Q597. Are facilities in the onshore petroleum and natural gas production and natural gas processing industry segments required to report emissions from all of their flares, including emergency flares?

A597. Yes, emissions from all flares, including emergency flares, must be reported. In 40 CFR 98.238 of both the rule as amended on May 14, 2024, and the rule as it existed prior to the amendments. Flare is defined as “for the purposes of subpart W, means a combustion device, whether at ground level or elevated, that uses an open or closed flame to combust waste gases without energy recovery”. Neither this definition nor any other provisions in the rule exclude any type or category of flare.