A plan by the Biden administration to empower private citizens to monitor oil wells and pipelines for methane leaks is being criticized by industry leaders who say it sets a dangerous precedent.
Under the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed super emitter response program, people with expertise and equipment approved by the agency would be authorized to monitor oil industry operations to detect emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas. ‘greenhouse effect and notify companies of any large volume leaks. Operators would have five days to look into any credible third-party reports of methane and 10 days to fix most leaks.
Environmental activists have applauded the proposal, saying it increases the incentives for oil and gas companies to stifle methane leaks. But the oil industry’s main lobby has hit out at it, saying it poses a range of legal, logistical, commercial and security risks, as well as setting a potential precedent of tapping private citizens to do the work of the government
It’s “essentially delegating to third parties the functions that are appropriate for a regulatory agency,” American Petroleum Institute senior vice president Frank Macchiarola said on a conference call Monday. The plan could also “have a chilling effect on companies’ ability to work with the EPA and work with third parties” to reduce methane emissions, he said.
The methane cap has taken on new urgency in the quest to limit global warming because the greenhouse gas is estimated to be at least 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide at warming the atmosphere over the first 20 years after release. The sweeping climate and tax bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act last year set a new tax on emissions.
For years, citizen activists with specialized cameras have documented vents and plumes of methane that are invisible to the naked eye. The campaign has helped encourage stronger regulation and voluntary industry action.
But even with documented evidence from optical gas imaging cameras, leak reports submitted to state authorities “often result in no action to limit air pollution and protect the public,” said the Earthworks group in the comments submitted.
Industry officials say the initiative could encourage activists to enter private land, including farms and near homes with active wells. And they warn that third-party data can be full of errors.
Better requirements on the “validity and veracity of data” are needed to ensure companies don’t have to shut down operations for nothing, said the Independent Petroleum Association of America and more than a dozen state groups in the oil industry to EPA in written comments.
Some oil companies have shown openness to a new third-party monitoring program.
BP America Inc. said that when third-party organizations provide scientifically sound data, “it can help identify and solve problems in a transparent, efficient and accountable way.” But the EPA needs to do more to ensure that “adequate guidelines and systems are in place to verify the quality and integrity of community-generated data,” the company said.
