New Rules for Gas: Good Policy, Delayed

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) evaluates the EPA's New Source Performance Standards for the oil and natural gas industry, noting that the rules will reduce VOCs by hundreds of thousands of tons and methane by 1.0 to 1.7 million tons annually. However, CATF criticizes a 2.5-year delay in requiring 'green-completion' for fracked wells and the total exclusion of the natural gas transmission and storage segment, which emits over 2 million tons of methane and 65,000 tons of VOC per year.

• The EPA's New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for the oil and natural gas industry introduce the first federal air pollution regulations for hydraulically fractured natural gas wells and other equipment. Once fully implemented, these rules are expected to reduce VOC emissions by hundreds of thousands of tons per year, benzene by 12,000 to 20,000 tons per year, and methane by 1.0 to 1.7 million tons per year.
• CATF argues that the 2.5-year delay in requiring 'green-completion' for fracked wells, which pushes the requirement to January 2015, is unjustified. The technology consists of simple, low-cost tanks and traps that separate natural gas from fracking fluids; costs reported by owners of over 1,600 wells were less than $20,000 per well, and the captured gas generates revenue for producers.
• During the delay period for green completions, the EPA requires producers to flare waste natural gas. CATF contends that flaring is inadequate because the final rule lacks requirements to ensure flares burn cleanly, meaning methane reductions are replaced by emissions of carbon dioxide, smoke, NOx, and other particulates.
• The final rule excludes the natural gas transmission and storage segment, including interstate pipelines, from regulation. This sector is estimated to emit more than 2 million tons of methane and 65,000 tons of VOC annually.

APA

Weeks, A., Schroeder, D., & McCabe, D. (2012). New Rules for Gas: Good Policy, Delayed. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/2012/04/new-rules-for-gas-good-policy-delayed/

Chicago

Weeks, Ann, Darin Schroeder, and David McCabe. New Rules for Gas: Good Policy, Delayed. Clean Air Task Force, 2012. https://www.catf.us/2012/04/new-rules-for-gas-good-policy-delayed/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Weeks |first1=Ann |last2=Schroeder |first2=Darin |last3=McCabe |first3=David |title=New Rules for Gas: Good Policy, Delayed |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=24 April 2012 |url=https://www.catf.us/2012/04/new-rules-for-gas-good-policy-delayed/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{weeks2012new, author = {Weeks, Ann and Schroeder, Darin and McCabe, David}, title = {{New Rules for Gas: Good Policy, Delayed}}, publisher = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2012}, month = apr, url = {https://www.catf.us/2012/04/new-rules-for-gas-good-policy-delayed/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }