County

EPA proposes methane reduction

RBC I The Environmental Protection Agency proposed last week to reduce emissions of methane from the oil and gas industry across the country, targeting new wells and equipment but also providing guidelines for existing wells and equipment in areas with poor air quality.

Methane, the primary constituent of natural gas, is a potent greenhouse gas, and reigning in emissions is a key part of President Barack Obama’s strategy to combat climate change. The Obama administration wants to bolster oil and gas production while cleaning it up too.
“This valuable resource must be developed responsibly and safely,” Janet McCabe, an acting assistant EPA administrator, says.
The EPA’s proposal also would reduce toxic volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, such as benzene, toluene and xylene, which can degrade regional air quality and cause acute health effects for people who live, work or play near wells and production equipment. Under the proposal, companies would be required to find and repair leaks; capture the gas that flows out during oil well completions, after companies drill and before they connect wells to pipelines; and limit methane leaks from equipment used in compressor stations.
This rule is separate from the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan that was recently announced, and which proposes regulations for emissions from power plants.
In the announcement, the EPA also proposed updating the permitting process for oil and gas in tribal lands to limit harmful emissions for this rapidly growing industry.
“If you put them together, (industry) reductions could be as high as 20 to 30 percent of national emissions of methane for 2012,” McCabe says.
The oil and gas industry is responsible for about 30 percent of methane emissions nationwide. But its representatives argue that they have been reducing emissions even while expanding production, so the EPA’s costly, bureaucratic proposal is unnecessary.
“The problem with EPA making mandatory what industry is already doing is that it simply adds bureaucratic layers that remove flexibility and innovation, while discouraging the development of the single most significant source of U.S. greenhouse gas reductions,” said Kathleen Sgamma, a vice president of Western Energy Alliance, an industry group.
The EPA predicts its proposal would cost industry $320 million to $420 million but save more than that in reduced health impacts and other benefits.
Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who heads the Senate Environment Committee, called the rule “another example of the administration’s punitive expansion of their war on fossil fuels.”
Environmentalists applauded the administration for proposing the rule but said that more needs to be done to clean up existing wells and production equipment. These wells and equipment were grandfathered into the proposal, even though the EPA predicts they still will make up 90 percent of the problem in 2018.
The question of how much methane leaks from oil and gas production has been the subject of hot debate in recent years. The debate is important because hydraulic fracturing and other drilling advances have encouraged a drilling boom.
The combination of low natural gas prices and regulations has incentivized power companies to shift from coal to natural gas. Coal emits a lot more greenhouse gases when used to generate electricity than natural gas. But it’s difficult to measure methane leaks because the oil and gas industry is widely scattered. So scientists still are grappling with how much the climate change gains from shifting from coal to gas are offset by methane leaks.
A new study published lasts week in the journal Environmental Science and Technology illuminated one piece of the puzzle. It shows that methane emissions from the facilities that collect natural gas from wells appear to be “substantially higher” than the EPA estimates.

Elizabeth Shogren
Washington D.C. Correspondent
High Country News

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  • Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
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Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch.  See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
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The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
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It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 
🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week.
Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! 
We appreciate all your continued support!
It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week. Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! We appreciate all your continued support!
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Mormon crickets have hatched near Rangely. They were all sighted on BLM land north of Hwy. 64 near the junction of CR 96 and CR 1, down a dirt road near the Moffat County line. The picture shown was taken yesterday by Mary Meinen from Rangely. She says the crickets are about the size of a ladybug (less than 1/2”). Some of them are actually yellow in color but most of them are darker. They are milling around and getting ready to start moving soon. Note: Photo is not to scale. Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch. See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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