Top Headlines

 

EPA Proposes Easing Obama Methane Rule For New Oil And Gas Wells.

 

EPA Plan: Increased Emissions, 'Adverse' Health Effects.

 

Gov. Brown: Trump Administration’s Rollback Of Methane Rules ‘Insane.’

 

More Than Half PA Gas Wells Used ‘Secret’ Chemicals For Fracking Or Drilling, Report Says.

 

 

Methane Rule Rollback

 

Rollback Announcement & General Coverage

 

EPA Change To Obama-Era Rule On Methane Leaks Could Lead To More Greenhouse Gas Emissions. According to ABC, “The EPA has announced another proposed change to Obama-era rules intended to combat climate change, this time to how the oil and natural gas industry is required to monitor and prevent leaks of methane gas during drilling. Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the change will ‘alleviate unnecessary and duplicative red tape’ and reduce costs for the oil and gas industry. Industry groups say the Obama-era rule was too cumbersome and that the change will promote oil and natural gas production in the U.S., but environmental groups say the move shows the Trump administration is taking another step back from preventing the effects of climate change. The move, announced this week, comes after EPA has proposed rolling back other rules put in place by the Obama administration to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stem global warming, including a proposed replacement for the Clean Power Plan and reduced requirements for fuel efficiency standards.” [ABC, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

EPA Proposes To Ease Methane NSPS, Previewing Additional Deregulation. According to Inside EPA, “EPA’s newly released proposal to ease methane limits for new oil and gas equipment is just the first stage of a process that would scuttle direct regulatory limits on the potent greenhouse gas, as Trump officials broadly seek to reduce regulatory burdens imposed on the sector by the prior administration. EPA’s Sept. 11 proposal to soften the 2016 new source performance standards (NSPS) would make several changes, including weakening monitoring requirements for methane leaks, easing schedules for repairing leaks, allowing an exemption for pneumatic pumps at certain greenfield sites, and recognizing compliance with state methane programs as complying with federal rules. The agency plans to take comment on the plan for 60 days once it is published in the Federal Register. But the agency indicated -- many observers on both sides of the issue expect -- the new proposal to be a prelude to a future plan that could eliminate methane-specific requirements for oil and gas sources, reverting to a prior approach that explicitly targeted volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and achieved methane reductions as a co-benefit. The latter approach might effectively bar future methane rules for existing sources under Clean Air Act section 111(d) on the grounds that the statutory language bars regulation for criteria pollutants assumed to be addressed by other Clean Air Act provisions.” [Inside EPA, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

AP | Trump Rollback Would Ease Rules On Climate-Changing Methane. According to The Washington Post, “The Trump administration moved closer Tuesday to rolling back Obama-era rules reducing oil and gas industry leaks of methane gas, one of the most potent agents of climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency formally released its proposed substitute for a 2016 Obama administration rule that aimed to step up detection and elimination of methane leaks at well sites and other oil and gas facilities. The agency’s move is part of a broad Trump administration effort to undo President Barack Obama’s legacy programs to fight climate change by cutting emissions from oil, gas and coal. The EPA’s proposal Tuesday conceded that relaxing the Obama-era rule for methane leaks at oil and gas sites would put an additional 380,000 tons (350,000 metric tons) of methane into the atmosphere from 2019 to 2025. The amount is roughly equivalent to more than 30 million tons (27 million metric tons) of carbon dioxide, another fossil-fuel emission that receives far more attention in efforts to slow climate change.” [The Washington Post, 9/12/18 (=)]

 

EPA Looks To Roll Back Obama-Era Rules On Climate-Changing Methane. According to Missoula Current, “The Trump administration released a proposal on Tuesday to roll back Obama-era rules designed to reduce leaks of climate-changing methane from oil and gas facilities. The Environmental Protection Agency’s release of a proposed replacement rule opens a period for public comment, ahead of any final administration decision on the change. The move is part of an ongoing effort by the White House to scrap 2016 rules for finding and stopping methane leaks from oil and gas sites. In a statement announcing the planned rollback, acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler acknowledged the rollback would lead to more methane leaking into the atmosphere, but said relaxing agency oversight would save industry members $75 million in regulatory costs annually. ‘These common-sense reforms will alleviate unnecessary and duplicative red tape and give the energy sector the regulatory certainty it needs to continue providing affordable and reliable energy to the American people,’ Wheeler said.” [Missoula Current, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

