The Supreme Court on Oct. 4 declined to block the Biden administration’s methane rule, settling the legality of the regulations opposed by oil and gas companies.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s methane rule requires companies to curb methane emissions from oil and gas production and storage and many processing and pipeline operations (OGJ Online, Dec. 4, 2023).
EPA says the rule would slash methane emissions by 80% between 2024 and 2038 by minimizing the size and frequency of gas leaks. The regulations also target the routine flaring of natural gas.
The high court issued an emergency docket that decided two of three lawsuits brought by several Republican-led states, power plants, and the oil and gas industry that challenged Biden’s rules forcing energy companies to cut emissions to address climate change and reduce pollution.
In addition to the methane regulations, the Supreme Court upheld EPA’s mercury rule that directs fossil-fuel-fired power plants to reduce emissions of mercury and other toxic substances.
The court did not act on an emergency request to block another EPA regulation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants. Those regulations would require all coal-fired power plants that operate past 2039 and new natural gas-fired power plants to reduce carbon emissions by 90%.
While the mercury rule focuses on wells and compressor stations, it also targets crude oil gathering lines and natural gas production, processing, transmission and storage, up to the point of transfer to a local distribution company.
When EPA proposed the rule, industry associations argued that some of the regulation’s elements were either impractical or overly expensive (OGJ Online, Feb. 14, 2023).