National Niche Offshore Oil Spills
new solutions, we are committed to a durable final rule that is anchored in science and the law, that protects communities living near oil and natural gas facilities, and that advances our nation’s climate goals under the Paris Agreement.” One third of the warming from greenhouse gases occurring today is due to human-caused emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that traps about 30 times as much heat as carbon dioxide over 100 years. The proposal builds on the work of leading companies that are using the latest cost- effective technology to reduce methane emissions in the field and leverages lessons from the work of some major oil- and gas- producing states that require, or are proposing to require, oil and gas operations to reduce methane emissions. EPA analyzed the proposed rule’s impact on natural gas and oil prices from 2023 to 2035 and estimates that changes would be small – pennies per barrel of oil or thousand cubic feet of gas. The proposed rule would reduce 41 million tons of methane emissions from 2023 to 2035, the equivalent of 920 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. That’s more than the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from all U.S. passenger cars and commercial aircraft in 2019. In 2030 alone, the rule would reduce methane emissions from sources covered in the proposal by 74 percent compared to 2005. EPA’s Regulatory Impact Analysis estimates the value of cumulative net climate benefits from the proposed rule, after taking into account the costs of compliance as well as savings from recovered natural gas, is $48 to $49B from 2023 to 2035 the equivalent of about $4.5B a year. ****************************************************
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been ordered by a Federal Judge to update its regulations on the use of dispersant chemicals used in offshore oil spills. The EPA must take final action to list and authorize the chemicals prior to a May 31, 2023 deadline and also must submit regular status reports in the meantime. The ruling came as a result of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups against the EPA over concerns that the agency was not taking the latest data and testing procedures into account regarding the chemicals that could be used to fight oil spills. According to a statement by the Center for Biological Diversity, “Instead of mitigating environmental harm, chemical dispersants have proven — when mixed with oil — to be more toxic to humans and the environment than the oil alone” . **************************************************** U.S. to Sharply Cut Methane Pollution On November 2, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new Clean Air Act rule that would lead to significant, cost-effective reductions in methane emissions and other health- harming air pollutants. To inform a supplemental proposal, EPA is seeking comment on additional sources of methane to further strengthen emission controls and increase reductions from oil and gas operations. EPA is issuing the proposal in response to President Biden’s Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan stated, “With this historic action, EPA is addressing existing sources from the oil and natural gas industry nationwide, in addition to updating rules for new sources, to ensure robust and lasting cuts in pollution across the country. By building on existing technologies and encouraging innovative
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N a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o f D i v i s i o n O r d e r A n a l y s t s
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