DEP Seeking Input on Proposed Methane Plan for Gas Wells

The state Department of Environmental Protection is seeking feedback on a proposed state plan to implement new federal rules to reduce methane and other greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas wells and equipment.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the natural gas and oil industries account for one quarter of methane emissions in the U.S. Methane is a main component of natural gas, and emissions in the atmosphere help to trap heat at the surface and contribute to climate change. 

The EPA in 2024 finalized the federal rule that was mandated under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act during the Biden administration. The rule included new standards to reduce methane and smog-forming volatile organic compounds from facilities constructed or modified before December 2022. It also included procedures for states to follow as they develop plans to limit methane from existing sources. The EPA expects the new rule to reduce methane emissions by 80%.

The proposed state rule would require monitoring for fugitive methane emissions on all facilities and components, stop all venting of liquids, prohibit routine flaring of gas wells, and require regular reporting. The Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association (PIOGA)estimates that more than 95% of active oil and gas facilities in the state were built before December 2022.

The EPA rule makes no distinction between conventional gas wells, which are drilled vertically and are fairly shallow, and unconventional wells, which are much deeper, drilled horizontally  and hydraulically fractured. However, there is a distinction in the state oil and gas regulations between the two. Conventional operators tend to be smaller companies that may not have the resources available to the larger companies that operate unconventional wells. PIOGA argues that smaller well operators cannot afford the cost to comply. It claims in an information sheet that the new requirements “will irreparably strangle Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry, take hundreds of small businesses under, and put thousands of Pennsylvania citizens out of work.”

The DEP will hold six in-person public hearings, as well as one virtual hearing, to gather public comment on the proposed rules. The first hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. June 30 at Yost Auditorium on the Washington & Jefferson College campus. Written comments can also be sent to the agency’s eComment system at https://www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/eComment/ or by e-mail to ecomment@ pa.gov.

At the same time the DEP is moving forward with implementing the federal rules, the EPA is reconsidering it under the Trump administration. Because the state is still required to adopt regulations by 2026, it must proceed unless the federal rule is off the books.