Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has
joined a multistate coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing a motion to
intervene on behalf of the State of California and the California Air Resources
Board (CARB) in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to
defend the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Oil and Gas Methane
Rule. The EPA’s Final Rule strengthens the regulation of methane emissions from
new, modified, and reconstructed facilities in the oil and natural gas sector
and, for the first time, regulates emissions from existing facilities in this
sector. Currently, the rule is being challenged by 26 states – led by the
states of Texas and Oklahoma – which aim to set back these critical methane
emissions standards for the oil and natural gas industry.
“Emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to climate change, must be reduced if we are to protect the environment and the public health,” said Nessel. “The Environmental Protection Agency’s Final Rule is vital in safeguarding our natural resources and combatting the harmful effects of methane emissions. I proudly stand with my colleagues in supporting this important regulation to ensure that our air remains clean and safe for all.”
“California has taken proactive steps to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas and other sources because the work we do now will provide near-term benefits to our air and climate,” said CARB Chair Liane Randolph. “The public health impacts from pollution and the extreme environmental challenges we face with climate change require urgency and action, and we cannot take any steps backwards in our commitment for solutions.”
Methane is a super pollutant up to 80 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide in its ability to trap heat in the atmosphere. It is the major component of natural gas, a fossil fuel, and is emitted into the atmosphere during oil and gas production, processing, transmission, and storage. These processes make oil and natural gas the largest single industrial source of methane emissions in the U.S. For nearly a decade, California and its sister 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.
The coalition expresses strong support for the EPA’s Final Rule which will:
• Require all oil and gas well sites, centralized production facilities, and compressor stations to be routinely monitored for leaks.
• Phase out routine flaring of natural gas from new oil wells.
• Set emissions standards for certain pieces of equipment not previously covered by the 2016 Rule.
• Allow owners and operators flexibility to utilize a variety of monitoring techniques.
• Set guidelines for states to follow as they develop plans for establishing, implementing, and enforcing emission standards.
• Create a “super-emitter program” that leverages third-party expertise to find large leaks and releases.
In filing the motion, Nessel is joined by the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Washington D.C.
