Biden EPA to charge first-ever ‘methane fee’ for emissions waste by oil and gas companies
Oil and natural gas companies for the first time will have to pay a federal fee if they emit dangerous methane above certain levels under a rule announced by the Biden administration
WASHINGTON (AP) — Oil and natural gas companies for the first time will have to pay a federal fee if they emit dangerous methane above certain levels under a final rule announced Tuesday by the Biden administration.
The Environmental Protection Agency rule follows through on a directive from Congress included in the 2022 climate law. The new fee is intended to encourage industry to adopt best practices that reduce emissions of methane — the primary component of natural gas — and thereby avoid paying.
Methane is a climate “super pollutant” that is far more potent in the short term than carbon dioxide and is responsible for about one-third of greenhouse gas emissions. The oil and natural gas sector is the largest industrial source of methane emissions in the United States, and advocates say reduction of methane emissions is a crucial way to slow climate change.
The rule, announced at an international climate conference in Azerbaijan, comes a day after President-elect Donald Trump named former New York congressman Lee Zeldin to head the agency in Trump's second term. If confirmed by the Senate, Zeldin is expected to move to reverse or loosen dozens of environmental regulations approved under President Joe Biden as Trump seeks to establish U.S. “energy dominance″ worldwide.
