9. The repair or replacement of the components referred to in paragraph 8 shall take place immediately after detection. If the repair cannot be carried out immediately after detection, it shall be attempted as soon as possible and no later than 5 days after detection and shall be completed within 30 days after detection.
Where an operator can demonstrate that the repair or replacement would not be successful or possible within 5 days for a first attempt or where the operator expects that a complete repair would not be possible within 30 days due to safety, administrative or technical considerations, the operator shall notify the competent authorities and provide them with evidence thereof together with the repair and monitoring schedules containing at least the elements set out in Annex II no later than 12 days from the date of detection.
Those repair and monitoring schedules shall include all the necessary evidence justifying any delay. They shall ensure that the environmental impact is minimised, while respecting the relevant safety, administrative and technical considerations. The competent authorities may require the operator to amend the repair and monitoring schedules taking into account the requirements of this Regulation. In any event, the repair or replacement shall be carried out as soon as possible.
The operators shall prioritise repairs of larger leaks.
Repairs or replacements referred to in this paragraph shall use the best technologies that are commercially available and that provide long-term protection against future leaks.
Safety, administrative and technical considerations, as referred to in this paragraph, shall be limited to:
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(a)
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the safety of personnel and other persons in proximity to the detected leak;
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(b)
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any adverse environmental impact if the operator can demonstrate that that impact would be greater than the environmental benefits, for example where a repair could lead to a higher overall level of methane emissions than would be the case in the absence of the repair;
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(c)
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accessibility of a component, including scheduled maintenance, permitting process requirements or required administrative authorisation;
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(d)
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unavailability of replacement parts necessary for the repair of the component or of replacement components; and
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(e)
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significant deterioration of the gas supply situation likely to lead to a crisis level as referred to in Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 of the European Parliament and of the Council (25).
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