EPA Proposes Amendments To 2016 New Source Performance Standards. According to Alexandria News, “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed targeted revisions to the 2016 New Source Performance Standards for the oil and gas industry, including amendments to the fugitive emissions monitoring requirements in the rule. The EPA Acting Administrator, Andrew R. Wheeler, signed the following notice today. EPA is submitting the notice for publication in the Federal Register. While EPA has taken steps to ensure the accuracy of this Internet version of the rule, it is not the official version of the rule for purposes of compliance. Please refer to the official version in a forthcoming FR publication, which will appear on the Government Printing Office’s FDSys website and on Regulations.gov in Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0483. Once the official version of this document is published in the FR, the version on the EPA website will be removed and replaced with a link to the official version.” [Alexandria News, 9/12/18 (=)]

 

EPA Proposes Changes In 2016 Production Emissions Control Rules. According to Oil & Gas Journal, “The US Environmental Protection Agency proposed changes in its 2016 New Source Performance Standards for the oil and gas industry that it said would streamline implementation, reduce duplicative EPA and state requirements, and markedly decrease unnecessary burdens for producers. The targeted improvements package is expected to save as much as $484 million in regulatory costs from 2019 through 2025, or $75 million/year, it said on Sept. 11. ‘These commonsense reforms will alleviate unnecessary and duplicative red tape and give the energy sector the regulatory certainty it needs to continue providing affordable and reliable energy to the American people,’ Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said. The proposed changes would affect provisions in the 2016 rule covering fugitive emissions, wellsite pneumatic pump standards, requirements for certification of closed-vent systems, and alternative means of emissions limitations (AMEL) provisions.” [Oil & Gas Journal, 9/12/18 (=)]

 

US EPA Proposes Weaker Methane Rule For Oil And Gas Industry. According to Nature, “The administration of US president Donald Trump proposed a rule that would relax regulation of methane emissions at oil and gas facilities. The plan, announced on 11 September by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), would roll back key provisions of the methane regulations put in place under former president Barack Obama in 2016. The EPA proposal includes a reduction in the frequency of emissions monitoring at oil and natural gas wells, and at stations that compress gas for transport through pipelines, from four times a year to once or twice a year. It also extends the time that companies have to repair leaks of this potent greenhouse gas from 30 days to 60 days. Acting EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler said the rule would save industry around US$75 million annually. But environmentalists blasted the proposal, warning that it would increase emissions of methane and other pollutants. The EPA is soliciting comments for 60 days and plans to hold a public hearing on the proposed rule in Denver, Colorado.” [Nature, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

Trump's EPA Proposes Weaker Methane Rules For Oil And Gas Wells. According to Reuters, “The Trump administration on Tuesday proposed weakening requirements for testing and repairing methane leaks in drilling operations, among other measures, in a step toward rolling back an Obama-era policy to combat climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the changes will save the industry $75 million a year in regulatory costs between 2019 and 2025, while increasing methane emissions. Methane, the primary component of natural gas, leaks from oil and gas wells during drilling. It accounts for 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and has more than 80 times the heat-trapping potential of carbon dioxide in the first 20 years after it escapes into the atmosphere. The oil and gas sector is the largest single source of U.S. methane emissions, according to EPA data. The proposal is the latest move by the Trump administration to roll back environmental rules put in place by former President Barack Obama.” [Reuters, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

