Methane Emissions Research Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1947 To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to con- duct a measurement-based national methane research pilot study to quan- tify methane emissions from certain oil and gas infrastructure, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 13, 2023 Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. PADILLA, and Mr. HEIN- RICH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a measurement-based national meth- ane research pilot study to quantify methane emissions from certain oil and gas infrastructure, and for other purposes. 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 Research Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. NATIONAL METHANE RESEARCH PILOT STUDY. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1947 IS (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 1 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 2 mental Protection Agency. 3 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 4 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 5 gress’’ means— 6 (A) the Committee on Environment and 7 Public Works of the Senate; and 8 (B) the Committee on Science, Space, and 9 Technology of the House of Representatives. 10 (3) COVERED OIL AND GAS INFRASTRUC- 11 TURE.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered oil 13 and gas infrastructure’’ means the infrastruc- 14 ture used for the production, gathering and 15 boosting, processing, transmission, and storage 16 of oil and natural gas in the United States. 17 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered oil 18 and gas infrastructure’’ does not include oil and 19 gas distribution infrastructure. 20 (4) METHANE CENSUS.—The term ‘‘methane 21 census’’ means a national methane census study to 22 evaluate methane emissions from covered oil and gas 23 infrastructure that, if carried out, would— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1947 IS (A) be undertaken on a recurring basis; 1 and 2 (B) encompass all 7 regions. 3 (5) PILOT STUDY.—The term ‘‘pilot study’’ 4 means the measurement-based national methane re- 5 search pilot study required under subsection (b). 6 (6) REGION.—The term ‘‘region’’ means any of 7 the 7 oil and gas regions evaluated in the July 2022 8 Drilling Productivity Report of the Energy Informa- 9 tion Administration. 10 (b) PILOT STUDY REQUIRED.—The Administrator, 11 in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, the Adminis- 12 trator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administra- 13 tion, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At- 14 mospheric Administration, the Administrator of the Pipe- 15 line and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the 16 Director of the National Institute of Standards and Tech- 17 nology, and the heads of other Federal agencies as the 18 Administrator determines appropriate, shall conduct a 19 measurement-based national methane research pilot study 20 to quantify methane emissions from covered oil and gas 21 infrastructure. 22 (c) REQUIREMENTS.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pilot 24 study, the Administrator shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1947 IS (A) select 2 regions within which to carry 1 out the pilot study; 2 (B) identify areas consisting primarily of 3 covered oil and gas infrastructure within each 4 region selected under subparagraph (A); 5 (C) develop and implement methodologies 6 and procedures for a measurement-based eval- 7 uation of methane emissions from the covered 8 oil and gas infrastructure described in subpara- 9 graph (B); 10 (D) assess diverse approaches to the char- 11 acterization of methane emissions from the cov- 12 ered oil and gas infrastructure described in sub- 13 paragraph (B); and 14 (E) consult with Federal, State, local, aca- 15 demic, nonprofit, and private sector entities, as 16 appropriate. 17 (2) TECHNOLOGIES.—In carrying out the pilot 18 study, the Administrator shall— 19 (A) employ a technology or suite of tech- 20 nologies for methane emissions measurement, 21 research, and analysis; and 22 (B) to the extent practicable, consider 23 using innovative technologies for methane emis- 24 sions measurement and quantification. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1947 IS (d) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 1 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 2 to the appropriate committees of Congress, and make pub- 3 licly available, a report assessing the results of the pilot 4 study, which shall include— 5 (1) an overview of the findings of the pilot 6 study with respect to the quantification and charac- 7 terization of methane emissions from covered oil and 8 gas infrastructure; 9 (2) an analysis of how the pilot study could 10 support and inform the development and implemen- 11 tation of a methane census, which shall include an 12 analysis of— 13 (A) the feasibility of evaluating the amount 14 of methane emissions from covered oil and gas 15 infrastructure by region, industry segment, type 16 of emission source, or any other criterion, as a 17 component of a methane census; 18 (B) the necessary scope of measurement- 19 based activities within regions in order to carry 20 out a methane census; 21 (C) any onshore or offshore gaps within 22 the scope of the pilot study that could merit in- 23 clusion as a part of a methane census; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1947 IS (D) the estimated budget that would be re- 1 quired to oversee a methane census; and 2 (E) any other relevant topic, as determined 3 by the Administrator; 4 (3) an analysis of how the measurement-based 5 evaluation of methane emissions from covered oil 6 and gas infrastructure, as completed by the pilot 7 study or contemplated for a methane census, could 8 support efforts to reconcile data generated by top- 9 down methods and bottom-up methods of analysis of 10 methane emissions from covered oil and gas infra- 11 structure with respect to the Inventory of U.S. 12 Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks of the Envi- 13 ronmental Protection Agency, which shall include an 14 analysis of— 15 (A) how methane emissions data from the 16 pilot study or a methane census could be used 17 as a part of a reconciliation process to better 18 understand and improve data estimates from 19 both top-down methods and bottom-up methods 20 of analysis of methane emissions from covered 21 oil and gas infrastructure; 22 (B) how methane emissions data from the 23 pilot study or a methane census could identify 24 and help to explore any significant discrep- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1947 IS ancies between top-down methods and bottom- 1 up methods of analysis of methane emissions 2 from covered oil and gas infrastructure; and 3 (C) any other relevant topic, as determined 4 by the Administrator; 5 (4) a description of any research or technology 6 gaps that were identified during the course of the 7 pilot study and could merit additional study to sup- 8 port the improvement of methane emissions meas- 9 urement and quantification; and 10 (5) a description of the methodology of the pilot 11 study that, to the greatest extent practicable and 12 consistent with appropriate protections for confiden- 13 tial business information and intellectual property, 14 as determined by the Administrator, includes a dis- 15 cussion of— 16 (A) study design; 17 (B) measurement techniques; 18 (C) efforts to account for additional sig- 19 nificant sources of methane emissions within a 20 region; and 21 (D) assumptions and uncertainties in the 22 results of the pilot study. 23 (e) METHANE EMISSIONS DATA INTEROPER- 24 ABILITY.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1947 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, to the 1 greatest extent practicable, shall ensure that all data 2 collected as part of the pilot study adheres to data 3 and metadata standards determined appropriate by 4 the Administrator to support the public findability, 5 accessibility, interoperability, and reusability of those 6 data. 7 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out para- 8 graph (1), the Administrator shall consult with the 9 heads of other Federal agencies, as appropriate— 10 (A) to facilitate effective data sharing re- 11 garding methane emissions measurement and 12 quantification data; and 13 (B) to ensure that methane emissions 14 measurement and quantification data gathered 15 by those other Federal agencies can be con- 16 verted to a format that is consistent with the 17 methodologies and procedures of the pilot 18 study. 19 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 20 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 21 $20,000,000, to remain available until expended. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB