47 Amendments of Alexandr VONDRA related to 2021/0423(COD)
Amendment 151 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1
1. This Regulation lays down rules for the accurate measurement, quantification, monitoring, reporting and verification of methane emissions in the energy sector in the Union, as well as the abatement of those emissions, including through leak detection and repair surveys and restrictions on venting and flaring. This Regulation also lays down rules on tools ensuring transparency of methane emissions from imports of fossil energy into the Union.
Amendment 195 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 7
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 7
(7) ‘verifier’ means a legal person different from the competent authorities appointed in accordance with Article 4 of this Regulation which carries out verification activities and which is accredited by a national accreditation body pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 or a natural person otherwise authorised, without prejudice to Article 5(2) of that Regulation, at the time a verification statement is issuedwhich carries out verification activities and at least is registered by the relevant authority to comply according to Article 8 and 9;
Amendment 203 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8 a (new)
(8 a) ‘de minimis source’ means negligible (very minor) methane emissions which are out of scope of reporting;
Amendment 220 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 41 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 41 a (new)
(41 a) ‘quantification’ means operations to determine the quantity of methane emissions, based on direct measurements, engineering calculations, simulations, models using operational parameters, ambient measurements and meteorological data, or estimation through generic or specific emission factors.
Amendment 356 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
In carrying out the verification activities referred to in paragraph 1, verifiers shall use free and publicly available European or international standards for methane emissions quantification as made applicable by the Commission in accordance with paragraph 5. Until such date where the applicability of those standards is determined by the Commission, verifiers shall use existing European or international standards for quantification and verification of greenhouse gas emissionsmethane emissions quantification.
Amendment 372 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 2
Article 9 – paragraph 2
2. Verifiers shall be accredited by a national accreditation body pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 765/200The requirements stipulated in paragraph1 can be fulfilled if the operator implements a management system which ensures the independence requirements are addressed, and such a system is certified under the relevant EMAS/ISO standards. Verifiers must at least be registered at the relevant authority. For the registration the verifier has to prove his qualification to assess the reports according to Article 8.
Amendment 374 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Amendment 389 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1
1. By … [128 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation], operators shall submit a report to the competent authorities containing the quantification of source- level methane emissions estimated using generic but source-specific emission factors fat least generic emission factors for all sources not considered as de minimis of operated assets. Operators may choose to submit at that stage a report all sourcesccording to the requirements in paragraph 2.
Amendment 404 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2
Article 12 – paragraph 2
2. By … [24 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation], operators shall also submit a report to the competent authorities containing direct measurementsquantification of source-level methane emissions for operated assets. Reporting at such level may involve the use of source- level measurement and sampling as the basis for establishing specific emission factors used for emissions estimationsources not considered as de minimis for operated assets. When emission factors are used, the quantification shall involve specific emission factors.
Amendment 413 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
By … [36 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation] and by 30 March every year thereafter, operators shall submit a report to the competent authorities containing direct measurementsquantification of source-level methane emissions for operated assets referred to in paragraph 2, complemented by measurements of site- level methane emissions, thereby allowing assessment and verification of the source- level estimates aggregated by site. If the technologies for site-level measurement do not reach satisfactory technology readiness levels or market availability an operator can request the competent authority to postpone site-level measurements by one year.
Amendment 421 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
By … [36 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation] and by 30 March every year thereafter, operators shall submit a report to the competent authorities containing direct measurementsquantification of source-level methane emissions for operated assets referred to in paragraph 2, complemented by measurements of site- level methane emissions, thereby allowing assessment and verification of the source- level estimates aggregated by site.
Amendment 436 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 4
Article 12 – paragraph 4
Amendment 443 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 5
Article 12 – paragraph 5
Amendment 492 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 8
Article 12 – paragraph 8
8. In the case of significant discrepancies between the emissions quantified using source-level methods and those resulting from site-level measurement, additional measurements shall be carried ouoperators shall provide reasoning for the discrepancy. If the discrepancy is not due to the technological limits of employed quantification methods, the competent authority may request an additional measurement within the same reporting period.
Amendment 504 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 9
Article 12 – paragraph 9
9. Methane emissions measurements or quantification for gas infrastructure shall be conducted according to appropriate European (CEN) or international (ISO) standards for methane emissions quantification.
Amendment 512 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1
Article 13 – paragraph 1
Operators shall take all measures available to themappropriate and reasonable mitigation measures to prevent and minimise methane emissions in their operations.
Amendment 518 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
By … [36 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation], operators shall submit a leak detection and repair programme to the competent authorities which shall detail the contents of the surveysactivity to be carried out in accordance with the requirements in this Article and the CEN standard referred in [paragraph 1 a new] or the corresponding Technical Specification document.
Amendment 532 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
The competent authorities may require the operator to amend the programme taking into account the requirements of this Regulation and the CEN standard or the corresponding CEN Technical specification document.
Amendment 534 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. The Commission shall issue a mandate to the European standardisation body concerned to establish technical specifications, European standards or harmonised European standards on leak detection and repair instruments and methodologies. Harmonised standards or parts thereof the references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union shall be presumed to be in conformity with the requirements referred to in this Article.