EPA Begins Rollback Of Obama-Era Methane Rules. According to Axios, “The Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday it was easing up on requirements for oil and gas producers and making other changes to an Obama-era rule cutting emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, as it works toward a broader repeal in the coming months. Why it matters: Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that’s also the primary component of natural gas. It’s sometimes purposefully or inadvertently leaked in the production and transport of the fuel — and when drilling for oil. The EPA has been slow in its approach toward rolling back Obama-era methane rules. One level deeper: As we reported a few weeks ago, the agency is set to later propose a broader draft rule that includes a range of regulatory options, but likely contains a preference for wholly rolling back direct rules cutting methane from new wells, according to an administration official. The proposal will instead point to a separate air-pollution rule issued in 2012 that inadvertently cuts methane emissions as it targets other air pollutants. The big picture: The EPA’s methane moves are the latest in a broad regulatory rollback ordered by President Trump. The Interior Department is working on repealing another rule cutting methane emissions from oil and gas wells on federally owned lands. Other big rules that have been rolled back and/or replaced with far looser versions include the cutting of carbon emissions from power plants and stricter fuel-efficiency standards of cars.” [Axios, 9/11/18 (+)]

 

New Trump Rule Would Weaken Obama Methane Pollution Standards. According to The Hill, “The Trump administration announced a plan Tuesday to roll back a major Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that restricts emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The EPA said its rollback of former President Barack Obama’s 2015 methane regulation for oil and natural gas drillers would give the industry $484 million over six years, while reducing unnecessary and duplicative burdens. The plan is the latest blow to Obama’s aggressive climate change policies, and at least the third major step the EPA has made this year to change the way air pollutants are regulated. ‘These common-sense reforms will alleviate unnecessary and duplicative red tape and give the energy sector the regulatory certainty it needs to continue providing affordable and reliable energy to the American people,’ acting EPA head Andrew Wheeler said in a statement. ‘Removing these excessive regulatory burdens will generate roughly $484 million in cost savings and support increased domestic energy production — a top priority of President Trump.’” [The Hill, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

Trump EPA Aims To Revamp Another Obama-Era Climate Rule. According to E&E News, “EPA is proposing revisions to an Obama-era rule on methane emissions from oil and gas production. The agency today unveiled proposed amendments to the New Source Performance Standards for the oil and gas industry, aimed at controlling emissions of methane and volatile organic compounds from new and heavily modified sources. EPA will reconsider the rule’s fugitive emissions requirements, well site pneumatic pump standards, the requirements for a certified engineer to certify closed vent systems and other changes to implementation of the rule, according to a statement. The public will have 60 days to comment once the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register. Methane is the main component of natural gas and a potent greenhouse gas, with more than 20 times the heat-trapping capacity of carbon dioxide. The oil and gas industry is the largest emitter of methane in the United States, accounting for about 31 percent of emissions, according to EPA. The agency’s move is the latest in a rapid succession of proposed changes to rules aimed at controlling greenhouse gas emissions. Today’s announcement follows EPA’s recent release of a proposed replacement for the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan and a proposal to freeze vehicle fuel economy standards at 2020 levels.” [E&E News, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

EPA Proposes Easing Obama Methane Rule For New Oil And Gas Wells. According to Politico, “EPA issued a new rollback of the Obama administration’s regulation curbing methane emissions today, proposing to reduce how often oil and gas producers must check for leaks of the powerful greenhouse gas from new wells. EPA also proposed easing a requirement for certain wells to install pneumatic pump technology; allowing oil and gas producers to certify closed vent systems with in-house experts instead of outside professional engineers; and expanding an option for well owners to use emerging technologies as a ‘alternative means’ of curbing methane pollution. The proposal includes some other minor technical changes. The changes will save the oil and gas industry $484 million in regulatory costs from 2019 through 2025, according to EPA. It identified foregone domestic climate benefits at $54 million and the lost value of the methane at $62 million. The agency estimated the proposal would lead to an increase of 380,000 tons of methane, equivalent to about 8.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. It would also increase volatile organic compound emissions by 100,000 tons and hazardous air pollutants by 3,800 tons, according to the proposal. EPA said there are further issues it plans to reconsider in a separate, upcoming rulemaking, including the broader issue of how and whether to regulate greenhouse gases from the oil and gas sector. WHAT’S NEXT: EPA will take public comment on the proposal for 60 days once published in the Federal Register.” [Politico, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

White House Takes Third Step To Ease Greenhouse Gas Rules. According to Newser, “The Trump White House thinks the previous administration went overboard on rules about greenhouse gases, and it’s about to make its third big move to correct that. After earlier moves on carbon dioxide pollution from autos and coal plants, this time it’s all about methane, reports the New York Times. The EPA is expected this week to unveil its proposal to weaken rules on how companies track and repair methane leaks, giving them more time to do both, reports the Wall Street Journal. Separately, the Interior Department is poised to roll back a restriction on the venting of methane at drilling sites. Environmentalists say the upshot will be that more heat-trapping methane will be released into the atmosphere, while industry leaders say it’s needed relief from unnecessary red tape. ‘It all depends on who you trust,’ Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, tells the Times. The Obama ‘administration trusted environmentalists. This one trusts industry.’ A former member of that Obama administration has a different view: ‘They’re taking them down, one by one,’ says former EPA official Janet McCabe, referring to the Obama-era rules on climate change. The Hill reports that the two biggest sources of methane emissions are natural gas drilling and the raising of livestock. It notes that over the summer, the EPA exempted farmers from a rule requiring that they report methane emissions from cattle. (Maybe seaweed can help with the latter?)” [Newser, 9/11/18 (+)]

 

Trump Admin To Roll Back Obama-Era Regulations On Methane Pollution. According to Talking Points Memo, “Possibly as early as this week, the EPA plans to publish a proposal to roll back Obama-era regulations about fastidious monitoring and repairing of methane leaks, piggybacking on the final draft rule from the Interior Department repealing limits on releasing and burning methane during drilling operations. According to a Monday New York Times report, this is another huge blow to domestic attempts to curb climate change, along with the Trump administration’s weakening of laws regulating carbon dioxide pollution from vehicles and coal-fired power plants. The new methane proposal would allow drillers to put off leak inspections for a year (whereas the old rule required checks every six months) and would double the time a company gets to fix a detected leak from 30 days to 60. Per the Times, this proposal would allow oil and gas companies to earn back all the money they lost due to extra costs of stricter regulation under President Barack Obama.” [Talking Points Memo, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

NYT: EPA To Roll Back Obama-Era Laws On Methane Leak Inspections And Repairs. According to CNN, “The Environmental Protection Agency is set to unveil a new proposal that relaxes requirements for how energy companies monitor and repair methane leaks, according to a new report. The New York Times reported Monday that the EPA plans to roll back an Obama era-regulation as soon as this week that would make it easier for oil and gas companies to release methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that scientists say contributes to global warming. The new proposal weakens a 2016 rule requiring energy companies to conduct leak inspections on their drilling equipment as regularly as every six months, according to the Times, which reviewed a draft of the proposal. Under the EPA’s new proposal, companies would perform a leak inspection at least once a year, in most cases, and every two years for low-producing oil and gas wells, the Times reported. Oil and gas drillers are currently required to fix methane leaks within 30 days, but the new rules give a company 60 days to fix leaks, according to the newspaper.” [CNN, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

Trump Takes His Assault On Obama Climate Regulations To Oil Wells. According to Bloomberg, “The Trump administration on Tuesday proposed relaxing Obama-era mandates meant to block rogue methane leaks from oil and gas wells, part of a broader assault on federal regulations designed to combat climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency proposal takes aim at requirements forcing energy companies to find and stop methane leaks at new and newly modified oil and gas wells, amid industry concerns the mandates are unnecessary and too expensive. The proposal would lessen the frequency of required inspections to hunt for methane leaks, remove a requirement that professional engineers certify some equipment designs and make it easier for energy companies to deploy emerging technologies to monitor emissions. The EPA said its changes would save an estimated $484 million in regulatory costs from 2019 to 2025 -- or $75 million annually. ‘These commonsense reforms will alleviate unnecessary and duplicative red tape and give the energy sector the regulatory certainty it needs to continue providing affordable and reliable energy to the American people,’ EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement. ‘Removing these excessive regulatory burdens will generate roughly $484 million in cost savings and support increased domestic energy production.’” [Bloomberg, 9/10/18 (=)]

 

