[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2711 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2711
To amend the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to require the Secretary of the Interior to issue
regulations to reduce and prevent gas waste and to enhance gas
measuring and reporting, to codify a final rule of the Environmental
Protection Agency regarding certain emission standards for the oil and
natural gas sector, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 14, 2019
Ms. DeGette (for herself, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Lowenthal, Ms. Haaland, and
Mr. Lujan) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to require the Secretary of the Interior to issue
regulations to reduce and prevent gas waste and to enhance gas
measuring and reporting, to codify a final rule of the Environmental
Protection Agency regarding certain emission standards for the oil and
natural gas sector, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Methane Waste Prevention Act of
2019''.
SEC. 2. CODIFICATION OF FINAL RULE.
The amendments to the Code of Federal Regulations made pursuant to
the final rule of the Environmental Protection Agency, titled ``Oil and
Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and
Modified Sources'' and published in the Federal Register on June 3,
2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 35824), shall have the same force and effect of law
as if such amendments had been enacted by an Act of Congress, except
that the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency may
revise such regulations, as provided for under the Clean Air Act, if
such revision would result in a reduction in gas release.
SEC. 3. GAS WASTE REDUCTION AND ENHANCEMENT OF GAS MEASURING AND
REPORTING.
(a) In General.--Title I of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty
Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1711 et seq.) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``SEC. 118. GAS WASTE REDUCTION AND ENHANCEMENT OF GAS MEASURING AND
REPORTING.
``(a) Regulations for Preventing and Reducing Waste of Gas Via
Venting, Flaring, and Fugitive Releases.--
``(1) Requirement to issue regulations.--Not later than 2
years after the date of enactment of the Methane Waste
Prevention Act of 2019, the Secretary shall issue regulations
pursuant to the Secretary's authority under the Mineral Leasing
Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the
Indian Mineral Leasing Act of 1938, and other statutes
authorizing the Secretary to regulate oil and gas activities on
Federal land and Indian lands, that establish requirements for
reducing and preventing the waste of gas, including by venting,
flaring, and fugitive releases, from covered operations.
``(2) Content of regulations.--The regulations shall, with
respect to covered operations--
``(A) require that, beginning not later than 3
years after the date of enactment of the Methane Waste
Prevention Act of 2019, each operator captures at least
85 percent of all gas produced in each year from each
onshore well that is subject to a mineral leasing law;
``(B) require that, beginning not later than 5
years after the date of enactment of the Methane Waste
Prevention Act of 2019, each operator captures at least
99 percent of all gas produced in each year from each
onshore well that is subject to a mineral leasing law;
``(C) require flaring of gas, rather than venting,
in all instances in which gas is not captured;
``(D) require that every application for a permit
to drill a production well--
``(i) demonstrate sufficient infrastructure
and capacity is in place to capture the
expected quantity of produced gas from the
well; and
``(ii) be published with an opportunity for
a public comment period of at least 30 days;
``(E) beginning not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of the Methane Waste Prevention Act
of 2019, prohibit all new and refractured production
wells from flaring;
``(F) require the operator of any covered operation
that routinely flares gas before the effective date of
a regulation prohibiting flaring issued pursuant to
subparagraph (E) to submit a gas capture plan to the
Secretary not later than 180 days before such effective
date that ensures that such operator will meet the
requirements described in subparagraphs (A) and (B);
``(G) set performance standards for newly installed
equipment based on modern equipment that minimize gas
loss from--
``(i) storage tanks;
``(ii) dehydrators;
``(iii) compressors;
``(iv) open-ended valves or lines;
``(v) pumps; and
``(vi) such other equipment as the
Secretary determines appropriate to reduce and
prevent gas release;
``(H) require that operators replace existing
equipment within one year of the publication date of
performance standards established under subsection (G);
``(I) require the replacement of all high-bleed
gas-actuated pneumatic devices with low-bleed or no-
bleed devices not later than 180 days after the date of
issuance of the regulation enacted under subparagraph
(A);
``(J) set performance standards based on modern
procedures and equipment that minimize gas loss from--
``(i) downhole maintenance;
``(ii) liquids unloading;
``(iii) well completion; and
``(iv) such other procedures as the
Secretary determines appropriate to reduce and
prevent gas release;
``(K) require all operators to have leak detection
programs with regularly scheduled inspections that
assess the entire covered operation using an infrared
camera or other equipment with methods that provide
overall at least equivalent sensitivity and
effectiveness in detecting leaks on a timely basis;
``(L) require any leaks found to be repaired
promptly, and in any case not later than 4 weeks after
the discovery of the leak, except where exceptional
circumstances warrant an extension of not more than 8
additional weeks; and
``(M) require recordkeeping for--
``(i) equipment maintenance;
``(ii) leak detection and repair;
``(iii) venting events;
``(iv) flaring events; and
``(v) such other operations as the
Secretary determines appropriate to reduce and
prevent gas release.
``(b) Gas Measuring, Reporting, and Transparency Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, not later than one
year after the date of enactment of the Methane Waste
Prevention Act of 2019, issue regulations requiring each
operator to measure and report, with respect to all gas subject
to the mineral leasing laws, all such gas produced, consumed on
site, or lost through venting, flaring, or fugitive releases.
