Pa. still reviewing new federal testing guidelines

Environmental groups advocating for stronger curbs on methane emissions said the federal proposal won’t erode states’ ability to maintain or pursue stricter standards.

Robert Routh, a staff attorney with the Philadelphia-based Clean Air Council, said the EPA rule should not affect the frequency of leak surveys at Pennsylvania shale well sites and compressor stations built after Aug. 8, when the new Pennsylvania permits took effect.

It is possible that facilities built in the prior three years, under the EPA’s original version of the methane rule, could be affected, he said.

Dan Grossman, the national director of state programs for the Environmental Defense Fund’s oil and gas program, said that if the EPA’s proposal is finalized, “Not only will states be able to continue to push for more stringent regulations, it will become more important for them to do so because the federal government retreats.”

Pennsylvania’s oil and gas methane permits are a centerpiece of the Wolf administration’s efforts to cut emissions of climate-warming greenhouse gases. Methane is the main ingredient in natural gas and is especially damaging at trapping heat in the atmosphere over the short term.

The EPA proposal will be open for public comment for 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register.