METHANE Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2801 To establish a durable framework for achieving long-term reductions in meth- ane emissions from the oil and gas sector through advanced detection, measurement, and abatement technologies and practices, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 22, 2021 Mr. PETERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak- er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju- risdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a durable framework for achieving long-term reductions in methane emissions from the oil and gas sector through advanced detection, measurement, and abatement technologies and practices, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Methane Emissions 4 Technology to Help Achieve Net-zero Emissions Act of 5 2021’’ or the ‘‘METHANE Act of 2021’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2801.IH H2801 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2801 IH SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 3 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 4 mental Protection Agency. 5 (2) COVERED FACILITY.—The term ‘‘covered 6 facility’’ means a facility on the list in effect under 7 section 3(a). 8 (3) EMISSIONS REDUCTION TARGET.—The term 9 ‘‘emissions reduction target’’ means the aggregate 10 level of methane intensity of the regulated segments 11 corresponding to a reduction of total methane emis- 12 sions by 90 percent by 2030, relative to 2015 levels. 13 (4) METHANE INTENSITY.—The term ‘‘methane 14 intensity’’ means the unitless ratio of methane emis- 15 sions to the methane content of natural gas through- 16 put. 17 (5) REGULATED SEGMENT.—The term ‘‘regu- 18 lated segment’’ means each of the segments de- 19 scribed in section 98.230(a) of title 40, Code of Fed- 20 eral Regulations, as in effect on the date of enact- 21 ment of this Act. 22 (6) ROUTINE FLARING.—The term ‘‘routine 23 flaring’’— 24 (A) means flaring of natural gas during 25 normal oil and natural gas production oper- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2801.IH H2801 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2801 IH ations in the absence of sufficient facilities to 1 reinject the produced gas, utilize it onsite, or 2 dispatch it to a market; and 3 (B) excludes flaring of natural gas that is 4 required to ensure safe operation of the covered 5 facility due to an unforeseen condition. 6 SEC. 3. METHANE INTENSITY STANDARDS. 7 (a) LIST OF COVERED FACILITIES.— 8 (1) INITIAL LIST.—Not later than 2 years after 9 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 10 shall list the facilities that are subject to this Act, 11 which shall include, at a minimum, the facilities that 12 are subject to the requirements of section 98.230(a) 13 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect 14 on the date of enactment of this Act. 15 (2) REVIEW AND REVISION.—The Adminis- 16 trator shall periodically review and revise the list of 17 covered facilities under this subsection as necessary 18 to ensure sufficient coverage of methane emissions 19 from the regulated segments to meet the emissions 20 reduction target. 21 (b) CATEGORIZATION OF COVERED FACILITIES AND 22 REGULATED EMISSIONS.—For purposes of establishing 23 methane intensity standards under this section, the Ad- 24 ministrator shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2801.IH H2801 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2801 IH (1) group the types of covered facilities within 1 a regulated segment into categories; and 2 (2) base the standards on the types of methane 3 emissions at the category of covered facility, includ- 4 ing vented emissions, fugitive emissions, and emis- 5 sions from incomplete combustion. 6 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es- 8 tablish methane intensity standards for covered fa- 9 cilities in each of the regulated segments. 10 (2) INITIAL STANDARDS.—Not later than 4 11 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 12 Administrator shall establish the initial methane in- 13 tensity standards required by paragraph (1). Such 14 initial standards for each category of covered facili- 15 ties shall— 16 (A) be equal to the top quartile of methane 17 intensity performance in the applicable regu- 18 lated segment, as determined by the Adminis- 19 trator, taking into account the findings of the 20 studies under section 7(a)(1); 21 (B) ensure that the aggregate methane in- 22 tensity from the regulated segments does not 23 exceed the emissions reduction target; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2801.IH H2801 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2801 IH (C) use the methodologies for calculating 1 methane intensity for each regulated segment 2 described in the ‘‘Natural Gas Sustainability 3 Initiative Protocol’’, version 1.0, dated Feb- 4 ruary 2021, with such revisions as the Adminis- 5 trator determines are necessary due to the find- 6 ings of the studies under section 7(a). 7 (3) COMPLIANCE PERIOD.—The initial and sub- 8 sequent methane intensity standards required by 9 paragraph (1) shall each apply for a three-year pe- 10 riod. 11 (4) INCREASINGLY STRINGENT STANDARDS.— 12 The methane intensity standards under this section 13 shall— 14 (A) be increasingly stringent in each suc- 15 cessive three-year period, consistent with ensur- 16 ing that aggregate methane intensity of the reg- 17 ulated segments does not exceed the emissions 18 reduction target; and 19 (B) be more stringent for each successive 20 three-year period, as appropriate based on ad- 21 vancements in methane-related monitoring, de- 22 tection, repair, or abatement methodologies. 23 (d) NEW AND EXISTING COVERED FACILITIES.—In 24 establishing standards under this section, the Adminis- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2801.IH H2801 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2801 IH trator may subcategorize new and existing covered facili- 1 ties. 2 (e) DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE.—On an an- 3 nual basis, the Administrator shall determine each covered 4 facility’s compliance with the applicable methane intensity 5 standard under this section. 6 SEC. 4. CONTROLLING UNNECESSARY FLARING. 7 As part of the process of establishing methane inten- 8 sity standards under section 3, the Administrator shall es- 9 tablish regulations that prohibit routine flaring of natural 10 gas from covered facilities such that— 11 (1) greenhouse gas emissions from nationwide 12 routine flaring shall be reduced by at least 80 per- 13 cent below 2017 levels not later than the end of cal- 14 endar year 2028; and 15 (2) greenhouse gas emissions from nationwide 16 routine gas flaring shall be reduced by 100 percent 17 below 2017 levels not later than the end of calendar 18 year 2030. 19 SEC. 5. EMISSION DETECTION, MEASUREMENT, AND RE- 20 PORTING. 21 (a) LEAK DETECTION AND REPAIR PLANS.—The 22 Administrator shall require the owner or operator of each 23 covered facility to submit to the Administrator a plan for 24 methane leak detection and repair, which shall specify— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2801.IH H2801 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2801 IH (1) the leak detection technology or technologies 1 to be used; 2 (2) the frequency of inspections; 3 (3) the repair schedule for all detected leaks; 4 and 5 (4) the procedures for biannual review for the 6 plan to ensure the plan incorporates advancements 7 in leak detection and repair technologies and prac- 8 tices. 9 (b) EMISSIONS MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING RE- 10 QUIREMENTS.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es- 12 tablish requirements for covered facilities for the 13 measurement and reporting of methane emissions. 14 (2) EMISSION FACTORS AND ACTIVITY DATA.— 15 In determining the requirements related to emission 16 factors, activity data, and other estimation meth- 17 odologies, the Administrator shall consider the stud- 18 ies completed under section 7(a)(2). 19 (c) ALTERNATIVE EMISSIONS MEASUREMENT METH- 20 ODOLOGIES.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall ap- 22 prove an alternative emissions measurement method- 23 ology for a covered facility if the owner or operator 24 of the facility demonstrates that such alternative 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2801.IH H2801 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2801 IH methodology will improve the accuracy of measure- 1 ments, including through more frequent measure- 2 ments and application of more sensitive emission de- 3 tection technologies. 4 (2) FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATION.—The Ad- 5 ministrator shall establish a clear, transparent, and 6 scientifically rigorous framework for evaluating the 7 accuracy of proposed alternative methodologies, 8 which shall include detailed guidance on— 9 (A) field testing and empirical data re- 10 quirements for establishing the accuracy of any 11 proposed emission factors or activity data; 12 (B) computer simulation and modeling re- 13 quirements; and 14 (C) procedures for submitting and obtain- 15 ing approval of an alternative methodology. 16 (3) SCOPE OF APPROVAL.—If the Administrator 17 approves an alternative methodology for a covered 18 facility, other covered facilities in the same category 19 may use the methodology. 20 (d) REVIEW.