Clean Air Act Notice of Intent to Sue for Failure to Establish Guidelines for Standards of Performance for Methane Emissions from Existing Oil and Gas Operations

On June 29, 2017, 14 states, the District of Columbia, the City of Chicago, and the California Air Resources Board sent a notice of intent to sue under the Clean Air Act to EPA for failing to establish guidelines limiting methane emissions from existing sources in the oil and natural gas sector. They contended that EPA’s promulgation of methane standards for new oil and gas sources pursuant to Section 111(b) of the Clean Air Act triggered a mandatory duty to issue guidelines for existing sources under Section 111(d). They noted that EPA had taken an initial step towards developing such guidelines by issuing an information collection request (ICR) in November 2016. The ICR sought information on the types of equipment at production facilities as well as information on sources of methane emissions at oil and gas facilities and emissions control devices or practices in place at such facilities. On March 2, 2017, EPA withdrew the ICR. The states and other parties asked EPA to reconsider the withdrawal of the ICR and reissue it or to otherwise explain how it would fulfill its legal obligation to address methane pollution.