The oil and gas industry scolded the Obama administration Tuesday for adding costly new methane regulations that it says are unnecessary, while activists pressed the Environmental Protection Agency to go further.
“EPA’s proposed methane regulation is redundant, costly and unnecessary,” said Tom Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research, a frequent critic of the administration’s environmental policies.
“Energy producers are already reducing methane emissions because methane is a valuable commodity,” he says. The proposed rules announced Tuesday for cutting the emissions “would be like issuing regulations forcing ice cream makers to spill less ice cream.”
The EPA estimates the total cost of the proposed rule to be $170 million to $180 million in 2020 and $280 million to $330 million in 2025.
The agency rolled out the proposed regulations for the oil and gas sector Tuesday, just weeks after finalizing landmark emission rules for the electricity sector. The rules are part of President Obama’s vision for combating climate change, called the Climate Action Plan, which outlines a suite of regulations and executive actions to combat global warming, which most climate scientists say is being driven by greenhouse gases, mainly through burning fossil fuels.
The proposed rules would clamp down on methane emissions from new oil and gas wells that the agency says are 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The president wants to cut emissions from all segments of the economy to combat the threat of global warming, which he says is the greatest challenge the country now faces. The rules also factor into his goal of reaching a global agreement on emission reductions later this year in Paris.
But the oil and gas industry argues it has cut its emissions from methane leaks dramatically in recent years and should not be made subject to federal requirements to do so.
“The last thing we need is more duplicative and costly regulation that could increase the cost of energy for Americans,” said Jack Gerard, the president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute. “Even as oil and natural gas production has surged, methane emissions from hydraulically fractured natural gas wells have fallen nearly 79 percent since 2005, and [carbon dioxide] emissions are down to 27-year lows.”
This is all “due to industry leadership and significant investments in new technologies,” Gerard said.
But even as the industry rallies against the regulations for new oil and gas wells, another camp is urging the EPA to go even further. Environmentalists want the administration to go after the thousands of wells already operating, referred to by the EPA as “existing sources.”
Tuesday’s rules would target new and modified oil and gas wells, but even greater reductions could be had from also taking aim at existing wells, the groups contend.
“These standards will send another strong, clear market signal to the private sector that now is the time to invest in cleaner, more efficient energy technologies,” said Nicole Lederer, co-founder of the clean energy group Environmental Entrepreneurs. “This means more innovation, more jobs — and lower methane emissions.
“But we can’t stop here. To continue to cut methane emissions, a standard for existing oil and gas industry infrastructure is the logical next step,” Lederer said.
The group says the proposed regulations set a goal of reducing emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40-45 percent from 2005 levels by 2025. It argues that industry will not be able to meet that goal unless regulations for current wells are included.
EPA air chief Janet McCabe said the goal was expected to be met when combined with other regulations, but she was not specific on what those other regulations would be. She implied that the additional regulations would come from other agencies, such as the Interior Department.
The American Petroleum Institute and other industry groups are opposed to adding emission rules for existing facilities, according to officials.
The large environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council, which the GOP says has close ties to EPA and the administration, said Tuesday’s proposed regulations are but a “first step.”
“Reducing emissions from new oil and gas operations is an important first step,” said Natural Resources Defense Council senior attorney Meleah Geertsma. “The largest source of this pollution, however, is the oil and gas infrastructure that already exists across the country. That must be addressed next.
“Meaningful progress in combating this potent climate pollutant will require an industrywide cleanup — from infrastructure new and old, nationwide,” Geertsma said. “We are hopeful today’s announcement is just the beginning.”
Another large environmental group, Environmental Defense Fund, issued a report Tuesday that seemed to underscore the need for more emissions regulations. The study showed the extent of methane leaks caused by existing natural gas infrastructure.