—At least every 3 years, the Adminis- 21 trator shall review and, as appropriate, revise the require- 22 ments established under this section, taking into account 23 advancements in technologies and practices. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2801.IH H2801 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2801 IH SEC. 6. CONDITIONAL TRADABLE CREDITS PROGRAM. 1 (a) DETERMINATION OF SUFFICIENCY OF MONI- 2 TORING, DETECTION, AND MEASUREMENT TECH- 3 NOLOGIES.—In establishing, reviewing, and revising the 4 methane intensity standards under section 3, the Adminis- 5 trator shall determine whether commercially available de- 6 tection and measurement technologies are sufficiently ro- 7 bust to provide the frequency and accuracy of methane 8 missions monitoring, detection, and measurement to sup- 9 port a tradable methane intensity credit program de- 10 scribed in subsection (b). 11 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRADABLE CREDITS PRO- 12 GRAM.—If the Administrator makes a positive determina- 13 tion under subsection (a), the Administrator shall estab- 14 lish a tradable methane intensity credit program under 15 which— 16 (1) the Administrator shall issue tradable cred- 17 its to the owner or operator of a covered facility that 18 has a methane intensity lower than the applicable 19 methane intensity standard under section 3; and 20 (2) the owner or operator of a covered facility 21 may obtain and surrender such tradable credits to 22 meet its compliance obligation under section 3(e), 23 and such tradable credits shall not constitute nor 24 confer property rights on the holder of such credits. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2801.IH H2801 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2801 IH (c) MONITORING, DETECTION, MEASUREMENT, RE- 1 PORTING, AND VERIFICATION.—The Administrator shall 2 establish such requirements for monitoring, detection, 3 measurement, reporting, and verification that the Admin- 4 istrator determines are necessary for the program under 5 subsection (b). 6 SEC. 7. STUDIES. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in coordina- 8 tion with the Secretary of Energy, shall enter into an 9 agreement with one or more research institutions to con- 10 duct— 11 (1) a study to identify the top quartile of meth- 12 ane intensity performance for a statistically rep- 13 resentative sample of covered facilities in each regu- 14 lated segment; 15 (2) a study of the accuracy of component-level 16 emission factors, activity data, and estimation meth- 17 odologies; and 18 (3) a study to integrate and reconcile top-down 19 and bottom-up measurements of methane emissions 20 from a statistically representative sample of covered 21 facilities in each regulated segment. 22 (b) ADVANCING DETECTION AND MEASUREMENT 23 TECHNOLOGIES.—The Administrator, in coordination 24 with the Secretary of Energy, shall establish measurement 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2801.IH H2801 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2801 IH and testing protocols for assessing the performance of new 1 emission detection technologies, such as stationary remote 2 sensing devices, vehicle-based sensors, drones, aircraft, 3 handheld equipment, and satellites in order to facilitate 4 the development, evaluation, and deployment of such tech- 5 nologies. 6 SEC. 8. ENFORCEMENT. 7 The Administrator shall have the same authorities for 8 enforcement of this Act as the Administrator has under 9 section 113 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7413) for 10 enforcement of requirements established under section 11 111 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 7411), including the same cal- 12 culation of monetary penalties. 13 SEC. 9. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—A petition for review of action by 15 the Administrator in promulgating any nationally-applica- 16 ble requirements under this Act may be filed only in the 17 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. 18 (b) TIMING OF FILING.—Any petition for review 19 under this section shall be filed within 60 days from the 20 date of publishing such requirements as a final regulation 21 in the Federal Register, except that if such petition is 22 based solely on grounds arising after such 60-day period, 23 then such petition shall be filed within 60 days after such 24 grounds arise. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2801.IH H2801 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2801 IH SEC. 10. REGISTRY, EMISSION DATABASE, AND DATA 1 VERIFICATION. 2 (a) REGISTRY.—The Administrator shall establish a 3 registry that makes it possible to calculate the aggregate 4 methane emissions intensity of deli [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]