EPA launches methane crackdown, as oil giants commit to cut emissions

The president’s target of reducing methane emissions by 40 to 45 percent in the next decade is historic – now there are no national limits on methane pollution from the oil and gas industry.

“The oil and gas industry is leading the charge in reducing methane”, Gerard said.

Heitkamp has long worked for bipartisan, commonsense solutions to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, processing plants, compressor stations and well sites throughout the Upper Ohio Valley often feature flare systems that can release methane into the air. The EPA updated and established additional VOC standards for several oil and natural gas-related operations through its 2012 NSPS, and targeted amendments in 2013 and 2014.

U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) said, “Energy production and clean air through reduced greenhouse gas emissions are not competing ideals, and efforts to reduce emissions don’t have to hurt our energy industry”, reports the Bakken Magazine.

Although the oil and gas industry opposes the move (and environmental groups welcome it) the technology to cut down on methane emissions appears relatively straightforward and compliance with EPA’s rules should not be too hard.

Federal methane regulations are welcome and can be expanded later, but the “new and modified sources” carve-out is a big problem because, as Mark Brownstein of EDF tells Jon Hurdle, that only covers about 5% of emissions nationally. In 2014, the Administration released its “Methane Strategy”, followed by a series of five EPA “white papers” on methane emission sources. Next year, world leaders will meet in Paris, France in what may be one of our last opportunities to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change.

“Instead of conspiring with extreme environmental interests, the EPA should stop punishing cooperative industry stakeholders and start partnering with them in their current efforts to capture methane in a responsible manner”, Smith concluded.

The rules proposed this week are nonetheless an important step. The new rules EPA announced yesterday are just a proposal.

Industry groups have said the regulations are unnecessary and could add to natural gas costs. Climate change has the potential to put New Yorkers’ health, our state economy, and the investments of the New York State Common Retirement Fund in harm’s way. In addition, methane emissions from hydraulically fractured natural gas wells DECLINED 79 percent.

Drillers who were already controlling emissions deliberately accepted Colorado’s rules with much little opposition. Thankfully, this week’s announcement provides the legal and technical groundwork to extend the use of these available technologies to curb existing methane sources next.