Background
In March 2024 EPA finalized a federal rule to reduce emissions of methane and other pollution from oil and natural gas operations and related actions-- “Reducing Emissions of Methane and Other Pollution from Oil and Natural Gas Operations” (40 CFR Part 60, Subparts OOOOb and OOOOc).
The rule applies to wells (conventional and unconventional), centrifugal compressors, reciprocating compressors, pneumatic controllers, pneumatic pumps, storage vessels, fugitive emissions components, super emitter emissions events, and process unit equipment involved in oil and natural gas operations.
The rule includes New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) to reduce methane and smog-forming volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from new, modified and reconstructed sources (OOOOb).
It also included Emissions Guidelines (OOOOc), which set procedures for states to follow as they develop plans to limit methane from existing sources.
States can either adopt the OOOOc model rule as a State Plan EG [emission guidelines] for existing sources, or develop their own standards that are no less stringent as the federal standards.
DEP has told a series of agency advisory committees they do not plan to adopt new regulations incorporating the EPA rule because state regulations automatically adopt federal requirements. Read more here
DEP does have to develop a plan and an amendment to the State Air Quality Implementation Plan to implement the methane rule that must go through a public development and comment process.
General Permit
Panna Chibber, from DEP’s Bureau of Air Quality, told webinar participants that in addition to the Implementation Plan DEP will be developing a new Air Quality General Permit to implement these requirements that will also go through a public review process, although not the same process as a regulation.
The final General Permit will be submitted as part of the final Implementation Plan to EPA.
“So, we are developing a General Permit for the GP approach to enforce 40 CFR Part 60 Subpart Quad OC.
“This approach will establish requirements that are consistent with the model rule.
“In addition to the model rule requirements, the GP requirements will also contain standard conditions regarding state specific regulations.
“The GP approach will streamline any conflicting requirements between existing applicable requirements and the requirements in the Quad OC model to incorporate the most stringent applicable standard.
“The proposed GP approach will be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin for public comments.
“Separately from the state plan, comments received during the public comment period will be reviewed by the DEP, and revisions may be incorporated as necessary.
“And the final GP approach will be included in the final state plan submission to the EPA.”
Individual uses of a General Permit for a particular well or natural gas facility are not typically subject to public review and comment.
The only opportunity the public may have to comment on the requirements included in the General Permit is while it is being developed.
DEP now uses two general permits to regulate emissions from shale gas facilities-- GP-5 and GP-5A.
The PA Environment Digest’s review of PA Bulletin notices shows DEP reviews these General Permits in from one to six weeks because DEP publishes when it receives and issues these permits.
DEP’s decision is whether a facility is covered by the General Permits or not. They are not tailored to individual facilities.
Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities
During the webinar, DEP confirmed again the requirements of the new methane controls would apply to conventional oil and gas operations and that EPA makes no distinction between conventional and shale gas facilities.
In 2022, the Environmental Quality Board adopted a final regulation to reduce volatile organic compounds and methane emissions from oil and gas wells and infrastructure that covered both conventional oil and gas and shale gas wells. Read more here.
The regulations were adopted to comply with US Environmental Protection Agency requirements then in effect.
As part of adopting the regulations in 2022, DEP estimated conventional oil and gas facilities would account for 80% of methane emissions benefit from the regulation because conventional well owners have done little or nothing to control them. Read more here.
When asked during the webinar if DEP has done the analysis yet to quantify how much of the emission reduction benefits would come from conventional and shale gas facilities, DEP said they have not.
Conventional oil and gas facilities owners never implemented the 2022 methane reduction regulation because the industry filed a lawsuit in Commonwealth Court December 5, 2022 in an attempt to block implementation of this regulation on conventional oil and gas facilities. Read more here.
The 2022 has not been implemented by conventional well and facility owners because the industry and DEP agreed to put a hold on implementation until the legal challenge to the regulation was concluded. Read more here.
There are an estimated 4,719 conventional oil and gas facility owners in Pennsylvania and an estimated 88,417 active conventional well permits that would be covered by these requirements.
When asked during the webinar if DEP has yet developed an enforcement/compliance strategy covering the conventional oil and gas industry, DEP said not yet.
During DEP’s December presentation to DCED’s PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council on this new methane reduction program, conventional oil and gas well owners said they now build and operate as many as 95% of conventional wells to vent methane that could trigger quarterly methane monitoring and capture requirements under the new US EPA methane reduction regulations making it too expensive for owners to comply. Read more here.
The PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council then adopted a motion to send an initial set of comments and questions to DEP on the EPA methane rule that asked about the statutory authority for the regulation in Pennsylvania, whether DEP was planning to adopt separate requirements for conventional and shale gas wells, how DEP would assess the cost of compliance on conventional well owners and Pennsylvania’s two oil refineries and others.
During DEP’s webinar, DEP said they were “in discussions” with the conventional oil and gas industry on the new program.
The conventional oil and gas industry has a “culture” of “non-compliance,” according to DEP’s first-ever review of compliance by the industry in December 2022. Read more here.
The non-compliance even extends to annual reports the industry has to submit to the Oil and Gas Program.
For example, DEP said 86% of conventional oil and gas well owners failed to submit annual production, waste generation and waste disposal reports for 2023. [Read more here]
DEP reports 89% of conventional oil and gas well owners failed to submit annual well integrity reports for 2023. [Read more here]
It is against this background DEP’s Air Quality Program is attempting to design a significant new methane reduction program.
EPA Reconsidering This Regulation
On March 12, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced it is reconsidering this entire regulation-- “Reducing Emissions of Methane and Other Pollution from Oil and Natural Gas Operations” (40 CFR Part 60, Subparts OOOOb and OOOOc).
EPA Administrator Zeldin said in-part-- “Oil and gas standards promulgated by EPA must be rooted in the rule of law, not be used as a weapon to shut down development and manufacturing in the United States.
“EPA is reconsidering these regulations to ensure they do not prevent America from unleashing energy dominance and continuing our trajectory as a leader in clean energy and emissions reductions.
“We produce energy better and cleaner than so many other countries around the world, and yet Americans are punished at the end of the day by ideologically driven regulations.” Read more here.
DEP said during the webinar that while EPA announced the review of the regulation, there were no details yet on what that will involve.
Visit DEP’s new Methane Reduction Strategy webpage for more background on this initiative.
The presentation slides from the webinar will be posted on this webpage, DEP said.
Resource Links:
-- Conventional Oil & Gas Industry Compliance With 2022 DEP Methane Reduction Regulation Put On Hold Pending Outcome Of Litigation [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- Environmental Health Project Releases New White Paper: PA's Shale Gas - What We Can Do Now To Better Protect Public Health [PaEN]
-- Environmental Health Project: Lois Bower-Bjornson Shares Her First-Hand Experiences With Shale Gas Health, Environmental Impacts In Washington County [PaEN]
-- House Environmental Committee Meets April 7 On Bill To Establish DEP Environmental Justice Permit Review Program To Analyze, Consider Cumulative Impacts Of Pollution From Some New Facilities [PaEN]
NewsClip:
-- TribLive: Decision On 2nd Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Plum Boro, Allegheny County To Come In June, Zoning Board Says
[Posted: April 1, 2025] PA Environment Digest
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