Texas pushes back against EPA’s new methane rule
In a move against federal regulations, Texas, the largest energy-producing state in the nation, lodged a complaint urging a court to halt a recent rule introduced by the US Environmental Protection Agency to curb methane emissions from the oil and gas sector.
State Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the complaint in a Washington federal court on Friday, alleging “blatant overreach” by federal regulators in rulemaking and encroachment upon Texas’ jurisdiction to establish its emission standards.
“The EPA is once again trying to seize regulatory authority that Congress has not granted,” Paxton said in a statement.
The newly implemented regulations prohibit the routine flaring of gas, mandate oil companies to conduct leak monitoring at healthy sites and compressor stations, and institute a program utilizing third-party remote sensing to identify significant methane releases from designated “super emitters,” as the EPA stated upon the rules’ announcement.
Also read: Republicans, industry groups file lawsuit against EPA over soot pollution rules
According to the EPA, these regulations are projected to prevent approximately 58 million tons of methane emissions from entering the atmosphere between 2024 and 2038, nearly equivalent to the total carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector in 2021.
Environmental organizations say the regulations will ensure that all companies, not just industry frontrunners, are actively working to minimize greenhouse gas emissions.
However, critics argue that the rules are impractical, especially for smaller producers who might encounter financial challenges in updating older equipment to meet compliance standards.
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