Last week, the House Committee on Natural Resources, subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a hearing on the Bureau of Land Management’s proposal to combat methane waste, where lawmakers, agency officials, and locally elected government leaders came together to discuss the rule.
And while proponents for the rule cited wasted royalty revenues for their communities and touted the overwhelming support for these rules from their constituents, opponents argued timeworn myths, which have been debunked over and over again.
Here are our top five favorites:
- Myth: The BLM doesn’t have the legal ability to create standards for emissions from the oil and gas sector on federal and tribal lands.
- Fact: Under two federal statutes, the BLM not only has the authority, but the duty to regulate natural gas waste on federal and tribal lands:
- The Federal Lands Policy and Management Act, §102, 43 USC 1701(9) requires that, “The United States receive fair market value of the use of public lands and their resources.”
- Similarly, the Mineral Leasing Act §17, 30 USC 225 stipulates to, “Use all reasonable precautions to prevent waste of oil and gas developed in the land.”
- Myth: There is a lack of fundamental infrastructure needed to capture natural gas emissions.
- Fact: Research found that 57% of the wells that flare in the Bakken oil field in North Dakota are already connected to a pipeline and that smart, up-front planning would accommodate the additional volumes of captured natural gas. Furthermore, much of natural gas emissions comes from leaks, for which there are already-existing, cost-effective technologies to fix leaks and capture this wasted natural resource.
- Myth: States have enacted legislation curbing natural gas waste and these efforts are plenty.
- Fact: While a few states, such as Colorado, Wyoming, and North Dakota, have enacted rules on venting, flaring, leaks, these rules are not parallel across the board and additional rules are needed. Here’s why:
- State rules do not cover tribal lands, where excessive natural gas waste occurs.
- Few regulations address equipment leaks, which is responsible for about 30% of methane waste.
- Methane waste does not obey state lines; waste from New Mexico drifts into Colorado, causing problems hundreds of miles away.
- Myth: The EPA is developing a methane waste rule, and the BLM’s rule will be redundant.
- Fact: While the EPA is working on a methane emission rule, this rule would only apply to new and modified sources; i.e., new oil and gas wells. Also, the EPA rule does not cover flaring, which the BLM rule will. Therefore, no, the BLM rule will not be redundant with the EPA rule.
- Myth: Implementing the BLM rule will be too expensive and will cost jobs.
- Fact: Methane mitigation companies are expanding at break-neck speeds and the average wage is $30.88. There are now 76 mitigation firms across 46 states, and that number is growing. Furthermore, reducing methane emissions is estimated to cost ‘pennies on the dollar.’