GREENHOUSE GASES (GHG) ~ Let’s Attend to All Those Conventional Oil & Gas Wells

Methane mitigation means opportunity for West Virginia

Guest Essay by Delegate Evan Hansen, Morgantown Dominion Post, Sunday, December 4, 2022

Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is used to heat our homes and cook our food. Yet, much of this valuable natural resource is wasted into thin air via emissions from the many smaller, low-producing wells with leak-prone equipment that dot our landscape. These wells are responsible for roughly half the emissions at U.S. well sites but account for merely 6% of the nation’s oil and gas production. This waste does not serve West Virginians or our economy and must be addressed.

Commonsense standards to cut this waste such as those proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency will produce good-paying, family-sustaining jobs and economic opportunities for our residents.

The methane mitigation industry is a rapidly expanding field, deploying robust technology to capture emissions, generating revenues that will rev up our economic engine. These jobs create opportunities in communities where natural gas is being sourced, allowing them to profit from the industry directly.

As West Virginians, we take pride in our reputation as a top energy producer. The methane mitigation industry will help ensure our status as the fifth-largest energy producer in the United States and will provide our energy workers with continued job security as we promote energy security. This is possible while creating a brighter, healthier future through reduction of the state’s greenhouse gas footprint.
I hope you’ll join me in encouraging other legislators to support the EPA’s sensible rule to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, in order to provide new opportunities for West Virginia’s energy workers.

>>> Delegate Evan Hansen represents the current House of Delegates 51st District in Monongalia County.

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Clean Air Council, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh & Wilmington, DE, December 5, 2022

Clean Air Council and its supporters have worked for years to urge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce air pollution from new and existing oil and gas facilities. The gas industry emits large quantities of climate-changing methane as well as smog-causing and health-harming volatile organic compounds (VOC), including known carcinogens like benzene.

Earlier this month, the EPA proposed pollution standards for gas wells and compressor stations that will better protect public health and help address the climate crisis by reducing 36 million tons of methane, 9.7 millions tons of VOCs, and 390,000 tons of air toxics from 2023 to 2035.

This rule requires air pollution inspections at all oil and gas extraction facilities regardless of size and includes significant updates to required pollution control technologies.

While the EPA has taken great steps to reduce air pollution from the gas industry, we need them to improve this rule by eliminating the unnecessary flaring of fracked gas.

Comments will be accepted until February 13th and there will be two virtual public hearings January 10th and 11th.

Click here to urge EPA to adopt stronger pollution standards.