{ "id": "R44615", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R44615", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 585069, "date": "2018-01-24", "retrieved": "2020-01-02T13:43:36.213381", "title": "EPA\u2019s Methane Regulations: Legal Overview", "summary": "On March 28, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13783, directing federal agencies to review existing regulations and policies that potentially burden the development or use of domestically produced energy resources. Acting pursuant to the order, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reviewing and reconsidering several regulations issued during the Obama Administration that address methane emissions from various industrial sectors. Methane is a short-lived greenhouse gas (GHG) with a Global Warming Potential of more than 25 times carbon dioxide that is emitted from various industrial activities.\nPresident Trump\u2019s executive order specifically requires EPA to review the revised emission standards for new, modified, and reconstructed equipment, processes, and activities of the oil and natural gas sector issued by the Obama Administration in June 2016. EPA issued these standards for methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions pursuant to Section 111 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). Based on its review and in response to several administrative petitions for reconsideration, EPA is now reconsidering certain emission requirements from the June 2016 rule, which remain in effect unless EPA finalizes a proposed two-year stay of these requirements or otherwise repeals those requirements.\nIn addition, EPA is reconsidering the emission standards and guidelines for new and existing municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills updated by the Obama Administration in August 2016. In those rules, EPA issued the updated and revised emission standards for MSW landfills built after 2014 to further reduce emissions, including methane emissions. The agency also revised emission guidelines established in 1996 for existing landfills operating prior to that date. At this time, the 2016 landfill rules are in effect. EPA has not formally proposed any revisions to the 2016 rules or initiated a public comment period for any issues under reconsideration.\nEPA\u2019s review of the oil and natural gas sector and landfill methane rules has influenced the pending judicial challenges to the various 2016 rules. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted EPA\u2019s requests to pause the judicial challenges of both rules to allow EPA to complete its review of them. In addition, stakeholders have successfully challenged in court EPA\u2019s attempts to stay the various requirements that the agency is currently reconsidering. Judicial review of EPA\u2019s attempts to stay rules in effect could more broadly impact the Trump Administration\u2019s efforts to similarly stay other rules that are under reconsideration. \nThis report examines the statutory authority for issuing the methane regulations, legal challenges to the standards, and legal issues related to the reconsideration and stay of the regulations.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44615", "sha1": "c27b497c261acb42f7cb2d731ccf5dfb2fb2cd75", "filename": "files/20180124_R44615_c27b497c261acb42f7cb2d731ccf5dfb2fb2cd75.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44615_files&id=/0.png": "files/20180124_R44615_images_9e41682baea06ae1963b769b094e0ace4c00d0f0.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44615", "sha1": "f4fbb8e557134131a7cd507411ef3ca4bdf65220", "filename": "files/20180124_R44615_f4fbb8e557134131a7cd507411ef3ca4bdf65220.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4750, "name": "Air Quality" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 455586, "date": "2016-09-06", "retrieved": "2016-11-28T21:39:52.044077", "title": "EPA\u2019s Recent Methane Regulations: Legal Overview", "summary": "President Obama\u2019s \u201cClimate Action Plan\u201d aims to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). One of the initiatives within the Plan focuses on the control of emissions of methane, a short-lived climate pollutant. In 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies developed an interagency \u201cStrategy to Reduce Methane Emissions\u201d (Methane Strategy) that outlined voluntary actions and potential agency rulemakings to cut methane emissions.\nIn response to the Methane Strategy, EPA published new and updated standards of performance (commonly referred to as new source performance standards, or NSPSs) on June 3, 2016, for GHGs (in the form of methane limitations) and volatile organic compounds emissions from new, modified, and reconstructed equipment, processes, and activities across the oil and natural gas sector pursuant to Section 111 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). In addition, on August 29, 2016, EPA published its updated NSPSs to reduce municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill gas emissions, including methane emissions, from landfills built, modified, or reconstructed after July 17, 2014. The agency also revised emission guidelines established in 1996 for existing landfills operating prior to that date.\nNorth Dakota, Texas, a coalition of 14 other states, and various gas associations filed petitions for review of the final oil and gas rule in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit). Nine states and the city of Chicago moved to intervene on behalf of EPA to support the final rule. In addition, several environmental advocacy groups filed their own motion to intervene in the case. This report examines a few potential issues that may be raised in the litigation, primarily drawn from comments submitted to EPA on the proposed rule.\nIt is uncertain whether the revised MSW landfill NSPSs and emission guidelines will be challenged in court. Petitions for legal review of the rule and guidelines must be filed no later than October 28, 2016. This report analyzes EPA\u2019s authority to revise the 1996 emission guidelines for existing MSW landfills\u2014an issue raised in comments on the proposed landfill emission guidelines.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44615", "sha1": "09900940a00e7a5ae7e988e654b4697c25bd18bc", "filename": "files/20160906_R44615_09900940a00e7a5ae7e988e654b4697c25bd18bc.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44615", "sha1": "d9cff7b40f02406904abbc83bdcf1a9132f9e13e", "filename": "files/20160906_R44615_d9cff7b40f02406904abbc83bdcf1a9132f9e13e.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [] }