On Nov. 2, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing sweeping regulations on emissions from methane, what the Biden administration considers a “super pollutant” due to its greenhouse characteristics and its indirect impacts on human health. The rule proposes enhanced monitoring requirements for new and existing sources; significant limitations on venting, and stringent standards for emissions from not just well sites (like the Trump administration rule), but also compressor sites, tanks, pneumatic controllers, and pneumatic pumps. If finalized in its current form, the rule will upend the current state of play for methane control and enforcement in the oil patch.
Industry members will have 60 days to review and submit comments on the NPRM. EPA will be holding a virtual public hearing fifteen days and sixteen days after publication in the Federal Register to review this proposal. EPA is required by law to review and address any significant comments raised by the public, including the regulated community as part of the rulemaking process. Affected industry stakeholders should take steps to include their perspectives in the administrative record before the final rule is issued. These comments can make a real impact: they must be read by the agency, may lead to changes in the final rule, and will form part of the administrative record, in the event the rule is challenged. Challengers may also be precluded from raising issues that were not, but could have been, raised during the comment period.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking—What to Expect
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