Tuesday, March 4, 2025

The EPA’s Methane Waste Emissions Charge will now be a distant memory!

Happy Tuesday!    

Well, we love a follow-up nonetheless this isn’t the ending we expected for the EPA’s Waste Emission Charge (WEC), please see our Blog in January 2024 for what might have been. 

Did anyone happen to read the Oil & Gas Journal’s OGJ Daily Update Newsletter on March 4, 2025, their article titled, “Congress kills Biden-era methane fee”?  In the article, it goes on speak on how the GOP-ruled Congress voted to repeal the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Waste Emissions Charge (WEC) last week and it has been sent to the oval office for the President’s signature.  WEC was one step of the Methane Emissions Reduction Program which is part of the Inflation Reduction Act which was adopted by Congress in 2022.  WEC was aimed at reducing methane pollution which encouraged oil and natural gas companies to reduce their methane emissions to below 25,000 tonnes per year (TPY) or pay a fee of $900 per metric ton for anything over starting in 2024 and would’ve increased by $300 in 2025 and again in 2026 and so on.  The fee was a way to nudge the industry to ratify best practices to lower emissions instead of paying the fee.  Well, many of the big oil and gas companies have implemented emission reduction strategies and they began policing themselves (See our Blog in March 2024 for details), so the fee would not have applied to them.  The threat of the WEC fee seemed to spark the oil and gas industry to make changes and many oil and gas companies implemented emission reduction strategies and/or applied standards to their respective company.  Well, let’s hope in spite of the WEC going away we don’t lose the momentum to clean up methane emissions.  Communities around the oil and gas industry deserve better air quality!  If you would like to read more of the Oil & Gas Journal’s article, please click the link:   Congress kills Biden-era methane fee | Oil & Gas Journal.

If you would like help in looking into how to reduce your methane emissions with emission controls and/or help with adopting best practices, contact us via email in the Blog or ESC's website!

It’s the opening day of the Houston Livestock and Rodeo.  If you’re interested in going to this world class event or you want to see the performers’ line-up for this season; please click the link for information: The Official Houston Livestock Show andRodeo Website.

We hope you have a wonderful evening and a productive week! 

**Disclaimer: You may be charged a fee to read The Oil and Gas Journal’s article. **