The Environmental Protection Agency issued its final Risk and Technology Review and New Performance Standards for refineries on Sept. 29, 2015. In this rule, Methods 325A and 325B provide details on how refineries are to deploy passive samples for the fenceline of their facility to collect emission data for benzene.
Recently, the EPA discussed the data management system for the Refinery Sector Rule – Benzene Fenceline Monitoring (BFM) Rules. As outlined in this system, the EPA will post all BFM data that refineries will submit to the Compliance and Emissions Data Reporting Interface. This way, the general public will be able to access, see, download and visualize all essential data.
“Every refinery is required to upload their BFM data to the CEDRI.”
According to the new system, every refinery is required to upload its BFM data to the CEDRI within a 45-day period after each reporting period concludes. Once submitted, the EPA and state officials will have 30 days to review the data. Then, within 30 days after this review occurs, this data will then be made available to the public.
Now, as refineries await impending requirements for BFM, decision-makers might become worried about the increased need for data collection, compliance reporting and data review. As a result, refineries may begin to see the innumerable benefits offered through automating data handling. Instead of risking poor data management with an internal system or specialized software, refineries should turn to a proven solution, EQuIS™ Enterprise, to handle all their workflow automation and dashboard needs for BFM.
Due to EarthSoft’s skilled track record in environmental data gathering and reporting, EQuIS has become the industry standard for analytical data management, as it is used by many EPA regions and state agencies. Now, Environmental Standards Inc. – a dedicated EarthSoft partner – has introduced the BFM PerimeterHAWK configuration of EQuIS Enterprise. This addition will create a streamlined approach to data tracking and EPA compliance reporting with meteorological data storage and visualization tools.
To learn more about how EQuIS workflow solutions can support small refineries, contact one of our EarthSoft representatives today.