``(2) Measuring and reporting requirements.--To account for
all gas referred to in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall issue
regulations requiring each operator to--
``(A) measure all production and disposition of gas
with such accuracy that fugitive gas releases can be
calculated;
``(B) install metering devices to measure all
flared gas; and
``(C) report to the Secretary the volumes of gas
measured under the requirements described in
subparagraph (A), including--
``(i) all new measured values for
production and disposition, including vented
and flared volumes; and
``(ii) values for fugitive releases based
on guidelines for their calculation established
by the Secretary in such regulations.
``(3) Transparency.--The Secretary shall make all new data
produced under the requirements established by the Secretary
under this subsection, including calculated fugitive releases
and volumes of gas lost to venting and flaring, publicly
available through the internet--
``(A) without a fee or other access charge;
``(B) in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable
manner, to the extent technically possible; and
``(C) as soon as technically practicable after the
report by the operator is filed.
``(c) Application.--Except as otherwise specified in this section,
the requirements established by the Secretary under this section shall
apply to--
``(1) the construction and operation of any covered
operation initiated, including the refracturing of existing
wells, on or after the date of the issuance of regulations
under this section; and
``(2) after the end of the 1-year period beginning on the
date of the issuance of such regulations, any covered operation
initiated before the date of the issuance of such regulations.
``(d) Enforcement Mechanisms.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall include in the
regulations issued under this section consistent enforcement
mechanisms for covered operations that are not in compliance
with the requirements established by the regulations.
``(2) Requirements.--The Secretary shall include in the
enforcement mechanisms described in paragraph (1)--
``(A) civil penalties for unauthorized venting and
flaring, which shall--
``(i) apply in lieu of the penalties and
related provisions under section 109; and
``(ii) include production restrictions and
civil monetary penalties equivalent to 3 times
the market value of the vented or flared gas;
and
``(B) civil penalties that apply to noncompliance
with other new or existing procedures, which shall--
``(i) apply in addition to or in lieu of
the penalties and related provisions under
section 109;
``(ii) include production restrictions or
monetary penalties, or both; and
``(iii) in the case of monetary penalties,
be proportional to market conditions.
``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Capture.--The term `capture' means the physical
containment of natural gas for transportation to market or
productive use of natural gas, and includes reinjection and
royalty-free on-site uses.
``(2) Covered operations.--The term `covered operations'
means all oil and gas operations that are subject to mineral
leasing law or title V of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (30 U.S.C. 1761 et seq.), regardless of
size, including production, storage, gathering, processing, and
handling operations.
``(3) Flare and flaring.--The terms `flare' and `flaring'
mean the intentional and controlled burning of gas that occurs
in the course of oil and gas operations to limit release of gas
to the atmosphere.
``(4) Fugitive release.--The term `fugitive release' means
the unintentional and uncontrolled release of gas into the
atmosphere in the course of oil and gas operations.
``(5) Gas capture plan.--The term `gas capture plan' means
a plan that includes specific goals, including equipment and
timelines, for capturing, gathering, and processing gas
produced under an oil or gas lease.
``(6) Gas release.--The term `gas release' includes all gas
that is discharged to the atmosphere via venting or fugitive
release.
``(7) Vent and venting.--The terms `vent' and `venting'
mean the intentional and controlled release of gas into the
atmosphere in the course of oil and gas operations.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1 of such
Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 117 the
following:
``Sec. 118. Gas waste reduction and enhancement of gas measuring and
reporting.''.
(c) Updates.--The Secretary of the Interior shall update the
regulations required by the amendments made by this section when the
Secretary determines appropriate, but no less frequently than once
every ten years, to reflect new information regarding gas waste, the
impacts of that waste, and the availability of technologies and
performance measures to reduce gas waste.
(d) Application of Prior Rule.--The final rule entitled ``Waste
Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource
Conservation'', as published in the Federal Register November 18, 2016
(81 Fed. Reg. 83008), is hereby reinstated, and each of its provisions
shall apply unless and until the effective date of a subsequent final
rule promulgated under the amendment made by subsection (a), or
promulgated under another applicable authority, that replaces or
repeals such provision.
(e) Assessment of Venting, Flaring, and Fugitive Releases.--Not
later than 180 days after the end of the 1-year period beginning on the
date the Secretary of the Interior first receives data submitted under
the requirements established under subsection (b) of section 118 of the
Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982, as amended by this
section, the Secretary shall--
(1) submit a report to Congress describing--
(A) the volume of fugitive releases, and gas
consumed or lost by venting and flaring, from covered
operations (as those terms are used in such section);
and
(B) additional regulations the Secretary considers
would help further curtail venting, flaring, and
fugitive releases, or the rational basis for not
issuing such additional regulations if the Secretary
considers additional regulations would not be
appropriate to further curtail venting, flaring, and
fugitive releases; and
(2) issue regulations described in the report required by
paragraph (1)(B) not later than 1 year after the date of the
submission of the report.
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Methane Waste Prevention Act of 2019
#2711 | HR Congress #116
Policy Area: Energy
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory proceduresAir qualityBusiness recordsCivil actions and liabilityClimate change and greenhouse gasesCongressional oversightEnergy efficiency and conservationEnvironmental assessment, monitoring, researchEnvironmental regulatory proceduresGovernment information and archivesOil and gas
Last Action: Subcommittee Hearings Held. (9/24/2019)
Bill Text Source: Congress.gov
Summary and Impacts
Original Text