Methane Clips: March 29, 2023

 

House Republicans Are Chipping Away At Landmark Climate Law. According to EE News, “House Republicans are going after the Democrats’ landmark climate change law, but they’re picking a handful of provisions to target instead of a broad assault. Still, a senior Republican said the anti-Inflation Reduction Act campaign is only beginning. With the energy and permitting bill on the floor this week, the GOP is choosing not to go headfirst against the Inflation Reduction Act, despite the party’s united opposition to the law that put $369 billion toward energy and fighting climate change.” [EE News, 3/29/23 (=)]

 

EPA Cites 2 Oil And Gas Firms Over Permian Basin Pollution. According to the Associated Press, “Two Texas companies have resolved Clean Air Act violations with the Environmental Protection Agency by agreeing to reduce emissions of planet-warming methane and other harmful pollutants wafting from the nation’s largest oil and gas producing region. EPA announced Monday that Matador Production Company has agreed to pay $6.2 million in fines and mitigation measures related to 239 oil and gas well pads in New Mexico. Permian Resources Operating agreed earlier this month to pay $610,000 and make improvements to its equipment to settle environmental violations. The enforcement actions came after EPA flew a helicopter equipped with a special infrared camera that can detect emissions of hydrocarbon vapors that are invisible to the naked eye.” [Associated Press, 3/28/23 (=)]

 

Biden: GOP Wants To 'Cede Our Clean Energy Future To China'. According to EE News, “President Joe Biden assailed Republicans’ climate and energy agenda Tuesday as he and other administration officials kicked off a series of events around the country to tout their own policies. Biden spoke at a semiconductor manufacturer in Durham, N.C., where he boasted about his administration’s policies to invest in renewable energy technologies and domestic manufacturing. The president called for ‘a clean energy future made in America. And that means providing incentives for companies to manufacture clean energy technologies here in North Carolina and across the country,’ he said.” [EE News, 3/28/23 (=)]

 

Firms Resolve EPA Emission Violations. According to the Associated Press, “Two Texas companies have resolved Clean Air Act violations with the Environmental Protection Agency by agreeing to reduce emissions of planet-warming methane and other harmful pollutants wafting from the nation’s largest oil and gas producing region. EPA officials announced Monday that Matador Production Co. has agreed to pay $6.2 million in fines and mitigation measures related to 239 oil and gas well pads in New Mexico. Permian Resources Operating agreed earlier this month to pay $610,000 and make improvements to its equipment to settle environmental violations. The enforcement actions came after the EPA flew a helicopter equipped with an infrared camera that can detect emissions of hydrocarbon vapors invisible to the naked eye.” [Associated Press, 3/29/23 (=)]

 

WVU Researchers Study Methane Leak Prevention. According to West Virginia Public Broadcasting, “Researchers at West Virginia University are set to study how methane leaks from liquid storage tanks happen, and ways to potentially stop them in the future. The team, based out of the WVU Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines and Emissions is working with research and development company Aerodyne Research to sample and monitor plumes from storage tanks. The project is being supported by $5.5 million in funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. West Virginia is the fourth-largest producer of natural gas in the country. ‘As we continue to build the natural gas infrastructure, well sites, pressure sites, all of these things that infrastructure grows, there are more of these tanks out there, and they’re going to be there for a while,’ project leader and WVU aerospace and engineering professor Derek Johnson said. ‘It does have climate implications. But also from what we’ve seen is that there are other emissions associated with that methane coming from these tanks. And those can have impacts on local air quality.’” [West Virginia Public Broadcasting, 3/28/23 (=)]