The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule revising aspects of what it called the “burdensome, unworkable” 2024 Clean Air Act regulation that targeted America’s oil and gas industry, the agency said in an April 6 statement.
The latest changes “will help ensure that American energy owners and operators have the flexibility needed to continue producing the cleanest energy in the world without having to worry about being punished by radical climate ideologies,” the EPA said.
The final rule is “estimated to save $2.5 billion over 15 years, equivalent to $208 million annually in industry compliance costs. These cost savings will help lower gasoline and energy costs across the board and benefit American families,” according to the EPA.
The revisions relate to two flaring regulations applicable to the oil and gas industry.
The 2024 rule, issued by the Biden administration, set a 24-hour limit on temporary flaring by oil and gas operators during maintenance work. However, operators complained that the limited time period was not enough to troubleshoot and repair equipment.
“Under the Trump EPA’s revisions, owners and operators will now be able to utilize temporary flaring for up to 72 hours,” the agency said.
Moreover, additional time beyond 72 hours may be allowed under “exigent circumstances,” such as during a temporary personnel shortage, when site access is restricted due to extreme weather, or when supply chain issues are outside the operator’s control.
The second revision was done to a rule requiring operators to continuously monitor the net heating value (NHV) of vent gas from flares and enclosed combustion devices. The revised rule requires operators to conduct NHV sampling only when inert gases are present or under miscellaneous scenarios. The EPA also eliminated another rule related to NHV monitoring for associated gases.
“These changes will reduce the number of unnecessary tests by up to 141,000 per year—about 1.9 million over 15 years,” the agency said.
In a fact sheet issued in December 2023, the Biden EPA said the 2024 final rule on oil and gas operations would yield “significant climate and health benefits” for all Americans.
The rule was expected to prevent an estimated 58 million tons of methane emissions between 2024 and 2038, an 80 percent reduction from projected methane emissions without the rule. In addition, the regulation was expected to prevent the release of 16 million tons of smog-forming volatile organic compounds.
According to the fact sheet, the rule was estimated to yield $97 billion to $98 billion in net climate and ozone health benefits during 2024–2038.
In its recent statement, the EPA said revisions to the 2024 rule were made after considering feedback from the oil and gas industry and several petitions seeking reconsideration of the regulations.
“My predecessors weaponized environmental regulations to regulate the oil and gas industry out of existence. We are taking another step to fix those mistakes while proving we can both protect human health and the environment and grow the economy at the same time,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said.
“Making rules workable for owners and operators advances American energy dominance, lowers cost for American families, and ensures the United States is providing better and cleaner energy.”
Eliminating Endangerment Finding
On Feb. 12, President Donald Trump and Zeldin announced the elimination of a 2009 EPA finding that served as the basis of U.S. actions to regulate greenhouse gases.The 2009 finding, made under the Obama administration, declared six gases as posing a danger to public health and affecting the climate—carbon dioxide, hydrofluorocarbons, methane, nitrous oxide, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.
Based on this finding, subsequent regulations, such as vehicle emission standards and methane limits, were enacted.
During the Feb. 12 announcement, Trump said that “these crippling restrictions were a major factor in driving up car prices to unprecedented levels, and the car that you were getting was not nearly as good.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Feb. 10 that rescinding the 2009 finding was expected to slash automobile costs by an average of $2,400 per vehicle.
The agency said at the time that the feature had led drivers to become frustrated. Since almost 60 percent of new vehicles came with these systems, consumers had limited options to avoid this feature.
But with the credits now eliminated, automakers will now be incentivized to listen to what Americans “actually want in their cars,” the EPA said.