EPA Rolls Back Obama-Era Methane Rules To Help Out Oil Drillers. According to Washington Examiner, “The Environmental Protection Agency proposed on Tuesday to roll back Obama-era regulations targeting methane leaks from oil and gas drillers and fracking operations. The methane emissions rules were part of the Obama administration’s climate agenda, which targeted methane as a short-lived greenhouse gas that is more potent than carbon dioxide. The proposed improvements to the 2016 New Source Performance Standards for the oil and gas industry look to streamline implementation, reduce duplicative EPA and state requirements, and significantly decrease unnecessary burdens on domestic energy producers, the EPA said Tuesday morning. ‘Removing these excessive regulatory burdens will generate roughly $484 million in cost savings and support increased domestic energy production — a top priority of President Trump,’ said Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. The cost savings that Wheeler described would be over a six year period from 2019 to 2025. The annual cost savings to the industry would be $75 million. ‘These common-sense reforms will alleviate unnecessary and duplicative red tape and give the energy sector the regulatory certainty it needs to continue providing affordable and reliable energy to the American people,’ Wheeler added.” [Washington Examiner, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

EPA Moves To Roll Back Obama-Era Methane Rules. According to Houston Public Media, “Oil and gas drillers across Texas could soon be allowed to emit a lot more methane into the air, under a proposal released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday. The EPA is moving to roll back some Obama-era rules on how companies have to monitor and fix methane leaks at oil and gas sites. The agency says the proposal would advance the Trump Administration’s ‘energy dominance’ agenda by cutting red tape and saving energy companies $484 million in regulatory costs related to methane tracking. The oil and gas industry is the nation’s largest source of methane emissions, which contribute to climate change. Much of those emissions come from Texas, the nation’s top oil and gas producer. The EPA’s own analysis of the new proposal says it would lead to hundreds of thousands more tons of methane in the air, which the agency acknowledges could harm air quality and public health. Environmental groups quickly blasted the move. Colin Leyden, an advocate who works on regulatory affairs with the Environmental Defense Fund, argued cutting methane emissions is ‘low-hanging fruit’ compared to other challenges with greenhouse gases. ‘It’s absolutely ridiculous that some in industry, as well as this current administration, are trying to undo what were really some very common sense and practical rules,’ Leyden said.” [Houston Public Media, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

EPA Proposes Rolling Back Methane Rule. According to Public News Service, “Clean-air advocates are vowing to fight the latest proposal to roll back regulations on methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. Acting Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler wants to reduce the frequency of monitoring for methane leaks at oil and gas facilities that is required under the 2016 New Source Performance Standards. But according to Robert Routh, staff attorney with the Clean Air Council, that change would allow leaks to go undetected, and without being repaired, for longer periods of time. ‘It will mean increased air pollution and, as a result, increased health impacts and environmental impacts for people across the country,’ said Routh. The EPA, which refers to the change as a ‘targeted improvements package’, claims it would save the oil and gas industry $485 million in regulatory costs. Matt Watson, associate vice president of the Environmental Defense Fund’s Energy Program, explained that methane is a greenhouse gas that, over 20 years, is more than 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at capturing heat. Watson added the nation is already are experiencing its impact on the climate.” [Public News Service, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

Rollback Reactions & Analyses

 

Trump's Rollback Of Methane Rules Is 'Horrible,' Says GOP Rep. Carlos Curbelo. According to Washington Examiner, “Rep. Carlos Curbelo, a leading Republican advocate of government action to stem climate change, criticized the Trump administration on Tuesday for proposing to roll back Obama-era regulations targeting methane leaks from oil and gas drillers and fracking operations. The Environmental Protection Agency’s methane emissions rules were part of the Obama administration’s climate agenda, which targeted methane as a short-lived greenhouse gas that is more potent than carbon dioxide. ‘That’s just horrible,’ Curbelo, R-Fla., told the Washington Examiner in an interview Tuesday in his Miami-based district office. ‘I have been very disappointed in how this administration has mishandled methane. We have made a lot of progress of taking care of flaring and leaks.’” [Washington Examiner, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

Trump's Move On Methane Begins Bigger Effort On Potent Gas. According to E&E News, “The Trump administration’s plan to soften methane standards for the oil and gas industry is the first step in a larger effort to dismantle greenhouse gas rules for the booming sector. It might also cloud the reputation of natural gas as a climate-friendly solution to rising temperatures. EPA wants to make several technical changes to how oil and gas operators monitor, detect and repair methane leaks. Those so-called fugitive emissions have become central to how favorably natural gas, of which methane is a major component, compares with coal in electricity generation. A bigger blow to the methane program is expected later this fall. EPA is still tussling with a separate rulemaking about whether to cease regulating the potent greenhouse gas directly. Legal questions loom over that question, and industry is divided over ending the program. Taken together, the proposed changes yesterday and the anticipated one coming later this year could defang EPA authority over a greenhouse gas that’s 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide on a 20-year time scale. ‘It appears to be a very deliberate strategy to dumb down the rule,’ said Matt Watson, an associate vice president at the Environmental Defense Fund. The agency said its proposal yesterday would ‘significantly reduce regulatory burden’ and ‘streamline requirements’ by relaxing methane monitoring at new and modified well sites and at compressor stations.” [E&E News, 9/12/18 (=)]

 

Oil Industry Gets Its Wish On Emissions Rule. According to E&E News, “Oil and gas companies offered praise and infuriated green groups voiced outrage yesterday as the Trump administration delivered on its promise to dial back key elements of the Obama-era methane rule. ‘What we see makes sense,’ said Kathleen Sgamma of the Western Energy Alliance. She said many elements of the current rule are simply unworkable. But those rules remain in place for now, requiring companies to look for leaks in their equipment and repair them promptly. A 60-day comment period will begin once the proposal is published in the Federal Register. EPA is planning to hold a public hearing in Denver, where Colorado leaders enacted some of the most stringent methane emissions rules in the country. EPA officials called the proposed changes ‘targeted improvements,’ leaving broader policy issues to be handled at ‘a later date.’ Those policy issues could include whether methane should be directly regulated. The changes were requested by the oil and gas industry, a point that environmental groups sought to drive home yesterday. ‘This is just another attempt by EPA to weaken the commonsense requirements for operators to look for, and repair, leaks in their operations,’ said Darin Schroeder, attorney with the Clean Air Task Force. The group called yesterday’s proposal ‘yet another attempt by those in the Trump administration to cozy up to the oil and gas industry.’” [E&E News, 9/12/18 (=)]

 

Greens Read The EPA Tea Leaves. According to Politico, “Greens worry the Trump administration’s move this week to loosen an Obama-era rule curbing methane pollution from oil and gas wells could signal a broader push to exclude the powerful greenhouse gas from federal regulations, Pro’s Alex Guillén and Ben Lefebvre report. EPA’s proposal Tuesday would ease requirements on how frequently oil and gas producers must inspect new drilled wells for leaks, and greens worry EPA will follow it with a new rulemaking that will avoid regulating methane pollution from more than 1 million existing oil and gas wells. In announcing the rule, EPA said it planned to reconsider other issues, ‘including the regulation of greenhouse gases in the oil and gas sector,’ in a later process, leaving environmentalists wary — especially following the administration’s moves gutting of Obama’s carbon rules for power plants and fuel efficiency rules for vehicles.” [Politico, 9/12/18 (=)]

 

EPA's Methane Rule Signals Bigger Rollback For Oil, Gas Regulations. According to Politico, “The Trump administration on Tuesday took the first step toward loosening a key Obama-era rule curbing methane pollution from oil and gas wells, raising fears among environmentalists the move could foreshadow a broader push to exclude the potent greenhouse gas from federal regulations. The new EPA proposal — which comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s gutting of Obama’s carbon rules for power plants and fuel efficiency rules for vehicles — would ease requirements governing how frequently for oil and gas producers must inspect their newly drilled wells for leaks, changes EPA said will save the industry almost half a billion dollars by 2025. But greens argue the move is the first step in a multipronged approach across the administration to stymie federal efforts to limit emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that environmental groups have targeted because of its outsized role in driving climate change. Matt Watson, who helps lead the Environmental Defense Fund’s energy program, said he saw EPA’s proposal to ease pollution monitoring for new wells as the tip of the iceberg, and he expects EPA to follow it with a new rulemaking that will avoid regulating methane pollution from more than 1 million existing oil and gas wells across the U.S.. ‘What this is clearly designed to do is prevent the eventual regulation of existing sources,’ he said.” [Politico, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

