HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Environmental Protection Agency wants to roll back regulations for controlling methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, but clean-air advocates say that's going in the wrong direction.

Yesterday in Dallas, Texas, the EPA held its only hearing on a proposal to loosen regulations designed to curb emissions of the potent greenhouse gas. Pennsylvania is the second-largest producer of methane in the country.

Patrice Tomcik, project manager with Moms Clean Air Force, says methane is responsible for 25% of the climate change already taking place around the world, and in the Commonwealth.

"Families are experiencing increasing flooding and drought and the air is degrading also, because of this," says Tomcik.

The Trump administration says rolling back methane emission regulations will save the oil and gas industry million of dollars a year in compliance costs. The EPA takes public comments until Nov. 25.

When oil and gas facilities leak, Tomcik says methane isn't the only pollutant that escapes. Others include chemicals like benzene and toluene that can have serious health impacts.

"Things like cancer, neurological issues, blood disorders, and even adverse birth outcomes," says Tomcik. “So, this is really a rule that is needed to protect the health and well-being of children, families, communities."

She adds that those who live closest to facilities like gas wells and compressor stations are at greatest risk of respiratory ailments like asthma and other health consequences.

Last year, Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection released tighter emission regulations for new and modified gas and oil facilities. But Tomcik notes that with the lack of federal leadership, the state needs to do more.

"Governor Wolf needs to step up and directly regulate methane for all of the hundreds and thousands of existing oil and gas facilities to protect our communities," says Tomcik.

In April, the Department of Environmental Protection released revised draft rules for controlling emissions from existing facilities, but critics say they don't go far enough.


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More than 40 environmental groups are urging federal regulators and Colorado's Congressional delegation to put a pause on a pipeline project under way in Weld County, called Line 1, which would nearly triple the current capacity to deliver crude oil to the Suncor refinery in Commerce City.

Patricia Garcia-Nelson, Colorado fossil fuel just transition advocate for the group Green Latinos, said if officials allow the extension of Line 1 to continue, they essentially will be rewarding bad behavior.

"Suncor has a history of being a problematic operator," Garcia-Nelson asserted. "They have violated pollution limits. They had been operating under an expired permit since 2011."

Last week, the groups sent formal petitions to federal regulators warning the project will increase greenhouse-gas emissions and the toxic burden on an already heavily polluted community living near the refinery. The pipeline will cross the South Platte River, which supplies water for Eastern Colorado and downstream states, and a 100-year floodplain.

Suncor said it has no plans to increase capacity with the new pipeline, and argues it will reduce emissions from trucks carrying crude.

Garcia-Nelson argued the project will undermine Colorado's efforts to meet climate targets and realize goals in the Colorado Environmental Justice Act passed by lawmakers last year. She noted in the United States, more than 17 million people currently live near oil and gas facilities.

"And 1.6 million of those people are Latinos," Garcia-Nelson pointed out. "When we take even a closer look at Suncor, when we look at the communities around there, there's mostly Black, brown, Indigenous, people of color."

Because Line 1 replaces an existing pipeline, the project is going forward without public input on its potential impacts on communities, air and water quality, and climate change. But Garcia-Nelson stressed it will not prevent her group and others from trying to stop it.

"Without the normal public comment pieces, the decision is taken out of the residents' hands that are going to be directly impacted by this expansion," Garcia-Nelson contended.

A relatively small number of so-called "super emitters" are responsible for 40% of the methane emissions in oil and gas hotspots such as California's Central Valley, according to a new report.

Experts from Carbon Mappers, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena and two universities in Arizona flew over the basin and measured the invisible gas with spectrometers.

Jon Goldstein, senior director of regulatory and legislative affairs for the Environmental Defense Fund, which co-authored the report, said the health of the planet depends on reducing methane emissions.

"Methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas, more than 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in the first 20 years after it's emitted," he said. "So, getting these problems fixed, keeping this methane in the pipes and out of our air, is a really important way to bend the curve on climate change."

The Environmental Protection Agency is working on national regulations to require methane capture. Emissions from animal feedlots also play a role. The report found California has fewer super-emitters compared with other states that have weaker methane-capture rules.

Goldstein noted that technology exists to find and fix pipeline leaks or to capture excess gas instead of burning it off.

"It's a waste of resources. It's a big source of pollution that's leading to unhealthy air quality," he said. "It definitely is something that the oil and gas industry ought to be addressing."

Oil and gas companies have long complained that methane capture is time-consuming and expensive. However, a report from the International Energy Agency found that the industry could cut 45% of its methane emissions at no net cost to them.

Nevada needs to move away from natural gas and toward clean energy - that's the view of climate action groups that spoke up on Tuesday at an open forum of the Nevada Public Utilities Commission.

The Pollution Free Nevada coalition wants the PUC to scrutinize Southwest Gas proposals to expand natural gas infrastructure.

Elspeth DiMarzio, senior campaign representative with the Sierra Club, said the state needs to rely on solar and wind to generate power - and promote electric appliances instead of gas.

"To meet Nevada's climate goals of 100% clean energy and zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050," said DiMarzio, "we need to really, rapidly, transition away from the use of methane gas in the electric sector and in buildings."

She noted that Southwest Gas has raised rates three times within four years.

A study from the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project estimates that replacing a gas-powered heat pump with an electric model can save a household about $100 a year on its energy bills.

Angel Lazcano, an environmental justice organizer with the Latino advocacy group "Somos Votantes," also testified at the annual Clark County PUC consumer session.

He said many Latinos live closer to highways and industry - where air quality is poor, and the pollution from natural gas appliances makes it worse.

"Eight and a half percent of Latino children suffer from asthma as a result of indoor and outdoor pollution," said Lazcano. "The so-called 'natural gases' in our homes release other harmful pollutants, such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide. It accounts for 14% of our state's total climate pollution."

Lazcano said he'd like to see more investment in programs that help people replace older, gas-powered stoves, dryers and water heaters with new electric models.