Controversial federal rules compliance dates delayed

Maddy Hayden
Carlsbad Current-Argus

Many in the oil and gas industry are breathing a bit easier after the Environmental Protection Agency and Bureau of Land Management pushed back compliance dates for controversial methane rules.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt made separate announcements earlier this week.

Compliance under the EPA's "Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources" will be delayed by two years, while the BLM's "Waste Prevention Rule" will be delayed indefinitely.

The rules will undergo additional review during that time.

"Both rules vastly exceeded federal authority," said Kathleen Sgamma, president of Denver-based Western Energy Alliance, in a news release. "In the case of the BLM rule, the Bureau tried to assume authority that resides with the states and EPA to regulate air quality.

"In the case of the EPA rule, the agency attempted to regulate methane without conducting a methane endangerment finding, as required by the Clean Air Act."

The Western Energy Alliance, which represents more than 300 oil and gas companies, and others have sued both agencies over the rules, which they say are redundant and overly onerous on the industry.

"In light of the existence and potential consequences of the pending litigation, the BLM has concluded that justice requires it to postpone the compliance dates for certain sections of the Rule pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, pending judicial review," the BLM's notice in the Federal Register reads. 

Opponents also argued the Bureau of Land Management has no jurisdiction over air quality and the methane rule overreaches the agency's bounds. 

“Western Energy Alliance is pleased that EPA and the Interior Department have listened to the concerns of companies about having to comply with rules that are likely to be overturned in court or changed significantly through the rulemaking process,” Sgamma said.

Stephen Robertson, executive vice president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, said he, too, is pleased the rules are undergoing extra scrutiny. 

"There were a lot of rules pushed through the process at the end of the last administration," Robertson said. "We're glad they're taking a second look at these." 

Opposition to the rules isn't just about the health of oil and gas companies, said New Mexico Oil and Gas Association spokesman Robert McEntyre. 

His organization estimated the EPA's rule would have cost $200,000 per well to install new monitoring equipment. 

The BLM's rule would have cost the state $100 million in lost royalties over a period of three years, he said. 

"We take seriously our responsibility to put in roughly a third of the general fund every year," McEntyre said. "This is a conversation that is really about the well-being of our state."
