DGCC Meets with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Proposed Methane Supplemental Final Rule and Proposed Methane Fee Rule

Differentiated Gas Coordinating Council

For Immediate Release

November 2, 2023

Contact: info@dgccouncil.com

NEWS: Differentiated Gas Coordinating Council Provides Timely Recommendations to Improve the Environmental Protection Agency’s Treatment of Advanced Methane Detection and Monitoring Technologies at Meetings with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

WASHINGTON – The Differentiated Gas Coordinating Council (DGCC), a coalition of stakeholders across the natural gas supply chain dedicated to expanding the market for low-methane-loss, “differentiated” natural gas, met with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) to provide recommendations on how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should implement the Methane Supplemental Final Rule and the soon-to-be Proposed Methane Fee Rule.

The DGCC recommended that EPA take the following actions during the meeting about the Methane Supplemental Final Rule:

• Prioritize Regulatory Harmonization: EPA must draft a Final Rule that considers how to lead, align with, or follow similar rules that regulate methane emissions in the oil and gas industry to create a whole-of-government approach and increase the impact of these regulations.

• Create Pathways to Direct Measurement: EPA’s Final Rule should incentivize, or at least not disincentivize, operators to deploy direct measurement technologies that enable emissions detection and monitoring that goes above regulatory standards.

• Support Technology Neutral Regulations: The Final Rule should be performance-based to allow operators to utilize the best technologies for each case.

The DGCC recommended that EPA take the following actions during the meeting about the Methane Fee Rule:

• Align with Congressional Intent: As directed by Congress, operators must have the opportunity to quantify their tax burdens under the Methane Waste Emissions Charge using empirical data.

• Include Advanced Measurement Technologies: The Methane Fee Rule should not only permit but incentivize operators to deploy advanced methane detection technologies.

• Utilize New Methodologies to Unlock Greater Precision: The Methane Fee Rule should create an on-ramp for operators to utilize new methodologies to increase the accuracy of methane emissions calculations.

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  Established in 2022, the DGCC is an ad hoc coalition of stakeholders across the natural gas supply chain dedicated to expanding the market for low methane, “differentiated” natural gas. Its members include academics; downstream, midstream, and upstream energy producers; gas customers; and technology companies. The DGCC’s goal is to facilitate a federal pathway for state regulators, utilities, and gas consumers to accept differentiated gas as an important option to meet their climate goals. We believe that the adoption of differentiated gas is the best way to rapidly reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas sector—a win for American energy producers, energy consumers, and the climate.