EPA Sets New Methane Deadlines


   
   HOUSTON, TX (DTN) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized 
regulations this week extending compliance deadlines for oil and gas methane 
emissions rules, delivering an estimated $750 million in cost savings over 11 
years.

   This action pushes back deadlines for hundreds of thousands of oil and gas 
facilities nationwide to comply with 2024 Clean Air Act standards targeting 
methane and volatile organic compound emissions, set by the Biden 
Administration. The regulations extend by 18 months requirements for control 
devices, equipment leak monitoring, storage vessels, and closed vent systems 
under standards known as OOOOb/c.

   In response to industry comments citing supply chain and personnel 
constraints, the EPA extended the deadline for net heating value monitoring and 
alternative performance testing for flares and enclosed combustion devices by 
180 days from the November 28, 2025 deadline--a 60-day increase from the 
interim rule's 120-day extension.

   The agency also provided a 360-day window from the effective date for 
facilities to submit annual compliance reports originally due earlier, 
addressing what commenters described as infeasible timelines due to supply 
chain, personnel, and laboratory limitations, according to EPA.

   Subsequent reports will be due within 90 days after each annual compliance 
period, though the changes do not alter provisions specifying the annual 
compliance period itself.

   States also receive an additional 18 months to develop emissions reduction 
plans and implement a "super emitter" monitoring program that requires third 
parties using EPA-approved remote-sensing technology to provide data on 
potential large leaks.

   The Biden administration issued the original oil and gas emissions standards 
on March 8, 2024, under Clean Air Act sections 111(b) and 111(d), targeting 
methane emissions from new, modified and existing sources. EPA Administrator 
Lee Zeldin announced a comprehensive reconsideration of those rules on March 
12, 2025, framing the review as necessary to "unleash energy dominance" while 
maintaining environmental protections.




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