Clean Air Council Responds to Important Oil and Gas Rule Comment Period

HARRISBURG, PA (May 22, 2020) This Saturday, May 23rd, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will publish a draft rule in the Pennsylvania Bulletin that will cut methane and air pollution from existing oil and gas operations. This will kick off a 66-day public comment period, and DEP will hold three virtual public hearings where Pennsylvanians can make their voices heard. 

Oil and gas development is the single-largest industrial source of methane and volatile organic compounds. Methane is the primary component of natural gas and a potent greenhouse gas that is responsible for 25 percent of the climate change we are already experiencing today. An alarming new analysis found that Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry vents and leaks more than a whopping 1.1 million tons of methane each year, over 16 times more than what industry self-reports to the state. Oil and gas operations also release air pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that contribute to the formation of ozone or smog that can exacerbate lung diseases such as asthma or emphysema and lead to the development of heart disease. Methane and VOCs leak at every stage of the gas supply chain, from production and processing to transportation and storage. 

Clean Air Council issued the following statement in response: 

“This rule demonstrates significant progress in addressing the climate crisis, but it also includes loopholes for the oil and gas industry that would leave about half of all of its climate-warming methane pollution unchecked,” said Joseph Otis Minott Esq., Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council. “We can only achieve Gov. Wolf’s climate goals with a strong final rule without loopholes for the oil and gas industry.”