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Six questions about your equipment and your records. It takes about a minute, and it tells you where the gaps are before an inspector does. Nothing is gated — you see the result whether or not you give us your name.
1.When did this location commence construction, modification or reconstruction?
December 6, 2022 is the line between NSPS OOOOb (new/modified) and the existing-source track under EG OOOOc.
2.Does the flare hold a continuous pilot, and does an unlit pilot alarm back to a control room?
This is the requirement with the nearest hard date on it.
3.Can you produce documentation that emissions routed to this flare are reduced by 95%?
Performance test data, manufacturer certification, or net heating value records.
4.Does the flare produce visible smoke under normal load?
Visible emissions draw RRC and TCEQ attention independently of the federal rule.
5.How do you service the pilot?
Operational, not regulatory — but it drives how fast a lit pilot gets restored.
6.Do you log temporary flaring events — start and stop times, and the reason?
The 2026 revisions allow longer temporary flaring but tie it to written records in the annual report.
Where the rule stands
Dates have moved. The performance bar has not.
NSPS OOOOb and EG OOOOc have been revised more than once, several deadlines were pushed, and further reconsideration is in progress. That is a real reason not to panic — and a poor reason to do nothing, because the parts that bear on equipment have held steady.
January 22, 2027
Continuous pilot flame + control-room alarm
Flares and enclosed combustion devices must hold a continuous pilot and alarm the nearest control room when it goes out. Extended to this date by EPA’s July 2025 interim rule and kept in the final rule published December 2025.
Unchanged
95% emission reduction
Emissions routed to a flare or enclosed combustion device must still be reduced by 95%. None of the extensions or the 2026 revisions altered this.
Up to 72 hours
Temporary flaring of associated gas
EPA’s April 2026 final rule raised the temporary-flaring allowance from 24 to 72 hours, with longer permitted in genuine exigent circumstances — conditioned on a written description and start/end times in the annual report.
State by state
EG OOOOc — existing sources
Legacy flares come in through state plans. EPA extended the state-plan submission deadline, so the timing on your locations depends on where Texas lands.
Current as of October 19, 2026. This rule is under active reconsideration and has been amended more than once — treat every date here as a starting point, not a final answer, and confirm it against the current rule text before you plan around it. This page is a screening aid produced by a service company. It is not legal advice and not a compliance determination.
Want it in writing?
We’ll send the summary and walk your locations.
Send us what the check flagged and we will put together a written summary for your locations — what needs equipment work, what is a records problem, and what can wait. No charge for the walk.
What we do about it
- — Smokeless flare tips, sold and installed
- — Retrofit of existing stacks, including ground-level pilot service
- — Pilot and monitoring upgrades on equipment you already own