WASHINGTON – AXPC is submitting comments to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today explaining the organization’s significant concerns with provisions in the rule and commitment to working with the agency on a rule that meaningfully drives down emissions, while allowing US independent producers to meet the global demand for affordable and reliable oil and natural gas.
“AXPC members are committed to reducing emissions from their operations and support the federal regulation of methane. However, EPA’s proposed methane rule does not currently achieve the necessary balance of meaningfully driving down emissions while supporting US independent producers’ ability to meet the global demand for affordable and reliable oil and natural gas. We are committed to working with EPA to find more workable solutions as outlined in our comments and are optimistic that continued collaboration with the agency to address our concerns can result in a more durable and effective final rule,” said AXPC CEO Anne Bradbury.
AXPC’s comments explain that if EPA’s proposed rule is left unchanged it will:
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- Reduce domestic production, which will increase costs to households.
- Disincentivize new emissions-reductions technologies that have been more effective at finding bigger leaks faster, so operators can address them.
- Irresponsibly and unlawfully delegate EPA enforcement powers to private third parties.
- Not be readily feasible, due to the lack of recognition of significant supply chain constraints and other real-world limitations.
- Treat new and existing sources virtually identical and subject some sources to multiple layers of regulation.
- Overlap, and in some cases conflicts, with other regulatory mandates, compounding compliance costs and burdens.
A summary of AXPC’s comments can be found here, which provides additional details and recommended solutions for the concerns highlighted above that conflict with AXPC’s position on the federal regulation of methane.
AXPC’s full comments can be found here.
About the American Exploration and Production Council:
AXPC is a national trade association representing the leading independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in the United States. We lead the world in the cleanest and safest onshore production of oil and gas, while supporting millions of Americans in high-paying jobs and investing a wealth of resources in our communities. Learn more at https://www.axpc.org/.
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