Congress Scraps EPA's Waste Emissions Charge for Oil and Gas: Methane Fees Tossed

This joint resolution throws out a new rule from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would have slapped waste emission charges on petroleum and natural gas companies. Basically, if this resolution passes, the EPA's rule, which was published on May 9, 2024 (89 Fed. Reg. 91094), is dead in the water.

Trashing the Waste

The EPA's rule was designed to make oil and gas companies pay for releasing excessive amounts of waste emissions, like methane. This resolution nixes that plan. The original rule laid out how companies would comply, figure out their net emissions, and potentially get exemptions. By killing the rule, Congress is essentially saying those charges won't be collected, and the procedures for compliance are scrapped.

Real-World Blowback

Without these waste emission charges, there's less financial incentive for companies to reduce their pollution. Imagine you're running a small business, and you have the option to install equipment that minimizes waste, but it costs extra. If there's no penalty for polluting, you might skip that upgrade. This is the same scenario, but on a much larger scale. It could mean more methane and other harmful emissions, which is bad news for air quality and climate change. For folks living near oil and gas operations, this could mean a higher risk of respiratory problems and other health issues. Section 1 of the resolution is the kill switch for the EPA's rule, removing the teeth from efforts to curb these emissions.