PA Environment Digest Blog: PIOGA: DEP’s Plan To Reduce Methane Pollution From Oil & Gas Facilities An ‘Existential Threat’ To The Oil & Gas Industry

On June 4, Marcellus Drilling News reported an oil and gas industry group said DEP’s proposed plan to reduce methane pollution from oil and gas facilities to comply with a federal regulation is an ‘existential threat’ to the oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania.

The comments were made in a fact sheet and an email distributed by the PA Independent Oil and Gas Association that primarily represents conventional oil and gas facilities owners, but has some shale gas companies as members.

In an email obtained by MDN, Daniel Weaver, PIOGA President and Executive Director, said, “These regulations strike at the heart of our industry. Every operator, every service company – everyone is affected. This is not just another regulatory hurdle; it’s an existential threat.”

“The proposed OOOO plan released by the DEP will send shockwaves across the entire industry, impacting not just operators but all stakeholders involved.

“It is crucial that we take immediate action by submitting robust and constructive testimony and comments, ensuring that all segments of the industry can thrive beyond March 2029.

“The time to engage is now; tomorrow is uncertain. If you’re not part of the solution, you risk being part of the problem. Let’s rise to the challenge and make our voices heard!”

Click Here to read the entire Marcellus Drilling News article. [PDF of Article]

DEP’s plan for implementing the federal requirements was published in the PA Bulletin on May 31 for public comment that includes seven public hearings. Read more here.

Visit DEP’s Reducing Methane Emissions From Oil & Gas Operations webpage for more background.

Background

DEP has been discussing its proposed approach to implementing the new federal methane emissions reduction regulation for oil and gas facilities since at least the December 12 meeting of DCED’s PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council meeting. Read more here.

At the December meeting, conventional owners said, “A very large proportion, perhaps as high as 95% of Pennsylvania conventional gas wells and Pennsylvania conventional oil wells and oil/gas wells which are constructed with a production string of casing, are purposely constructed as to allow the release of methane which methane may not be a steady flow and are constructed that way by regulation.”

As a result of that meeting and follow-up discussions, the Council sent and DEP responded to a series of questions and issues raised by the industry that were discussed at the April 24 meeting of the Council.

At that meeting, 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.

The Independent Fiscal Office reports regularly on natural gas production in the state and says conventional gas wells account for less than 1% the natural gas produced in Pennsylvania.

However, during the process of adopting the 2022 methane emission reduction regulations for oil and gas facilities, DEP estimated conventional oil and gas facilities would account for 80 percent of the total methane emission reductions expected under the regulations which covered both conventional and unconventional shale gas facilities. Read more here.

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). Read more here.

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.”

DEP said during its April 1 webinar that while EPA announced the review of the regulation, there were no details yet on what that will involve. Read more here.

On April 24, DEP told members of DCED’s PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council the agency will continue to develop a program to meet these new requirements as long as the federal regulation is on the books. Read more here.

On June 6, the Evangelical Environmental Network reported the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sent a proposal to the White House that would delay the implementation of the 2024 EPA methane rule, offering oil and gas companies an extension on compliance deadlines.

In response, Rev. Dr. Jessica Moerman, the President and CEO of the Evangelical Environmental Network, issued the following statement--

“As evangelicals, we believe that all human life is sacred and worthy of protection. This includes the 17 million Americans who live, work, or go to school near oil and gas facilities and are exposed to hazardous and cancer-causing pollutants from leaking infrastructure.

“Health-harming leaks are preventable with diligent monitoring and other standards and practices outlined in the EPA’s recent Clean Air Act methane pollution rule.

“We are greatly disappointed, therefore, that the EPA has moved to push back the date when operators must put these critical pollution safeguards in place.

“Like President Trump, we want America to have the cleanest air, crystal clear water, and the healthiest people.

“Delaying the Clean Air Act methane pollution rule leads to just the opposite.

“This delay sanctions more years of contaminated air and preventable risk to the health of millions of Americans, including our energy workers and their families.”

Existing Oil & Gas Methane Rule

The Environmental Quality Board adopted regulations in December 2022 requiring methane pollution reductions from conventional oil and gas facilities in response to a federal rule then in effect.

Conventional well owners challenged the regulations in court and did not have to comply with the requirement to submit a compliance report until a settlement with DEP in April required them to submit their first report by June 1, 2025. Read more here.

An estimated 4,719 conventional facility owners are required to submit these reports, according to DEP records. Only 27 conventional facility owners submitted reports in June 2024 as required.

During the process of adopting the 2022 regulations, DEP estimated conventional oil and gas facilities would account for 80 percent of the total methane emission reductions expected under the regulations which covered both conventional and unconventional shale gas facilities. Read more here.

Shale gas facility owners submitted their first reports on June 1, 2024 to cover 2023 emissions as required..

Of those 27 conventional facility owners, DEP’s Air Quality Emission Inventory [select conventional gas well as facility type and 2023] includes methane and VOC emissions reported by only four companies with conventional facilities-- Blackhawk Energy, LLC; Consol PA Coal Co. LLC; Diversified Production, LLC; and Iron Cumberland LLC.

Together they reported only 1,901 tons of methane and 204.3 tons of VOCs in 2023.

In contrast, 112 of the 130 unconventional shale gas facility owners required to submit compliance reports did comply-- 86%-- 18 shale gas owners have still not submitted reports or contacted DEP.

Of those 112, 63 unconventional shale gas companies reported emissions in DEP’s Air Quality Emission Inventory [select unconventional gas well as facility type and 2023] which shows methane emissions of 47,486.2 tons and VOC emissions of 2,393.1 tons.

DEP expected up to a 175,788 ton reduction of methane from conventional sources [Read more here.] and a 45,278 ton reduction in methane from unconventional shale gas sources [Read more here], according to the Regulatory Analysis Forms for the regulations.

DEP estimated total 2020 methane emissions from conventional sources to be 365,103 tons and 102,297 tons from unconventional shale gas sources, according to the Regulatory Analysis Forms.

Culture Of Non-Compliance

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.

Resource Links:

-- DEP To Use General Permit To Implement New Federal Oil & Gas Facility Methane Reduction Regulation [PaEN]

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Now Operate As Many As 95% Of Conventional Wells To Vent Methane Gas Making It Too Expensive To Comply With New EPA Methane Emission Reduction Regulations [PaEN]

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Facility Owners Must Now File A Methane Emissions Compliance Report By June 1, 2025 Required By A 2022 DEP Methane Pollution Reduction Rule As A Result Of Court Settlement [PaEN]

-- EPA Pulls Back Regulations Setting Methane Emission Limits, Regulating Wastewater From Oil & Gas Operations, Risk Management Rule At Petrochemical Plants [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - May 31 to June 6 - Horizontal Drilling Spill; ‘Control Issue’ Blows Drilling Mud Out A Flare; Failure To Notify DEP Of Spills; More Abandoned Wells [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - June 7 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 73 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In June 7 PA Bulletin [PaEN]