27 Sep Message to EPA: Stop Methane Leaks!

Guest Post – from Al Braden

Concerned Texans converged on Dallas City Hall September 23 for EPA hearings on proposed rules to limit methane emissions. Texas Interfaith, Environmental Defense Fund, Sierra Club, Downwinders at Risk, Public Citizen, Texas Campaign for the Environment, Mom’s Air Force and other groups organized speakers to testify in favor of strengthened methane rules.

So many speakers signed up that the EPA set up a second hearing room to handle the crowd.

Rev. Mel Caraway of Texas Interfaith led a press conference during the hearings that highlighted scientific studies of the health impacts of methane and VOC leaks from fracking oil and gas activities, especially in the Dallas and Denton areas.

Excellent  coverage of the day’s participants and quotes are on Lone Star Sierra Club’s blog.

So what was it all about? Plain and simple:

Methane is a dangerous greenhouse gas, over 25 times as potent as CO2 in warming our planet.

Over 30% of methane emissions come from the oil and gas industry – and most of them from leaks.

These leaks are easy to identify with infrared cameras that show leaking methane very clearly. Watch this video:

EPA VIDEO OF METHANE LEAKS FROM INFRARED CAMERA

Most of these leaks are easy to fix – tighten a bolt, replace a gasket, etc. A maintenance crew armed with both wrenches and infrared imaging cameras could fix a high percentage on the spot.

As fracking for natural gas overwhelmed our landscape in the last 10 years, EPA proposed rules in 2012 for ‘green well completions’ and leak detection for new natural gas wells. Unfortunately, they did not apply these same rules to new oil wells.

The rub is this:  A very high percentage of wells contain both oil and gas in varying proportions. Wells drilled and fracked for oil did not fall under these common sense requirements to eliminate methane leaks. Neither did natural gas distribution systems including compressor stations, pipelines and storage facilities. These rules extend now to both oil wells and to distribution.

The most glaring oversight, however, is the need to apply these rules existing oil, gas and distribution facilities.

One after another, concerned citizens spoke of their own health experience with oil and gas emissions and many provided local and regional scientific studies. Their strong message to the EPA in Dallas was:

1.     We need the EPA to do its job and eliminate climate heating methane leaks.

2.     We have very little time to reign in green house gases. (August 2015 set another heat record.)

3.     The health impacts are real, widespread and significant – especially asthma.

4.     The rules must be extended to all EXISTING oil, gas and distribution equipment.

What can you do?

Get online and support these regulations.

Here is a summary of the proposed rules on the EPA website.

Here are Sierra Club’s talking points presented at the meeting.

Tell the EPA your personal story, provide data or give other strong reasons while you want EPA to stand up to the oil and gas industry. Demand that they extend regulations to existing equipment and facilities that are already leaking badly.

Like most things at the Byzantine maze at EPA, there are actually four rules under review.

1.     Proposed New Source Performance Standards – Docket ID number EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0505

2.     Draft Control Techniques Guidelines – Docket ID number: EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0216

3.     Proposed Source Determination Rule – Docket ID number: EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0685

4.      Proposed Federal Implementation Plan for Implementing Minor New Source Review Permitting in Indian Country – Docket ID number: EPA-HQ-OAR-2014-0606

The first is the ‘biggie’ – Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New and Modified Sources. Its 591 pages incorporate the bulk of the new rules. Sign on here to add your testimony. Most testimony focuses on this docket item, which as of this morning, had 37,677 comments recorded on the EPA website.

Don’t overlook the other three dockets. They each had five or fewer comments. Your impact can be great in that arena! Public testimony closes November 17. Do it while it’s fresh and don’t forget. November 17^th will be a busy time – nearly Thanksgiving.

Take a minute now and demand that the EPA work for us in stopping methane leaks!