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By Robert Wyman, Claudia O’Brien, Michael Carroll, Alicia Handy, Andrew Westgate and Samantha Seikkula

On May 12, 2016, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final rules aimed at reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, in support of the Obama Administration’s efforts to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40 to 45 percent from 2012 levels by 2025. EPA introduced a suite of rules including New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) that will curb emissions of methane, smog-forming volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants such as benzene from new oil and gas sources. The final NSPS will achieve greater methane reductions than estimated at proposal due to changes made in response to public comments. EPA also finalized the Source Determination Rule, which clarifies how EPA intends to aggregate onshore oil and natural gas emission sources for purposes of its Title V, Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD), and New Source Review (NSR) permitting programs.

We previously discussed discussed EPA’s draft proposal. This post summarizes the final NSPS and describes key revisions from the proposal, as well as the Source Determination Rule and information requests that were released.

Summary of NSPS

The final NSPS builds on EPA’s 2012 rules to curb emissions from new, reconstructed and modified processes and equipment, along with reducing VOC emissions from sources not originally covered

By Paul Singarella, Chris Garrett, Andrea Hogan, Daniel Brunton, Garrett Jansma, John Heintz, Danny Aleshire and Lucas Quass

On August 27, 2015, the US District Court for the District of North Dakota issued a preliminary injunction against implementation of the Clean Water Rule (the Final Rule). The Final Rule defines Waters of the United States (WOTUS), a threshold term that determines the Clean Water Act’s (CWA) scope and application. The Final Rule was issued on May 27, 2015, by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), with an effective date of August 28, 2015.

The Final Rule represented the first comprehensive effort since the 1980s to clarify through regulations the definition of WOTUS. In the Final Rule, EPA and the Corps expanded the definition of WOTUS in a manner that appears to assert jurisdiction over not only almost all waters and wetlands across the country, but also dry lands located between water bodies. Given the expansive scope of the Final Rule, it has been the subject of considerable controversy throughout the rulemaking and has been challenged in court by both states and industry.

By Andrea Hogan and Joshua Marnitz

On May 6, 2015, the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs voted 12-1 in favor of a bill designed to streamline the Federal permitting process for major energy and infrastructure projects. The bill, first introduced in January 2015 by Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) as S. 280 or the Federal Permitting Improvement Act of 2015, will now proceed to the full U.S. Senate for consideration.

If passed, the…

By Claudia O’Brien and Bart Kempf

For the first time since California established its cap-and-trade market for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has proposed canceling over 230,000 tons of offset credits due to a facility’s alleged potential failure to comply with unrelated environmental laws.[1]  CARB is proposing the invalidation even though it has concluded that “the [GHG] emission reductions represented by the offsets at issue here are real, quantified, and verified reductions.”[2]  CARB issued its preliminary determination on October 8, 2014, opening a 10-day comment period.  Following the comment period, CARB has 30 days to make a final determination.

By Paul Singarella, Claudia O’Brien and David Amerikaner

The proposed rule to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” under the federal Clean Water Act, which originally was announced on March 25, 2014 by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), formally was published in the Federal Register on Monday, April 21, 2014. (Federal Register Vol. 79, No. 76, Monday, April 21, 2014, at pages 22187-22274.) The text of the proposed rule is substantively identical to the March 25 pre-release version.

