorization

The TCEQ, not the Railroad Commission, authorizes air emissions from oil and gas facilities. There are three levels:

Applications are filed online through the TCEQ's STEERS system, which has been required since February 1, 2018.

PBR 106.352 outside the Barnett Shale

The detailed requirements in subsections (a) through (k) of 106.352 apply only to new projects in the 15 Barnett Shale counties (Cooke, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Erath, Hill, Hood, Jack, Johnson, Montague, Palo Pinto, Parker, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise). Everywhere else in the state, including the Permian, the Eagle Ford, and East Texas, subsection (l) applies. Its main conditions:

• Site emission cap: total emissions from all facilities at the site, including fugitives, combustion stacks, process vents, tank vents, and loading, may not exceed 25 tons per year each of sulfur dioxide, all other sulfur compounds combined, or all VOCs combined.
• Compressors and flares: must meet the TCEQ's engine and turbine PBR (106.512) and flare PBR (106.492).
• Sour gas setback: facilities handling sour gas must be at least a quarter mile from any recreational area or residence not occupied by the operator or landowner.
• Sulfur vents: total sulfur compounds (excluding sulfur oxides) from all vents may not exceed 4.0 pounds per hour, with minimum vent heights.
• Sour gas registration: facilities handling sour gas must be registered with the TCEQ on Form PI-7, with supporting documentation, before operation begins.

Every PBR also has to stay within the general permit-by-rule limits in 30 TAC 106.4, including 250 tons per year of CO or NOx and 25 tons per year of VOC, sulfur dioxide, or particulate matter.

PBR 106.352 inside the Barnett Shale

New projects in the 15 Barnett Shale counties follow subsections (a) through (k), which add more detailed requirements, including a protectiveness review and planned maintenance, startup, and shutdown provisions. If your site is in one of those counties, plan for the more involved registration process.

Step 3: Layer on the federal NSPS rules

The TCEQ authorization does not replace federal requirements. The EPA's New Source Performance Standards for oil and gas apply by construction or modification date:

Many OOOOb compliance dates were extended to January 22, 2027; our guide to the OOOOb and OOOOc deadline extensions covers what moved and what still applies. For which subpart covers a specific source, see our NSPS Quad O overview.

Step 4: Don't forget the RRC's flaring rule

The Railroad Commission does not issue air permits, but it does regulate flaring and venting of gas under Statewide Rule 32, which limits how long gas can be flared or vented before an RRC exception is needed. A site that will flare during completion or while waiting on pipeline takeaway needs to plan for both the TCEQ authorization and the RRC's Rule 32 requirements.

Step 5: Choose controls that keep you inside the limits

For a site near the PBR's 25 ton-per-year VOC cap, controls are what keep it eligible. Common options are vapor recovery units on tanks, enclosed combustors or flares with documented destruction efficiency, and engine controls for NOx. Choosing a cheaper, less effective control can push a site over the cap and into a higher level of authorization, which costs far more in time and engineering than the control would have.

Step 6: Keep the records that prove it

An authorization is only as good as the records behind it. Keep the emissions calculations that support the authorization, along with throughput and production data, control device operation and maintenance, flare records, and LDAR survey and repair records where Quad O applies. When an inspector asks whether the site still operates within its authorization, those records are the answer.

How Tektite helps

The expensive mistakes in air permitting happen at the start: an incomplete inventory, the wrong authorization, or a site that drifts over its limits as production changes. Tektite provides TCEQ air permitting support for Texas operators, from the emissions inventory and the choice between a PBR, a standard permit, and an NSR permit, to the NSPS overlay and the recordkeeping that keeps a site inside its authorization. If you are bringing a new site online, the authorization decision is the place to start.