EPA Plan: Increased Emissions, 'Adverse' Health Effects. According to E&E News, “EPA said changes in monitoring frequency would provide cost savings. At the same time, it estimated the changes would lead to higher emissions, degraded air quality, and ‘adverse health and welfare effects.’ EPA estimated the foregone climate-related benefits of the rule at between $13.5 million and $54 million between 2019 and 2025. This calculation is based on a domestic social cost of carbon, which considers a dollar value for the harm caused by climate change. The metric is different from the one adopted by the Obama administration, which relied on a global social cost of carbon value. … Janet McCabe, who was acting head of EPA’s air office as the Obama rule was finalized, noted that the oil and gas industry is the third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country, after mobile sources and power plants. ‘There is nothing ground-breaking about the technologies or activities called for in the 2016 rule. In this Administration’s drive to de-regulate, they are heedless of the cost to the public health and the cost to the future of the planet,’ McCabe said in an email. Howard Lerner, executive director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center, slammed EPA for moving to undo ‘common sense’ methane reduction standards. ‘The Administration’s ideology is trumping common sense methane reduction standards that avoid energy waste and protect the public and our environment from dangerous smog-forming pollution,’ Lerner said.” [E&E News, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

Leaked EPA Methane Rule Rollback Would Have Resounding Implications. According to Think Progress, “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is eyeing a rollback of Obama-era methane regulations aimed at forcing fossil fuel companies to monitor and repair dangerous leaks. That EPA decision is likely to have long-term implications for both human health and the environment, with outsized ramifications for major drilling states like Texas. As early as this week, the EPA intends to unveil a proposal unraveling the current methane restrictions targeting leaks, the New York Times reported on Monday. Under former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, the agency had already stopped enforcing the methane rule, although it remains official policy. That move coincides with an anticipated final draft of another rollback, this one by the Interior Department, which intends to repeal a methane ‘flaring’ restriction that regulates the burning of methane by drilling operations. Methane leaks are a long-standing source of concern for both environmental advocates and health experts. A byproduct of fracking, methane is released during the process of fossil fuel extraction, sometimes in ample quantities. As a greenhouse gas, methane contributes to global warming and plays a key role in climate change. Methane only represents around 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, but the gas is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide.” [Think Progress, 9/11/18 (+)]

 

Gov. Brown: Trump Administration’s Rollback Of Methane Rules ‘Insane.’  According to Politico, “Gov. Jerry Brown used the spotlight of a global climate change conference to excoriate the Trump administration for rolling back restrictions on releasing methane, calling the reversal ‘insane.’ ‘It borders on criminality,’ Brown said to applause from an international audience of climate experts and government officials gathered in San Francisco. As the White House has weakened environmental policies, California has charged in the opposite direction – and Brown has often played the role of both a champion of his state’s path and a vocal antagonist of the White House. When California sued over the administration’s effort to blunt reductions in vehicle emissions, Brown branded then- Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt ‘outlaw Pruitt.’ More recently, when Washington moved to revoke California’s authority to set more stringent emissions standards, Brown vowed to ‘fight this stupidity in every conceivable way.’” [Politico, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

EPA Admits Scrapping Regulations Will Put More Methane Into Atmosphere. According to The Guardian, “The Trump administration is moving to roll back Obama-era rules intended to reduce leaks of methane from oil and gas facilities. Methane is one of the most potent agents of climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a proposed substitute rule on Tuesday, as part of an ongoing effort by the Trump administration to ease 2016 rules for finding and stopping methane leaks from oil and gas sites. The EPA acknowledges the rollback would lead to more methane leaking into the atmosphere. The agency says relaxing oversight will save $75m in regulatory costs annually. The rollback has been hung up in court challenges since the Trump administration announced its plans last year. Tuesday’s action opens a period for public comment, ahead of any final administration decision on the change.” [The Guardian, 9/11/18 (+)]

 

 

