EPA to Charge Oil and Gas Industry for Methane Emissions

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Nov. 12 that it began issuing a fee to oil and gas facilities whose methane emissions exceed 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually. 

The requirement will apply to methane emissions reported in 2024. 

The waste emissions charge starts at $900 per metric ton of wasteful emissions in 2024, increasing to $1,200 for 2025 and $1,500 for 2026 and beyond. 

The fee is part of Congress’s directive in the Inflation Reduction Act to help ensure natural gas reaches the market rather than polluting the air. 

Congress established a charge on large methane emitters exceeding specific performance levels and directed the EPA to collect the charge and implement other program features, including providing appropriate exemptions for actions that reduce methane releases. 

The Biden administration announced the rule a day after President-elect Donald Trump selected former New York congressman Lee Zeldin to lead the EPA. Trump already indicated that Zeldin will roll back many Biden-era regulations. According to the New York Times, Trump stated that Zeldin will “ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.” 

The EPA stated one of the goals of the fees is to encourage states to adopt plans for limiting methane emissions from oil and gas plants. The fee structure will be in place until oil and gas operators achieve full compliance with state plans to limit emissions, the EPA said. 

The latest actions under President Biden’s strategy to reduce methane pollution in the oil and gas sector will ensure the U.S. leads in technology developments that lower emissions, said EPA Administrator Michael Regan.