EPA's Final Rule for Oil and Natural Gas Operations Will Sharply Reduce Methane and Other Harmful Pollution.

December 2, 2023 -- EPA has issued a final rule that will sharply reduce emissions of methane and other harmful air pollution from oil and natural gas operations — including, for the first time, from existing sources nationwide. The final action includes New Source Performance Standards to reduce methane and smog-forming volatile organic compounds from new, modified and reconstructed sources. It also includes Emissions Guidelines, which set procedures for states to follow as they develop plans to limit methane from existing sources. Oil and natural gas operations are the largest industrial source of methane pollution in the U.S.

Methane is a climate "super pollutant" that is more potent than carbon dioxide and is responsible for approximately one third of current warming resulting from human activities. Rapid, sharp cuts in methane can generate near-immediate climate benefits and are a crucial addition to cutting carbon dioxide in slowing the rate of warming of Earth's atmosphere.
 

Reconsideration of Two Technical Issues 

May 6, 2024 - EPA has notified petitioners that it is granting reconsideration on two aspects of its final New Source Performance Standards for oil and natural gas operations in response to petitions from industry. The reconsideration will address narrow technical issues raised by industry petitioners related to monitoring and emergency operations for flares that were included in the final rule, which was published March 8, 2024. Through the reconsideration process, EPA intends to propose and take public comment on minor changes to the final rule in response to these petitions. Response to Petitioners (pdf) (194.5 KB) .

Regulatory Documents

• Final Rule and Regulatory Text

• Regulatory Impact Analysis (pdf) (3.3 MB)

  • Supplementary Material for the Regulatory Impact Analysis: Report on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (pdf) (8.8 MB)
    Note: EPA reposted this file on 12/5/23 to correct bookmark errors.

  • Additional Information on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases Report

• Redlined Regulatory Text
  These documents show changes to New Sourced Performance Standards (NSPS) subparts OOOO, OOOOa, and KKK in the Code of Federal Regulations to reflect the updates EPA made in the final rule announced December 2, 2023 and published March 8, 2024.

  • Subpart OOOO (pdf) (581.1 KB)

  • Subpart OOOOa (pdf) (966.3 KB)

  • Subpart KKK (pdf) (142.6 KB)

Fact Sheets

• Key Things to Know About EPA's Final Rule for Oil and Natural Gas Operations (pdf) (184.1 KB)

  • La EPA publica una norma final para reducir el metano y otros agentes contaminantes de las operaciones de petróleo y gas natural (pdf) (173.3 KB)

• EPA's Final Rule for Oil and Natural Gas Operations: Overview   (pdf) (251.9 KB)

  • Cuestiones importantes a saber sobre la norma final de la EPA para reducir el metano y otros agentes contaminantes de las operaciones de petróleo y gas natural (pdf) (184.7 KB)

• Technical Fact Sheet: Appendix K: Requirements for Using Optical Gas Imaging, Applied to Natural Gas Processing Plants  (pdf) (180.9 KB)

Tables

• Table of Covered Sources by Site: EPA's 2012, 2016 and 2023 Rules (pdf) (227.7 KB)
• Summary of Requirements: Final New Source Performance Standards and Emissions Guidelines (pdf) (248.2 KB)

Presentation

• EPA's Final Rule for Oil and Natural Gas Operations (pdf) (371.5 KB)

Trainings

EPA held trainings in early 2024 to provide an overview of the final rule for  communities, Tribes, tribal environmental professionals and small businesses. The Agency also held trainings on how to apply to use alternate test methods for detecting methane. See slides from the trainings. 

Questions About the Final Rule? 

If you have questions about the final rule for oil and natural gas operations, please send them to O&Gmethanerule@epa.gov.

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