Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a multistate coalition, today submitted comments supporting the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to strengthen regulations of emissions from new, modified and reconstructed facilities in the oil and natural gas sector.
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Under the proposal, the EPA would also, for the first time, regulate emissions from existing facilities in this sector. The EPA estimates that the proposed regulations will reduce emissions of methane by 41 million tons, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by 12 million tons, and hazardous air pollutants by 480,000 tons between 2023 and 2035.
“The EPA’s proposal will provide the oversight needed to reduce methane emissions in the oil and natural gas industry,†Raoul said. “Regulating methane emissions is critical to fighting climate change, and the EPA’s proposal is a step in the right direction.â€
Methane is a super pollutant that is up to 80 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide in its ability to trap heat in the atmosphere. The production, processing, transmission and storage of oil and natural gas are the largest single industrial source of methane emissions in the U.S. and the second largest industrial source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions behind only power plants.
For nearly a decade, Illinois and a coalition of states have urged the EPA to regulate methane emissions from the oil and natural gas sector as a central component in the fight against climate change.
In today’s comments, the coalition expresses its strong support for the EPA’s proposed rule, and identifies areas where the EPA could build upon the proposal, including, among others:
• Requiring regular monitoring and the repair of leaks for all well sites regardless of their potential to emit or their production levels.
• Expressly prohibiting routine flaring, not just venting, from new and existing oil wells with associated gas.
• Strengthening the rule as necessary to address the excessive environmental burdens imposed on communities located near oil and gas facilities.
• Adopting guidelines that establish uniform federal requirements to minimize or eliminate emissions from abandoned wells.
Joining Attorney General Raoul in filing the comments are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin; as well as the city of Chicago. ■