President Obama put forward a plan of action Wednesday to reduce methane emissions over the next decade. Hours later, the nation’s most powerful business lobby said it hoped the idea would be squashed.
“Now the administration comes out with another one-size-fits-all regulation that’s going to have an impact on one of the most innovative industries in the country,” said Bruce Josten, the Executive Vice President of the US Chamber of Commerce’s Government Affairs.
He made the statement as he and the Chamber’s CEO, Tom Donohue, spoke to reporters for their annual “State of American Business” address.
Earlier on Wednesday, the White House unveiled its proposal–a piecemeal approach to reducing methane emissions with the help of a number of government agencies including the EPA, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Energy.
The EPA is readying its new rules this year. Likely finalized in 2016, they will set standards for methane emissions around the country. The agency will also issue new guidelines for leak detection and emissions reporting.
The Department of Interior is honing in on updating standards “to reduce wasteful venting, flaring, and leaks of natural gas, which is primarily methane, from oil and gas wells.“
Methane, which is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon, accounts for roughly 10% of all US emissions. Nearly one-third of those methane releases come from natural gas and petroleum systems, including fracking.
Having identified most methane leakage happening during transportation, the White House also directed the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to update new safety guidelines.
All of these measures mark the nation’s first efforts to reduce methane emissions. However, they’ll only apply to new natural gas wells. Thousands of existing facilities are being asked to voluntarily comply with new rules.
The goal, according to the White House, is to reduce methane emissions from the energy sector by 40 – 45 percent over the next decade. The administration expects that the new EPA standards will “decrease methane emissions in an amount equivalent to 33 million tons of carbon pollution per year.”
But the business lobby cited reductions already made by the industry.
“In the last five years US industry has reduced methane emissions by 11%,” claimed Josten. He added they were “concerned” by news of new regulations given how the industry has “exceeded emission reduction voluntarily.”
Methane emissions in the US are down since the 1990s. However, as a result of a surging fracking industry, methane pollution will increase by 25% before 2025, according to the administration’s calculations.
“For these reasons, a strategy for cutting methane emissions from the oil and gas sector is an important component of efforts to address climate change,” the White House said in its proposal.
Last month, satellites spotted a giant plume of methane the size of Delaware floating over northern New Mexico. The area’s 40,000 gas well are responsible for the cloud.
