Methane legislation fails to hold polluters accountable and protect public health
WASHINGTON – Representative Pfluger and Senator Lummis recently introduced the Protect Domestic Oil and Gas Small Business Act, which would weaken public health protections under the Clean Air Act by exempting low-producing wells from methane regulations.
“Marginal wells account for nearly half of the methane pollution from oil and gas wells nationwide and are responsible for staggering amounts of smog-forming air pollution and air toxics like benzene. Yet they account for less than 6% of our nation’s oil and gas production,” said Darin Schroeder, Methane Legal and Regulatory Director at Clean Air Task Force (CATF). “Providing an exemption for these sources from regulations would not strengthen energy security or lower energy bills. It will make the air unhealthier, will result in more needlessly wasted natural gas, and give owners of marginal wells, the vast majority of whom are large companies, a free pass from complying with the established safeguards that reduce pollution from these sources. We cannot let that happen.”
Marginal wells are defined as oil wells that produce less than 15 barrels of oil equivalent per day or, in the case of natural gas wells, less than 90,000 cubic feet per day. Collectively, there are over 500,000 marginal wells in the U.S. that are responsible for less than 6% of the combined oil and gas production in the country. Since 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has regulated methane from new oil and gas sources, including those at marginal wells, requiring wells that have been drilled or otherwise modified since then to reduce methane and volatile organic compound pollution through technologies and practices that are widely in use throughout the industry today.
Press Contact
Samantha Sadowski, Senior Communications Manager, U.S., ssadowski@catf.us, +1 202-440-1717
About Clean Air Task Force
Clean Air Task Force (CATF) is a global nonprofit organization working to safeguard against the worst impacts of climate change by catalyzing the rapid development and deployment of low-carbon energy and other climate-protecting technologies. With 30 years of internationally recognized expertise on climate policy and a fierce commitment to exploring all potential solutions, CATF is a pragmatic, non-ideological advocacy group with the bold ideas needed to address climate change. CATF has offices in Boston, Washington D.C., and Brussels, with staff working virtually around the world. Visit catf.us and follow @cleanaircatf.
