OOOOb compliance starts with finding the leak, not scheduling the survey.
Continuous monitoring changes your compliance posture from reactive inspection to documented proactive detection, which is exactly what modern EPA regulations reward.
What OOOOa and OOOOb actually require
EPA 40 CFR Part 60, Subpart OOOOa
The 2016 rule (OOOOa) established LDAR requirements for natural gas well sites, compressor stations, and natural gas processing plants constructed or modified after September 18, 2015. It mandated quarterly leak surveys using optical gas imaging (OGI) at high-production sites and introduced repair timelines: 30 days for most leaks, 15 days for leaks above defined thresholds.
EPA 40 CFR Part 60, Subpart OOOOb
The 2024 rule (OOOOb) extended LDAR to a broader set of operations and opened a pathway to replace periodic OGI surveys with EPA-approved "advanced monitoring methods" (AMM), including continuous monitoring systems that meet defined performance standards. For operators who adopt AMM, the quarterly survey requirement can be waived in favor of documented continuous oversight.
EPA Subpart W (40 CFR Part 98)
Subpart W governs mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting for the petroleum and natural gas systems sector. Facilities meeting the reporting threshold must quantify and report annual methane emissions by source category. Aquanta Vision data exports are structured to map to Subpart W equipment-level emission factors and recordkeeping requirements.
Texas TCEQ
Texas operators also face TCEQ oversight under the Texas Environmental Protection Act and TCEQ rules for oil and gas sites. TCEQ has historically maintained its own inspection cadence and citation authority independent of EPA. Continuous monitoring documentation helps operators respond to TCEQ inquiries with timestamped records rather than self-reported estimates.
What an LDAR program must cover
A compliant LDAR program under OOOOb addresses four areas: what you monitor, how often you inspect, how quickly you repair, and what records you keep. Aquanta Vision is designed to satisfy all four without adding inspector headcount.
What to monitor
Regulated components: valves, connectors, pressure relief devices, open-ended lines, flanges, meters, compressor seals, and reciprocating compressor rod packing.
Inspection frequency
Traditional OGI: quarterly or semi-annually depending on site classification. With EPA-approved AMM (continuous monitoring): documented continuous coverage satisfies the frequency requirement.
Repair timelines
OOOOb requires first attempt to repair within 5 days of detection; final repair within 15 days for above-threshold leaks, 30 days for standard leaks. Aquanta Vision work orders timestamp detection and closure, satisfying the documentation requirement.
Recordkeeping
Operators must retain detection records, repair records, and annual certification for 5 years. Aquanta Vision maintains immutable timestamped event logs that can be exported at any time.
The penalty math favors early detection
EPA Penalty Exposure
EPA can assess civil penalties of up to approximately $70,000 per day per violation under the Clean Air Act (subject to annual inflation adjustments). A single undetected high-volume release that persists for 30 days before quarterly OGI discovery creates penalty exposure in the millions.
Penalties are assessed per day, per violation, per regulated component. Multiple components in simultaneous release multiply the exposure accordingly.
Monitoring as Protection
An Aquanta Vision Professional subscription covers up to 15 sites at $799/month. Even a single instance of catching a 5-day leak before an OGI inspector does avoids penalty exposure that exceeds the annual subscription cost.
More importantly, proactive detection with documented timestamps can be submitted to regulators as evidence of a good-faith compliance program, which has historically influenced penalty mitigation in EPA settlement discussions.
Penalty figures reference publicly published EPA per-day civil penalty amounts under the Clean Air Act. Actual penalties vary by violation type, duration, and cooperation level. This is not legal advice.
Your OOOOb workflow, covered end to end
Continuous detection satisfies AMM requirements
Aquanta Vision sensor arrays meet the performance criteria for EPA-approved advanced monitoring methods under OOOOb, allowing operators to document compliance without quarterly OGI contractor visits.
Auto-generated LDAR compliance reports
Monthly summary reports are formatted to align with OOOOb recordkeeping templates, including detection dates, component IDs, repair timestamps, and inspector certification fields.
Audit-ready data on demand
When an EPA inspector or TCEQ auditor requests documentation, export a full event log in CSV or JSON format with a single click. Timestamps are immutable and signed at the sensor node level.
Sites Monitored
4
Events Detected
3
Repairs Closed
3
Avg. Repair Time
2.1 d
| Component | Detected | Repaired | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| PRV-02 (C-07) | Jun 14 | Jun 15 | CLOSED |
| FV-11 (A-12) | Jun 14 | Jun 17 | CLOSED |
| CV-03 (C-07) | Jun 22 | Jun 24 | CLOSED |
Customer perspective on compliance
"We used to spend three weeks before every LDAR audit manually pulling records from three different systems and reconciling timestamps. With Aquanta Vision, I exported a complete event log in about eight minutes. The auditors had no further questions about our detection records."
Schedule a compliance review call.
Bring your site count and equipment type. We will map your OOOOb obligations to what Aquanta Vision covers, and where gaps exist.
No contract required. Pilot sites available.