Press Release  AG Healey Sues EPA for Failing to Regulate Methane Emissions

Boston — Attorney General Maura Healey today joined a coalition of 15 attorneys general and the City of Chicago in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its Administrator Scott Pruitt for ignoring the agency’s legal obligation to control methane emissions from existing sources in the oil and natural gas sector.

The attorneys general argue in their lawsuit, filed this morning in the U.S District Court for the District of Columbia, that Pruitt and his agency are violating the Clean Air Act by unreasonably delaying their mandatory obligation under the Act to control emissions of methane – an extremely potent greenhouse gas – from existing oil and gas sector sources. Methane emissions pose a significant danger to the environment and public health, and the majority of methane pollution in the oil and natural gas sector comes from existing equipment.

“Scott Pruitt is once again ignoring his legal obligations under federal law and choosing the interests of the oil and gas industry and their lobbyists over the health of the American people and our environment,” said AG Healey. “We will continue to work with our state and city partners to hold the agency accountable and protect public health and the environment from pollution and climate change.”

In June 2016, EPA finalized standards to control methane emissions from new oil and gas sector sources that were constructed or substantially modified after September 2015. Under the Clean Air Act, when EPA began regulating methane emissions from these “new” sources, it was required under the Act to also establish guidelines for controlling methane emissions from “existing” sources – emission sources in oil and gas operations in existence before September 2015. 

Massachusetts has long advocated for the issuance and maintenance of regulations regarding new sources of methane emissions. In December 2012, Massachusetts, New York, and five other states notified EPA of their intent to file suit, asserting that the EPA had not complied with its mandatory duty under the Clean Air Act’s New Source Performance Standards to determine whether it is appropriate to regulate methane pollution from the oil and gas sector.

In June 2017, AG Healey was part of a coalition of 15 attorneys general that pledged to sue EPA if, within 180 days, it failed to issue methane standards for existing sources in the oil and gas industry. More than 180 days have passed and the Trump EPA has failed to take action on issuing the required standards.

In their lawsuit, the attorneys general argue that the requirements of the Clean Air Act, established EPA practice, and the large contribution that existing sources make to methane pollution mandate prompt regulation by EPA. The coalition specifically urges the court to develop an expeditious deadline for the agency to propose and develop regulations.

Methane is a particularly powerful agent of climate change; pound-for-pound, methane warms the climate about thirty-four times more than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and on a twenty-year timeframe, has about 86 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. According to the EPA, the oil and gas sector is the largest emitter of methane in the U.S., accounting for a third of total U.S. methane emissions. Based on EPA data, estimates show that roughly $1.5 billion worth of natural gas – enough to heat over five million homes – leaks or is intentionally released from the oil and gas supply chain each year.  The logic of continuing to allow leaks and intentional discharges of methane is especially questionable, as methane itself is a valuable product, being the primary component of natural gas.  

According to estimates, sources in existence prior to 2012 are expected to be responsible for more than 90 percent of oil and gas sector methane emissions in 2018. However, there are proven cost-effective methods readily available to control methane emissions from existing sources. An analysis from ICF International in 2014 found that the industry could cut methane emissions 40 percent below the projected 2018 levels by using available technologies and techniques – at an average annual cost of less than $0.01 per thousand cubic feet of natural gas produced. This 40 percent reduction would yield savings of over $100 million per year for the U.S. economy and consumers.

Joining AG Healey in filing today’s lawsuit are the attorneys general of New York, California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Pennsylvania as well as the City of Chicago.

This case is being led for Massachusetts by Melissa A. Hoffer, Chief of AG Healey’s Energy and Environment Bureau, and Assistant Attorney General Peter C. Mulcahy, also of AG Healey’s Energy and Environment Bureau.

###