As 2023 begins, the people of Pennsylvania can be thankful for the progress made in addressing climate change at both the state and federal levels. This is an issue deeply felt by Pennsylvanians who are directly experiencing the impacts of pollution and climate change in a variety of ways. While the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act are already delivering economic and environmental benefits, there is still an important and unfinished business that will significantly clean up the air in Pennsylvania: the strengthening and finalization of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule to reduce emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, from the oil and gas industry.
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This rule is important because Pennsylvania, which has perhaps the longest history of oil and gas production in the nation, has a large number of wells with known faulty equipment that causes a disproportionate amount of pollution. These wells, sometimes decades old, often have no monitoring requirements, and the reality is far too many of them spew methane — a greenhouse gas over 80 times stronger than CO2 in the short term — into our air and contribute to poor public health outcomes. And frankly, we don’t have an accurate record of leaks for much of the related oil and gas infrastructure statewide. This is important across Pennsylvania, from the frontline communities of western Pennsylvania to the citizens of Philadelphia, which has one of the highest rates of childhood asthma in the nation.
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Of concern are under-producing oil and gas wells, which are responsible for about half of the methane emissions from all drilling sites in the United States, despite representing only 6% of the country’s oil and gas production. Peer-reviewed research consistently shows that reducing methane emissions is the fastest way to immediately slow global warming, even as we decarbonize our energy systems. It can also help with energy prices by eliminating waste.
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The proposed EPA rule addresses methane pollution in several important ways. First, it fills a loophole in leak detection and repair (LDAR) standards by requiring regular monitoring of all wells with equipment known to have cameras capable of detecting methane, a colorless and odorless gas , not work. This means that the lesser producing wells, which are responsible for an outsized proportion of the pollution, need to be regularly monitored for leaks. Second, operators must use modern, environmentally friendly equipment such as zero-emission pneumatic controls. Third, it requires monitoring abandoned wells until they are properly sealed.
This last point, requiring abandoned well monitoring, is particularly important for Pennsylvania. When an oil and gas well goes offline and abandoned, it can have a serious impact on communities – above and below ground. These sources can emit oil, toxic chemicals, and methane. They can also decrease land productivity and real estate value.
There are provisions that could and should be tightened, e.g. B. Eliminating pollution from routine associated gas flaring. While Pennsylvania doesn’t experience much flaring, it’s a huge problem statewide, contributing to regional air quality problems — emissions are constantly being blown in with the wind — and climate change.
In addition to reducing methane and air pollution, the regulation is an important opportunity to create well-paid, family-sustaining jobs. The methane abatement industry is a growing sector of the oil and gas industry and these new requirements will spur growth even further as increased monitoring will reduce wastage of natural gas – which is essentially methane. More products come to market with less waste. At a time when Europe is going through a natural gas crisis and prices are skyrocketing here, it is irresponsible to waste this resource. Winter isn’t coming – it’s here.
The EPA has opened a public comment period on its proposed rule, and we encourage Commonwealth residents to show their support on the agency portal by February 13. The rule is expected to be completed by spring 2023, and once there, it will help reduce air pollution, improve the health of Pennsylvanians and combat climate change. It is common sense to support this rule, which will benefit both Pennsylvanians and future generations.
John Rutecki is the Regulatory and Legislative Manager for the Environmental Defense Fund. John Walliser is senior vice president of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council.