By Joel Mack, Eli Hopson and Ben Lawless

On March 28, 2014 the White House announced its Methane Reduction Strategy 
(“MRS”) containing the broad outlines of a multi-agency strategy to reduce methane emissions 
from four major sources: the oil and gas industry, cattle and dairy farming, coal mining, and 
landfills. The MRS is part of the President’s Climate Action Plan, first announced by the 
White House in June 2013, and will utilize voluntary incentive-based programs as well as new 
regulatory measures under the executive branch’s existing regulatory authority. In addition, the 
MRS outlines plans to improve the quality of methane emission measurement and steps to reduce 
international methane emissions.
 The core of the MRS is the announcement of a series of voluntary and regulatory 
measures intended to reduce methane emissions from the four major sources of methane 
emissions: 
• Oil and Gas: The MRS detailed three steps to reduce methane emissions from 
the oil and gas industry: 1.) EPA will issue a series of technical white papers 
in 2014 to solicit input from technical experts to assess “several potentially 
significant sources of methane emissions” and determine whether to pursue 
further methane emission reductions from those sources; 2.) BLM will propose 
updated venting and flaring standards for oil and gas operations on public lands; 
and 3.) the Administration will work to identify additional “downstream” methane 
reduction opportunities. 
• Coal Mining: The Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) will issue an 
Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to solicit input on the development of 
a program for the capture and sale, or disposal, of waste methane emitted from 
coal mines on Federal lands. 
• Landfills: EPA will propose more stringent methane emission standards for new 
landfills sometime in the summer of 2014. At the same time, EPA will solicit 
public comments on whether to update standards for existing landfills. EPA will 
also seek further emission reductions through the Landfill Methane Outreach 
Program, a voluntary program intended to partner with industry and state and 
local officials. 
• Agriculture: In consultation with the dairy industry, the Department of 
Agriculture, EPA and the Department of Energy will issue a “Biogas Roadmap” 
outlining voluntary strategies to hasten the adoption of methane digesters and 
other technologies to reduce GHG emissions from the dairy industry by 25 
percent by 2020. 
The MRS also included an outline of a plan to improve the ability to measure methane 
emissions across diverse sources and economic sectors. Specifically, the MRS calls for the 
development of new and improved measurement technologies, additional data collection and 
analysis for areas with high uncertainty, and enhancement of top-down modeling and monitoring 
based on direct measurement of atmospheric concentrations. 
Finally, the MRS sets out the Administration’s plans to reduce international methane 
emissions through two primary actions. First, the Administration will push for initiatives under 
the auspices of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (“CCAC”) to reduce landfilling in Africa, 
Asia and Latin America, reduce methane emissions from agriculture and livestock operations 
through best practices and improved policies and technologies, and help to launch the CCAC 
Oil and Gas Methane Partnership in 2014. Second, the Administration will work to leverage the 
U.S.’s technical expertise to reduce methane emissions through the Global Methane Initiative 
(“GMI”), a public-private initiative involving 43 partner countries, private industry, and 
multilateral organizations such as the World Bank. The GMI will focus on reductions in five 
key sectors: agriculture, coal mining, municipal solid waste, oil and gas systems, and municipal 
wastewater. 
Reactions to the MRS were mixed. A spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute 
questioned the need for new regulation of fuel extraction, noting that the regulations could a 
“chilling effect” and that there “built-in incentive to capture [methane] emissions” due to the 
potential resale profit. Environmental groups were generally supportive. The President of the 
Environmental Defense Fund hailed the President’s strategy as “smart roadmap for taking on the 
biggest sources of [methane] emissions.” However, the Sierra Club emphasized that the MRS 
does not reduce methane emissions enough to stave off the negative impacts of climate change.

On March 28, 2014 the White House announced its Methane Reduction Strategy (“MRS”) containing the broad outlines of a multi-agency strategy to reduce methane emissions from four major sources: the oil and gas industry, cattle and dairy farming, coal mining, and landfills. The MRS is part of the President’s Climate Action Plan, first announced by the White House in June 2013, and will utilize voluntary incentive-based programs as well as new regulatory measures under the executive branch’s existing regulatory authority. In addition, the MRS outlines plans to improve the quality of methane emission measurement and steps to reduce international methane emissions.

By Claudia M. O’Brien and Marc T. Campopiano

The Environmental Protection Agency recently finalized two guidance documents for Class VI wells used for long-term carbon capture and sequestration (CCS): the Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program Class VI Well Area of Review Evaluation and Corrective Action Guidance and the Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program Class VI Well Site Characterization Guidance. EPA also released a draft guidance entitled Draft Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program Guidance on Class VI Well Plugging, Post-Injection Site Care, and Site Closure.

By Claudia O’Brien and Karl Karg

In the wake of EPA’s proposed rule to force 36 states to revise their state implementation plans (SIPs) to control emissions during periods of startup, shutdown and malfunction (SSM Rule), a number of states filed comments objecting to EPA’s approach as heavy-handed and contrary to the cooperative federalism scheme of the Clean Air Act (the Act).  Claudia O’Brien and Karl Karg have written a blog entry describing the rule, the controversial rulemaking process, and…

By Claudia O’Brien, Karl Karg, and Joshua Marnitz

On April 19, 2013, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced proposed technology-based effluent limitation guidelines and standards for steam electric power generating units. The proposed national standards, which are based on data collected from industry, provide for a phased-in approach and the use of technologies already installed at a number of plants. EPA argues that this regulatory action is necessary to reduce the amount of toxic metals and…