Methane Rules for the Oil and Gas Sector

A compilation of our podcasts, legal analyses, and Regulatory Tracker pages about the Biden administration’s efforts to strengthen methane regulation from the oil and gas sector, and the regulatory history starting with the Obama administration.

As these federal methane rules are developed, there is an opportunity to consider how they can be designed to work together effectively and how they can collectively create incentives to reduce emissions to the greatest degree. Watch our video explaining how federal agencies can collaborate to make this happen.

Podcasts

• In the episode “Global and US Methane Initiatives,” Professor and EELP Founding Director Jody Freeman and a panel of guests discuss international and domestic efforts to reduce methane emissions, the Global Methane Pledge from COP26, the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter from COP28, the Biden administration’s recently released final methane rule for the oil and natural gas sector, the technology innovation that is making it increasingly possible to detect methane leaks, and the climate benefits of focusing on methane. (December 28, 2023)
• Executive Director Carrie Jenks speaks with Kyle Danish, a partner at Van Ness Feldman, and Dan Zimmerle, the director of the Methane Emissions Program at Colorado State University. They discuss EPA’s recently released supplemental proposal to reduce methane emissions from the oil and natural gas sector, and how the regulatory framework EPA has proposed is designed to enable the use of advanced technologies to better detect and therefore reduce emissions. (January 5, 2023)
• Carrie Jenks and methane expert Kate Konschnik discuss the proposed methane rule and some of the input EPA is seeking from stakeholders related to advanced technologies and how regulations could enable their deployment to achieve emission reductions. (December 15, 2021)

Legal Analyses

• In The Inflation Reduction Act’s Waste Emission Charge for Methane Emissions—What Did Congress Require and How is EPA Proposing to Implement the Program?, we explain how the text of the IRA established the framework that EPA must follow, and the flexibility that EPA may be able to include in the final rule consistent with the statute. We also highlight potential tension points for stakeholders as they consider how to implement programs to comply with this rule as well as the additional EPA rules for the oil and natural gas sector. (February 2, 2024)
• In EPA’s Final Methane Rule—Incorporating Advanced Technologies and Emissions Data to Reduce Methane Emissions from the Oil and Natural Gas Sector we summarize EPA’s long-awaited final methane rule. We explain EPA’s authority to issue this rule, and why it applies to new and existing sources for the first time. We outline key provisions, including those that enable use of rapidly advancing monitoring technologies; timelines and requirements for monitoring, compliance, and development of state plans; key aspects of the new super-emitter program to catch large release events; environmental justice considerations; and predicted costs and benefits of the rule. (December 14, 2023)
•  A timeline of how EPA’s Supper Emitter Program works. (December 6, 2023)
• Our updated EPA Methane Rulemaking Timeline summarizes how EPA’s final regulations (released on December 3, 2023) will interact with the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program requirements and Inflation Reduction Act’s waste emission charge (December 5, 2023)
• In BLM’s Proposed Methane Waste Prevention Rule Summary we explain BLM’s proposed methane waste prevention rule, and look at the interplay it might have with EPA’s supplemental methane proposal as well as the Inflation Reduction Act’s methane fee. (January 4, 2023)
• In EPA’s Supplemental Methane Proposal – A Comprehensive Regulatory Framework to Encourage Use of Advanced Technologies and Significantly Reduce Methane Emissions we examine EPA’s approaches to enabling the timely deployment of rapidly advancing technologies that can lead to greater emission reductions by detecting the larger events that are a significant portion of the sector’s methane emissions. (November 21, 2022)
• In EPA’s Methane Proposal for the Oil and Gas Sector – A Strong Foundation to Reduce Methane Emissions and Regulatory Path for More we look at EPA’s proposed rule and focus on those areas that could enable a regulatory framework to use advanced methane monitoring technologies and methods. We highlight key areas on which stakeholders may want to provide EPA comment to support a final rule that achieves significant emission reductions through the deployment of cost-effective technologies and approaches. (November 16, 2021)
• In Weighing the Risks of Using the CRA to Restore EPA’s Methane Standards Ari Sillman (JD 2021) weighs the political expediency of using the Congressional Review Act to restore EPA methane regulations against the risk of litigation given the CRA’s prohibition on agency adoption of substantially similar rules. (October 22, 2020)
• In Staff Attorney Hana Vizcarra’s backgrounder EPA’s Final Methane Emissions Rules Roll Back Standards and Statutory Authority she discusses the Trump EPA’s development of methane rule rollbacks, summarizes the specifics of the new final rules, and discusses some of their implications for future. (September 9, 2020)

Regulatory Tracker Pages

• On our EPA VOC and Methane Standards for Oil and Gas Facilities page we discuss why regulation of this powerful greenhouse gas matters and track the timeline of events and litigation around the rulemaking from the Obama administration to the present. (Ongoing)
• On our BLM Methane Waste Prevention Rule page we track rulemakings and litigation on gas that is wasted through venting, flaring, and leaks by oil and gas lessees on public lands. (Ongoing)