Environmental Committee

The Environmental Committee is charged with educating GCA Members on upcoming regulations and their impact on business.

With the ongoing regulatory challenges surrounding our industry, the Environmental Committee has been extremely active in recent years.  Their often-intense work has included the review of many proposed and enacted environmental rules, with comments, objections and recommendations provided to state and federal EPA boards on key points that are of importance to member companies. 

Because proposed regulations are written by legal experts and lawyers, the interpretation of the language in the rules can vary, including implementation requirements in the effective rules. Dissemination of information between different industry parties ensures that the regulatory burden is shared equally, and that compliance is achievable for all. The EPA and states are often asked for rule interpretations or approvals of company compliance mechanisms. Discussing how to comply with the final regulations between industry and GCA members BEFORE relying on the environmental bodies for a response is beneficial, because, historically, the states and federal agencies tend to adopt the most conservative interpretation to the regulation. If GCA members work together, sharing difficulties and successes on the path to compliance assurance, the industry benefits from the exchange.

Once a regulation becomes finalized, information must be disseminated to GCA members, in an understandable format to ensure the requirements are understood and implemented in a timely fashion. Communication is vital to compliance success.  Legal requirements from states and the EPA are summarized into digestible portions and translated into layman’s terms to clarify the responsibilities of GCA members.

The US EPA and individual state air boards listen to the GCA, giving its voice more credence than individual company testimonies.  GCA is recognized as one of the few entities that can speak with authority on behalf of the gas compression industry.