Amendment 544 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
By … [612 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation], operators shall carry outinitiate a survey of all relevant components under their responsibility in accordance with the leak detection and repair programme referred in paragraph 1.
Amendment 566 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 3
Article 14 – paragraph 3
3. In carrying out the surveys, operators shall use devices that allow detection of loss of methane from components of 500 parts per million or moperiodic surveys or in using a continuous monitoring, operators shall use devices with the capability to detect the leak size corresponding to the relevant leaks. The CEN standard should define the type of device and methodology to detect the related leak size that has to be captured.
Amendment 580 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 4
Article 14 – paragraph 4
Amendment 632 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Amendment 679 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. Venting and flaring shall only be allowed in the following situations:
Amendment 686 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) in case of an emergency, incidents or malfunction; and or where impacting safety or security of supply;
Amendment 690 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) where unavoidable and strictly necessary for the operation, construction, repair, maintenance, decommissioning or testing of components or equipment and subject to the reporting obligations set out in Article 16.;
Amendment 694 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point b a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point b a (new)
(b a) if vents are smaller than 50 kg of methane per event;
Amendment 697 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point b b (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point b b (new)
(b b) environmental impact of mitigation measures is higher than the benefit.
Amendment 702 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
3. Venting and flaring under point (b) of paragraph 2 shall include the following specific situations where venting or flaring, as applicable, cannot be completely eliminated:
Amendment 714 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point a
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point a
(a) during normal operations of certain components including but not limited to pneumatic controllers, sampling for measurement devices and dry gas seals, provided that the equipment meets all the specified equipment standards and it is properly maintained and regularly inspected to minimise methane losses;
Amendment 722 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point d
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point d
(d) during loading out liquids from a storage tank or other low-pressure vessel to a transport vehicle in compliance with applicable standards and storage tank breathers;
Amendment 723 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point e
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point e
(e) during repair and, maintenance, test procedures and decommissioning, including blowing down, purging and depressurizing equipment to perform repair and maintenance;
Amendment 730 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point i
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point i
Amendment 733 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point j
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point j
(j) during (re)commissioning of pipelines, facility equipment or facilitiegas storage wells, only for as long as necessary to purge introduced impurities from the pipeline or equipment;
Amendment 736 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point k
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point k
(k) during pigging, blow-down to repair or purging a gathering pipeline for repair or maintenance, and only where the gas cannot be contained or redirected into an unaffected portion of the pipeline.;
Amendment 739 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point k b (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point k b (new)
(k b) vents from isolation valves used for segmentation of pipelines or compressor station isolation and emergency shutdown system;
Amendment 741 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point k a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point k a (new)
(k a) when a mixture is vented that is off specifications, as a result of the gas processing;
Amendment 745 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point k c (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – point k c (new)
(k c) vents for elimination of blockage by gas hydrates in storage facilities.
Amendment 764 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 4
Article 15 – paragraph 4
4. Where venting is allowed pursuant to paragraphs 2(b) and 3, operators shall vent only in the following cases: where flaring is not technically feasible or; where risks endangering safety of operations or personnel; when flaring is not allowed by other legal obligations. In such a situation, as part of the reporting obligations set out in Article 16, operators shall demonstrate to the competent authorities the necessity to opt for venting instead of flaring.
Amendment 769 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 5
Article 15 – paragraph 5
5. Flaring shall only be allowed where either re-injection or utilisation on- site or dispatch of the methane are not technically feasible or risks endangering safety of operations or personnel or security of supply. In specific case of routine flaring in production sites, it shall only be allowed where either re-injection, utilisation on-site or dispatch of the methane to a market are not feasible for reasons other than economic considerations. In such a situations, as part of the reporting obligations set out in Article 16, operators shall demonstrate to the competent authorities the necessity to opt for flaring instead of either re-injection, utilisation on- site or dispatch of the methane to a market.
Amendment 779 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Where implementing venting or flaring provisions leads to an abatement cost higher than the limit set by ACER, the operators shall minimize the vented emissions by other available more cost- efficient means and include the justification in the report according to Article 17.
Amendment 788 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 5 b (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Where implementing venting or flaring provisions requires an approval of relevant authorities, permitting, procuring and installing new equipment, operators shall proceed at the fastest possible schedule. The competent authorities may request the details of the schedule and request modifications. For venting and flaring events that happen during the implementation period the competent authorities shall waive the penalties arising from Article 30.
Amendment 797 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 5 c (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 5 c (new)
5 c. Where a site is built, replaced in whole or in part or refurbished, the new or renovated equipment or components should be installed to avoid/minimise venting and flaring according to relevant technology.
Amendment 798 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Operators shall notify the competent authorities of venting and flaring events: of more than 5000 kg of methane caused by an incident, emergency or a malfunction.
Amendment 799 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Amendment 806 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Amendment 809 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
The notification referred to in the first subparagraph shall be made without any unnecessary delay after the event and at the latest within 48 hours from the start of the event. The requirements applicable for this notification will be in accordance to national or local legislation regarding notification of incidents, emergencies or othe moment the operator became aware of itr unusual occurrences, when already existing.