If passed, the legislation would amend the Clean Air Act to exempt small oil and gas producers from Environmental Protection Agency performance standards required under Section 111 of the law, including requirements for monitoring, reporting, detecting, and repairing leaks of greenhouse gases such as methane.

This would only apply to “marginal wells,” meaning an oil well site that has an average daily production of 15 barrels of oil or oil equivalent per day per well or less. For natural gas, a site must have an average daily production per well of 90,000 cubic feet or less to qualify for the exemption.

“America’s energy security depends on the strength of our domestic production, and small producers are a critical part of that equation,” Pfluger said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.

“Too often, these operators are disadvantaged by costly, one-size-fits-all regulations that were never designed with their operations in mind,” he continued. “Through targeted, commonsense reforms to the Clean Air Act, this bill will help keep small producers in business, protect American jobs, and preserve the stable domestic energy supply our economy depends on.”

The bill, if approved, would not subject these small companies to EPA requirements for estimating or measuring emissions or conducting a fugitive emissions survey. The EPA would also be barred from requiring states to apply such standards to these wells in their own state implementation plans.

Data compiled by the Rocky Mountain Institute estimates that there are roughly 576,249 marginal wells across the United States, more than 70% of the total number of wells recorded. However, these low-production wells account for only about 5% of annual production.

Despite this, environmentalists have warned that these facilities have disproportionate levels of greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA itself has even pointed to research that found low-production well sites have been found to account for around 50% of methane emissions associated with oil and gas production.

The Biden administration sought to curb these emissions by providing funding for states to voluntarily reduce emissions from marginal wells and imposing stricter emissions standards on fossil fuel power plants under the Clean Air Act. 

Republicans have vehemently opposed the increased regulations, arguing that they increase costs for oil and gas producers, raising the cost of living and threatening energy security.

Lummis argued this week that the law imposes “blanket federal regulations” that were never designed for small oil and gas operators. 

“The Protect Domestic Oil and Gas Small Business Act protects hundreds of small businesses and supports good-paying jobs by ensuring durable protection against shifting regulatory priorities across administrations,” she said. 

The bills have been endorsed by several industry groups, including the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, the National Stripper Well Association, and the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.

More than 10 other Republicans in the House, including Budget Committee chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX), have co-sponsored Pfluger’s version of the bill.

In the upper chamber, Sens. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Steve Daines (R-MT), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) have signed on. 

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The legislation comes just one week after the Trump-led EPA sent a final rule to the Office of Management and Budget for review that proposes repealing all greenhouse gas emissions standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act.

It could take up to 90 days for OMB to review the rule before it is made public.