The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a host of new obligations for upstream and midstream oil and gas owners and operators. These new source performance standards (“NSPS”) and emission guidelines (“EG”) for...more
Last November, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a regulatory preamble describing its plans for proposed standards to reduce methane emissions and other air pollutants from affected sources within the...more
11/25/2022
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Methane ,
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Wells ,
Popular ,
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) recently announced that it is conducting another round of aerial inspections of upstream and midstream facilities in the Texas and New Mexico Permian Basin....more
On November 15, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published a proposed rule that included three separate actions under the Clean Air Act that target new and existing air emission sources at oil and natural gas...more
The first action proposes first-time emission guidelines to reduce methane emissions from almost 1 million existing oil and gas wells, almost 2,000 existing interstate natural gas compressor stations, and over 500 existing...more
11/5/2021
/ Air Pollution ,
Clean Air Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Methane ,
Natural Gas ,
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pollution Control ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Storage Tanks ,
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
In the upcoming weeks, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) is expected to release a proposed rule that would greatly expand methane regulations for the oil and gas sector. While EPA has previously issued regulations...more
9/27/2021
/ Clean Air Act ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Methane ,
Natural Gas ,
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
On April 29, 2021, the Senate passed a resolution (the “Resolution”) to disapprove a rule adopted by the Trump administration which lifted certain requirements that had been put in place by an Obama-era methane rule, also...more
5/3/2021
/ Barack Obama ,
Clean Air Act ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Joe Biden ,
Methane ,
Natural Gas ,
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Trump Administration
On April 6, 2021, more than 400 environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) submitted to EPA a “Petition for Rulemaking to Remove Methane and Ethane from ‘Negligibly Reactive’ Volatile Organic Compounds List.” If...more
While the texts of environmental laws do not change without an act of Congress, executive branch agencies that enforce those laws have a great deal of discretion in what kinds of violations to prioritize for investigation and...more
1/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Air Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Natural Resources ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Methane ,
OECA ,
OIRA ,
Performance Standards ,
Renewable Energy ,
Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) Policy
News stories and campaign rhetoric frequently create expectations of immediate shifts following an administration change, but most changes in the federal government happen slowly, and the constraint on resources and time...more
1/20/2021
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
FERC ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Methane ,
Nationwide Permits (NWPs) ,
Natural Gas Act ,
NEPA ,
Pipelines ,
Trump Administration ,
Waters of the United States
As discussed in these two previous posts, EPA recently released two rules changing the volatile organic compound (“VOC”) and methane emissions requirements for new sources in the oil and gas sector, which alter or roll back...more
As discussed in this previous post, EPA recently released two rules changing the volatile organic compound (“VOC”) and methane emissions requirements for new sources in the oil and gas sector, which alter or roll back some of...more