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Methane Emissions from Unconventional Oil and Gas

Federal approaches to regulating methane emissions from unconventional oil and gas are currently in flux. In 2016 under the Obama Administration, there were two major regulatory developments to address methane emissions from the oil and gas sector at the federal level. On June 3, 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Final Rule in the Federal Register entitled Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources.[1] This Final Rule is commonly referred to as the EPA Methane Rule or the EPA Methane Emissions Rule. On November 18, 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published a Final Rule in the Federal Register entitled Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation.[2] This Final Rule is commonly referred to as the BLM Methane Rule or the Venting and Flaring Rule.

Regulations
EPA Methane Rule
BLM Methane Waste Prevention Rule
Cases
EPA Methane Rule
  • On June 5, 2017, in response to EPA’s administrative stay of its Methane Rule, six environmental groups, including the Clean Air Council, Earthworks, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Integrity Project, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Sierra Club filed an Emergency Motion for a Stay on June 5, 2017, before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit seeking a judicial stay of EPA’s initial three-month administrative stay of the Methane Rule. Clean Air Council v. Pruitt, Docket No. 17-1145 (D.C. Cir.  2017)
  • On July 3, 2017, the D.C. Circuit Court vacated the initial three months stay of EPA Methane Rule, holding that the EPA lacked authority under the Clean Air Act to issue the stay

BLM Methane Waste Prevention Rule

  • On January 16, 2017, the District of Wyoming denied a preliminary injunction to the BLM methane rule. Wyoming v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, No. 2:16-cv-00280-SWS, filed 01/16/17
  • On October 4, 2017, the District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that BLM was in violation of the APA by postponing the compliance dates for the 2016 BLM Methane Rule after the rule’s effective date had already passed. Sierra Club et al. v. Zinke et al., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, docket no. 3:17- cv-03804-EDL filed 10/04/2017
  • On December 19, 2017, California and New Mexico, and separately a coalition of environmental groups brought a suit against the 2017 Final Delay Rule in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. California and New Mexico v. BLM 3:17-cv-07186, filed 12/19/2017, Sierra Club et al. v. Zinke et al., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, docket no. 3:17- cv-03804-EDL filed 10/04/2017
  • On February 22, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted the preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of the suspension (Dec. 8, 2017) of the BLM Methane Rule. California and New Mexico v. BLM 3:17-cv-07187, filed 02/22/20
  • On April 4, 2018, a federal judge in Wyoming has suspended the BLM Waste Prevention rule. Wyoming v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, Case No. 2:16-cv-00285-SWS (D. Wyo.), filed 04/04/2018
Secondary Sources 

[1] EPA Final Rule “Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources,” 81 Fed. Reg. 35824 (June 3, 2016) [hereinafter EPA Methane Rule].

[2] Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation, 81 Fed. Reg. 83008 (Nov. 18, 2016) [hereinafter BLM Methane Rule].

For more information, please contact the Guide Author, Ekrem Korkut, Research Assistant at The Center for Agricultural and Shale Law.  

Email: EZK137@psu.edu

The Center for Agricultural and Shale Law

Penn State Law

The Pennsylvania State University

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University Park, PA 16803

Phone: (814) 865-4290

Fax: (814) 865-3851