EPA Finalizes Long-Awaited, Extensive Rule Targeting Methane Emissions in Oil and Natural Gas Operations
by Paul D. Tanaka, Jonathan E. Kidwell, Jennifer C. Cornejo, Emily Tabak, James Dolphin, III, Alyssa Huang, Anna Todd and Thomas Boynton
On December 2, 2023, at the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Biden Administration announced its final rule under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to reduce methane and other air pollutants in the oil and natural gas industry (the Final Rule). The Final Rule builds on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) initial proposed rule and supplemental proposed rule from 2021 and 2022, respectively, and discussed in previous Kirkland Alerts. As discussed in greater detail below, the Final Rule is intended to significantly and aggressively reduce emissions of methane and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the oil and natural gas industry, both from new, modified and reconstructed sources via the rule’s final standards, and with guidelines in the final rule directing states to implement controls on existing sources.
This Alert provides contextual background information on the Final Rule, summarizes certain of its requirements, discusses notable differences from previous proposals and outlines some practical implications, including the potential for legal challenges. (Continue Reading)