More Than Half PA Gas Wells Used ‘Secret’ Chemicals For Fracking Or Drilling, Report Says. According to State Impact Pennsylvania, “Energy companies in Pennsylvania declined to identify potentially harmful chemicals used for drilling and fracking for natural gas in more than half the wells developed between 2013 and 2017, according to a report released on Tuesday. The report from the Partnership for Policy Integrity, a Massachusetts nonprofit that does research and advocacy on energy policy, says companies withheld information about at least one chemical in 55 percent of wells drilled between 2013 and 2017. The report’s author, Dusty Horwitt, acknowledged that the health effects of so-called secret chemicals can’t be known if their identities are not disclosed, but argued that the public has a right to know what the chemicals are and whether they are harmful to human health. Of 153 new chemicals proposed between 1999 and 2014, EPA had health concerns such as lung and skin irritation and neurotoxicity about 109 of them, but allowed 62 to be used in oil and gas wells, Horwitt said. Of the 62, manufacturers withheld the identities of 41 when reporting them to FracFocus, a national database of fracking chemicals, Horwitt said. ‘We cannot be sure of the effects of any chemical whose identity is withheld as secret,’ he said. ‘However, EPA records indicate that the fracking chemicals declared secret in Pennsylvania may have serious negative health effects.’” [State Impact Pennsylvania, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

Will Certifying Best Actors Help Industry Clean Up? According to E&E News, “Can oil and gas production be environmentally responsible? Jory Caulkins says yes. He’s the CEO of Independent Energy Standards Corp., a company that made its first public splash last week as a certification group for oil and gas production facilities, similar to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system for buildings. Caulkins said the idea for the company came about when he was in business school and saw what he views as ‘an information problem’ within the industry. ‘I heard that a number of stakeholders couldn’t tell apart a good and responsible operator, both from a risk and impact standpoint, and an operator who wasn’t doing as much on that front,’ Caulkins recounts. That set off the work of developing a point system to rate companies in four categories — air, land, water and community — on a scale of zero to 150. The rating would be based on the risks present in their operational configuration and the steps they take to address both general operational issues and their own particular risk areas. Companies pay IES to review and score individual well pads, and get a number they can share with the public. A score of 125 or above is ‘best in class,’ or platinum, while a rating below 75 is dubbed ‘actively improving.’ Caulkins hopes that as utilities increasingly feel pressure from their customers around energy’s environmental footprint, paying a premium for responsibly sourced gas will present a good value.” [E&E News, 9/12/18 (=)]

 

Environmental Group Raises Concerns Over New Natural Gas Turbine. According to The Michigan Daily, “With a new natural gas turbine in the works at the University of Michigan, environmentalists have expressed concerns over the University’s continued investment in fossil fuel-based energy. The Board of Regents approved an $80 million expansion to the Central Power Plant in March 2017, which serves as the main source of heat and energy for the Central and Medical Campus buildings. The project includes the addition of a natural gas turbine to the plant, which the University says will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80,000 metric tons a year. According to the University press release last year, the installation would help get the University halfway to its 2025 goal of reducing campus emissions by 25 percent. ‘Our targeted greenhouse gas emissions reduction is an ambitious goal and this project marks a significant step in the right direction as well as providing a sound financial projection for the university,’ Kevin Hegarty, chief financial officer, said.” [The Michigan Daily, 9/10/18 (=)]

 

Owner Says 'Earth Movement' Caused Pa. Explosion. According to E&E News, “A pipeline owner is blaming ‘earth movement’ amid heavy rains for an early-morning methane gas explosion in Pennsylvania that destroyed one home, prompted evacuation of others and closed an interstate. No injuries were reported. Beaver County officials say the blast in Center Township was reported shortly before 5 a.m. yesterday. Officials say a home, two garages and several vehicles were destroyed by fires (Greenwire, Sept. 10). Pipeline owner Energy Transfer Corp. says the valves to the pipeline were shut off and the fire was out by 7 a.m. The Dallas-based firm blamed the blast on ‘earth movement in the vicinity of the pipeline.’ About 25 to 30 homes were evacuated as a precaution. The Central Valley School District canceled classes. Interstate 376 was closed due to danger from falling power lines” [E&E News, 9/11/18 (=)]