EPA to strengthen proposed rule on methane emissions from oil, gas

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Nov. 11 it will strengthen its proposed regulations on monitoring and control of methane and other emissions associated with the production, transportation, and storage sectors of the oil and gas industry.

The announcement was timed to coincide with President Biden’s address to the United Nations COP27 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Biden spoke of the tougher regulatory proposals as an example of his administration’s leadership to avert a “climate hell.” He also emphasized plans for US financial aid to help developing nations develop energy sources that don’t rely on fossil fuels.

EPA said it not only wanted to make some of its proposals stricter but also was trying to make compliance options more flexible and cost-effective. Oil and natural gas industry representatives have been telling the agency for some time that a flexible approach especially for methane monitoring could prove to be more pragmatic.

The Biden EPA’s initial proposed rule on methane and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was released in November 2021 (OGJ Online, Nov. 2, 2021). The supplemental proposed rule has not yet been released, but EPA summarized it.

Strictness, flexibility

The new proposals would set a zero-emissions standard for pneumatic controllers and pneumatic pumps, would establish emission standards for dry seal compressors (currently unregulated), and would revise requirements for associated gas flaring. The revisions for gas flaring were not detailed by EPA.

The new proposals would “provide industry flexibility to use innovative and cost-effective methane detection technologies, and a streamlined process for approving new detection methods as they become available.”

The proposals would “leverage data from remote sensing technology to quickly identify and fix large methane leaks,” and would establish a “super-emitter response program” that would require operators to respond to credible third-party reports of high-volume methane leaks.

The administration put much emphasis on the super-emitter program, which will make use of remote detection technology. It may be a response to academic researchers’ field studies, including aerial overflights and use of monitoring equipment parked near oil and gas infrastructure, that have detected exceptionally large methane leaks of which operators may have been unaware.

The supplemental proposal would require states to develop compliance plans within 18 months after the final rule is issued. The states would be required to establish compliance deadlines for existing sources no later than 3 years after the submission deadline.

Feedback wanted

The American Petroleum Institute (API) responded cautiously with a statement from Frank Macchiarola, the trade group’s senior vice-president of policy, economics, and regulatory affairs.

“API looks forward to reviewing the proposed rule in its entirety and will continue to work with EPA in support of a final rule that is cost-effective, promotes innovation, and creates the regulatory certainty needed for long-term planning,” Macchiarola said.

The agency said the supplemental proposal reflects input and feedback received over the past year from a broad range of stakeholders. It said it will take public comment on the supplemental proposal until Feb. 23. The agency said it intended to issue a final rule in 2023.

EPA’s announcement also offered estimates of how effective the agency’s supplemental plans would be in cutting methane emissions and what the cost and benefit balance would be, in terms of net climate benefits, using a “social cost of greenhouse gases” metric intended to represent the monetary value of avoided climate damages.

“Social cost” estimates have been highly contentious. EPA added that it was including estimates from an additional method still in development for estimating such costs.

The agency also stressed that its supplemental proposal complements the Inflation Reduction Act, a budget bill passed by Congress in August with provisions for financial and technical assistance including support for methane monitoring and mitigation activities.