By Patrick D. Joyce and Craig B. Simonsen

pumpjack, West Texas, cottonwood treeThe U.S. EPA announced earlier this week a proposed rule to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) from the oil and natural gas industry. The proposal is nearly 600 pages long. Proposed rule (August 18, 2015).

The proposed rule will add methane to the list of gasses
Continue Reading Proposed Rule for Methane and VOC Controls in Oil and Gas Industry

By Patrick D. Joyce and Philip L. Comella

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued two proposed rules lowering the threshold at which landfills must control methane gas emissions.

For active landfills, EPA proposes to reduce the threshold from 50 metric tons of non-methane organic compounds annually to 34 metric tons. As a practical matter, this means that roughly 100
Continue Reading EPA Proposes Significant Change to Controlling Landfill Gas Emissions

Ecology Earth concept word collagePhilip Comella, in a recently published article, writes about how everyone in the landfill gas industry knows how contracts are a necessary evil.

The parties understandably focus on the engineering aspects of the design; how many wells and engines to install; how to increase or extend gas production; how the gas production translates into revenue; the status of carbon
Continue Reading Avoiding Disputes Down the Road: The Top Ten Problems With Landfill Gas Contracts

By Philip L. Comella and Craig B. Simonsen

In another move to implement the President’s Climate Action Plan, the Obama Administration today announced a new goal to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40 to 45 percent from 2012 levels by 2025.

According to EPA, methane emissions accounted for nearly ten percent of U.S. greenhouse
Continue Reading EPA Plan for Methane Controls In Oil and Gas Industry

By Patrick D. Joyce

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released a proposed rule that would update air standards for new municipal solid waste  landfills (landfills). 79 Fed. Reg. 41796 (July 17, 2014).

The Whitehouse had, earlier this year, issued an update to President Obama’s Climate Action Plan “Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions.” The update specified that in the
Continue Reading EPA Proposes Updated Methane Limits for New Municipal Landfills and Requests Comment on Whether and How to Update Emissions Guidelines for Existing Landfills

By Craig B. Simonsen

Janet McCabe, Acting Assistant Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, discussed yesterday’s Supreme Court opinion, and other topics, while speaking before the Air and Waste Management’s Association’s Annual Conference today.

The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court yesterday ruled, in-part, that “EPA lacked authority to ‘tailor’ the Clean Air Act’s unambiguous numerical thresholds of 100 or 250
Continue Reading McCabe Addresses Supreme Court Decision and Other Topics – EPA is “Very Pleased”