The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Thursday finalized clean air standards limiting emissions of methane from new and heavily modified sources in the oil and gas industry.

According to the agency’s national emissions inventory, oil and gas companies currently release at least 9.8 million metric tons of methane into the air each year (34 percent more than previous estimates).

Methane, the main ingredient in natural gas, is a powerful greenhouse gas, with 84 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year time frame.

The announcement is the latest in an ongoing series of important steps by the Obama administration aimed at reducing oil and gas methane emissions by 40-45 percent by 2025.

The new EPA standards build from policies and practices in the states and private sector including clean air solutions being deployed in Colorado, Wyoming and Ohio. Importantly, the new emission standards provide for national solutions to address emissions leaking from newly constructed or rebuilt oil and gas industrial activity.

However, the standards do not provide for limits on the leaks and emissions from existing oil and gas infrastructure, the single largest source of methane in our air.

"The U.S. oil and gas industry pumps out almost 10 million metric tons of methane pollution a year from thousands of sites in communities all across the nation,” said Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp.  “It's a tremendous threat to our climate, and a needless waste of valuable resources. Cutting this pollution is the fastest, cheapest path to slow the warming we will otherwise see in the next 20 years.

“A vast body of science has revealed the scale of the problem, and proven we can keep [much of] that escaping gas in the pipes at minimal cost. Some companies are already setting a great example of what can be achieved using common sense solutions to find and fix leaks.

“We need common sense standards to make ‘best practice’ the standard practice. And we need to build on today’s announcement by extending these same level-headed standards to thousands of existing facilities that are still exempt despite generating millions of tons of methane pollution a year."

For more information EDF actions related to oil and gas operations, visit EDF’s Oil and Gas webpage.

Industry Reaction

Marcellus Shale Coalition President David Spigelmyer issued this statement in response to the EPA’s final oil and gas methane limits regulation—

“Pennsylvania’s natural gas producers are leading the way in environmentally responsible energy development that’s resulting in significant, meaningful air quality improvements.

“Yet the [Obama] Administration’s latest rule is a classic case of a Washington solution in search of a problem as the facts clearly demonstrate that methane emissions continue to plummet even as natural gas production rises.

“As Pennsylvania’s energy producers continue to weather this painful market downturn, there couldn’t be a worse time for more unnecessary, costly Washington red tape that will result in little-to-no environmental benefit.”

Other Reaction

Nature Abounds President Melinda Hughes Thursday released this statement in conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency final rule setting limits on climate-changing methane emissions from oil and gas operations—

“Nature Abounds applauds the Obama Administration on setting standards projected to reduce the equivalent of 11 million metric tons of carbon pollution by 2025 and save Americans a net of $170 million in costs related to methane pollution.

“By issuing a standard for new and modified sources, EPA sets the stage to begin work on a rule to curb emissions from existing oil and gas operations.

“Oil and gas operations are the largest industrial source of methane, a greenhouse gas that is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a twenty-year time frame. 

“Methane is a powerful contributor to climate change and in 2013 alone, the oil and gas sources emitted over 7.3 million metric tons of methane. Reducing methane emissions was and continues to be necessary for our future.

“By doing so, it should also lead to a reduction of respiratory problems which are experienced in epic numbers in our mountainous area as the toxic air gets entrapped in the valleys.

“The reduction also lowers the risk of  explosive risks that methane also brings to our area as mixtures of just 5 to 15 percent of methane in air can be explosive.

“The oil and gas industry must take responsibility for their pollution, rather than asking the public and our environment to bear the burden. Thank you to the EPA for fulfilling their mission 'to protect human health and the environment'. There's absolutely no reason that we cannot have a strong economy while also protecting our environment and future generations."

Hughes testified at the EPA hearings last fall on the proposed methane rule.

For more information on programs, initiatives and upcoming events of this Pennsylvania-based nonprofit group, visit the Nature Abounds website or contact Melinda Hughes at 814-765-1453 x203 or send email to: melinda@natureabounds.org.

For more on Pennsylvania’s actions to reduce methane, visit DEP’s Methane Reduction Strategy webpage.

NewsClips:

EPA Releases Rules To Curb Methane Leaks From Oil & Gas Industry

U.S. Proposes To Cut Oil & Gas Methane Emissions By Nearly Half

EPA Finalizes New Methane Standards For Oil & Gas Industry

U.S. Proposes To Cut Oil & Gas Methane Emissions By Nearly Half

Editorial: New Methane Regulation Clears Air

Is It Time For Climate Activists To Change Tactics?

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5/16/2016