Texas has taken legal action to prevent the implementation of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations that could have adverse effects on the state’s oil and natural gas industry. Two separate lawsuits have been filed by Texas in an effort to block these proposed rules.
A lawsuit has been filed against a recent EPA rule that establishes fresh emissions standards. According to the office of the Texas Attorney General, this rule was formulated without fulfilling the Clean Air Act’s explicit criteria for determining specific emissions and emission sources. Instead, the EPA has relied on its previous regulations, which were previously contested by Texas and other states on grounds of illegality.
The state of Texas, along with the Railroad Commission of Texas and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, has filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The petition seeks to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Standards of Performance for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources and Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Oil and Natural Gas Sector Climate Review,” which was published in the Federal Register on March 8.
Texas and the Texas Commission on Environmental have filed a separate lawsuit to prevent the implementation of a new EPA rule that modifies the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for particulate matter. Previously, the EPA had abandoned this issue, but now the state of Texas is seeking a review of the EPA’s “Quality Reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter” through a petition for review submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. This petition was published in the Federal Register on March 6.
In June 2022, Abbott reached out to President Joe Biden regarding the EPA’s proposed NAAQS regulations, which he deemed as “draconian.” This was in response to the agency’s decision to reverse a 2017 ruling that designated certain regions of the Permian Basin in New Mexico and Texas counties as nonattainment areas, indicating their non-compliance with the 2015 Ozone NAAQS.
In regards to the EPA plan, Abbott expressed concern about the potential negative impact on gasoline prices. He stated that the plan could result in a significant increase in pump prices due to reduced production or increased production costs, or both. By August 2022, he reiterated his belief that the EPA’s plan to target Texas production was flawed and lacked logical reasoning.
In January 2023, the EPA changed its stance by deeming the rule “inactive,” only to resume its efforts once again this month.
The administration is focusing on operators in the Permian Basin, which is one of the world’s largest and most productive oil fields. It is situated in west Texas and eastern New Mexico. Interestingly, even though these producers are leading the way in reducing emissions and supplying a significant portion of the U.S. gasoline, they are still being targeted.
According to reports from The Center Square, data from the World Bank, EIA, Environmental Protection Agency, and Rystad Energy suggests that natural gas companies in the Permian Basin are already producing some of the cleanest natural gas globally.
According to an analysis of multiple data sets by Texans for Natural Gas, methane emissions experienced a significant decline of 76% during the most recent decade analyzed, coinciding with a remarkable 345% increase in Permian Basin production. Furthermore, the analysis also revealed a noteworthy 20% reduction in methane emissions from 2020 to 2021 alone.
According to the Texas Oil & Gas Association, the flaring rate in the Permian Basin in Texas has reached a historical low. The United States has successfully reduced flaring intensity by 46% over the past decade.
According to Todd Staples, the president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, the Texas oil and natural gas industry has been taking proactive steps to identify and reduce emissions. Staples emphasizes that these efforts have led to significant improvements in environmental performance, particularly in the air quality of West Texas. He also highlights that domestically produced oil and natural gas in the United States, primarily sourced from Texas, is known for being the cleanest in the world.
The EPA is exceeding regulatory authority not granted by Congress, according to both lawsuits.
The EPA put the rules into effect after the Supreme Court had already determined that the EPA does not possess extensive regulatory power to do so. In a recent case, West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court stated in June 2022 that the EPA cannot control carbon emissions from US power plants without approval from Congress.
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