Casten, Curtis Urge OMB to Harmonize Methane Detection Rulemakings at Federal Agencies

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Congressmen Sean Casten (D-IL-06) and John Curtis (R-UT-03) sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young urging OMB to harmonize the oil-and-gas methane reduction rulemakings currently underway at various federal agencies and to provide for an efficient process of approving innovative advanced technologies for detecting methane emissions. 

Methane, the primary constituent of natural gas, is a powerful global warming pollutant, with over 80 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide when assessed over a twenty-year timeframe. Reducing methane pollution has been a principal focus of Congress and the Biden Administration over the past four years. Because methane can be released from a wide variety of diffuse sources, the key to reducing methane pollution is to detect it quickly and accurately. 

There is currently a great deal of innovation in the technologies for detecting methane pollution, which can be mobile, mounted near oil and gas well pads, or placed in drones, airplanes and even satellites. A key question is how the new regulations will treat innovative methane detection technologies.